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Afrolumens Glossary of Enslavement Terms
General Terms
- Country Mark
- Body modification, usually in the form of cuts, scars, piercings or tattoos, on the arms, chest or face, associated with specific cultures, ethnicities or religions in Africa. Country marks were mentioned in escape notices due to their distinct appearance and aid in identification.
- Gaol
- Goal
- An archaic word for jail. "Gaol" is pronounced with a hard "g." "Goal" is a common misspelling of "gaol" and is also pronounced with a hard "g." The keeper of the gaol was a "gaoler."
- Likely
- When used as a descriptive term for a person, frequently seen in advertisements to sell enslaved persons, it indicated a good looking person, male or female. When used to describe a female, it typically meant attractively proportioned and or pretty facial features.
- Molatto(e)
- Mulatto(e)
- A person of color descended from a mixture of white and Black parents. Originally it denoted the first generation offspring of a white person and a Black person. Later it was commonly used to identify a person of lighter skintones. In colonial North America, persons identified as Mulatto were visible reminders of the power and control that white male enslavers held over enslaved Black women. The term is archaic and offensive in modern usage. See also the term "yellow."
- Plantation
- In Pennsylvania, the word "plantation" referred to a medium to large country farm or estate, and not necessarily to a large agricultural site having scores or even hundreds of enslaved workers and centered on a primary crop such as cotton or sugar cane, as is commonly associated with the southern states. Most Pennsylvania "plantations" had ten or fewer enslaved workers, although some were large enough to have separate structures to house their enslaved workers and a few had dozens or even scores of enslaved workers. The term fell out of usage in referring to Pennsylvania estates by the mid-to-late 1700s.
- Smallpox and Measles
- An element of many advertisements offering to sell enslaved people, particularly in colonial Philadelphia, was the phrase "has had the smallpox and measles." Smallpox was a highly feared communicable disease that killed thousands and could leave survivors blind and scarred. It was also endemic in Philadelphia, where outbreaks occurred regularly and infections in a household could lead to weeks of isolation and quarantine. It was well known that survivors of the disease became relatively immune to re-infection. Having already had the disease, therefore, was a significant selling point. Like smallpox, measles was a deadly disease, particularly to children, and enslaved workers who had already suffered through it were therefore no threat to houshold children.
- Subscriber, the(e)
- Frequently used in advertisements and escape notices, the subscriber was the person placing and paying for the ad, and whose name appeared at the bottom of the ad. Usually, but not always, the subscriber was the owner of the enslaved person.
- This Country Born
- An enslaved person born in one of the original European colonies along the East Coast of the modern United States. This term was used to distinguish the enslaved person from someone born in Africa or the Caribbean, and was considered a positive attribute as it suggests a native-English speaker and a person used to the customs of the region.
- Town or Country Business
- A phrase frequently used in advertisements offering to sell enslaved persons, as in "fit for town or country business." This phrase simply means the advertised person is capable of performing house work in the city ("town") as well as farm chores ("country"). The specific chores would be sex appropriate. Women used as house slaves would be expected to do laundry, sew, clean the house, cook, tend the fire and perhaps watch children. Men used as house slaves would wait table, act as a butler, chop wood or haul coal for the fire, tend to any household horses stabled nearby, drive a carriage and perhaps work in the household business. Country business for men would include all of the work in raising crops and livestock, farm and mill maintenance and more. Women would be expected to do all the household chores mentioned above, plus tend to livestock, help with crops, and more.
- Wench
- Descriptive term used in advertisements, notices, documents and in general use typically in reference to an enslaved Black woman aged from pre-teen to middle age. It is a pejorative term, denoting subserviance, low social class and lack of standing or agency. For a detailed essay on the history of the term and how it came to extensive use in the North American slave trade, see Carissa Harris, "A History of the Wench: How a medieval word meaning 'servant' or 'child" evolved to become a racist slur, " ElectricLit, https://electricliterature.com/a-history-of-the-wench/ (Warning, discussion of adult themes and violence.)
- Yellow
- Informal descriptive term for a person of color descended from a mixture of white and Black parents and having light skin tones. The term is archaic and offensive in modern usage. See also the term "mulatto."
Clothing, Textiles and Fashion
- Breeches
- Knee-length pants worn by men and boys, usually rising somewhat above the hip and buttoned in front. Buckskin breeches became a popular garment in the mid-1700s. Breeches gradually gave way to the longer pantaloons by the end of the 1700s.
- Image credit: Leather breeches belonging to apprentice housewright working in Charlestown MA, circa 1793, leather, brass buttons - Concord Museum - Concord, MA. Daderot, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Broadcloth
- Dense, heavy fabric made of wool. It is woven to a width wider than needed, then fulled or milled to shrink the fibers tightly together. The result is a heavy, stiff, weather-resistant and durable fabric with a distinct smooth feel.
- Calamanco
- Glossy fabric made of worsted-spun wool, showing a textured pattern on one side, usually striped or checked, produced in the weave, used in clothing and bedcloathes. The glossiness set off the patterns and was achieved by pressing the fabric between hot rollers, a process known as "calendaring," or by pressing a stone over the surface of the fabric. Most calamanco fabric used in the American colonies was imported from England.
- Calico
- Medium strength and weight, smooth textured cotton fabric that is unbleached and undyed, generally used straight from the loom. It is usually a beige or creamy gray in color. it is named after the city of Calicut in India, where it originated. Calico clothing originated in Europe where working class women used cast-off calico tablecloths and other home linens to make cheap clothing.
- Castor Hat
- A broad-brimmed or tricorn hat made from beaver felt, utilizing the soft underfur of a beaver felt. They were water-resistant and sturdy.
- Image credit: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Chambray
- A lightweight plain weave cotton or linen fabric similar to but lighter and softer than denim. Typically light blue in color, usually used for worker's clothing. It is woven with a dyed warp yarn and a white weft yarn, giving it a characteristic lighter color.
- Chintz
- A sturdy and shiny cotton calico fabric imprinted with flower designs. The fabric was first produced in India in the 1600s and imported into Europe by the East India Company. It was later produced in English and French textile factories and exported to the Americas. The patterns, intricate floral designs over light colored fabric, were applied with a woodblock press, or painted by hand.
- Coatee
- A tight-fitting short coat, waist length at the front with short tails behind. Most commonly used as military dress.
- Drab
- Cloth made of undyed homespun wool, having a color somewhere between a dull olive-yellow brown to a dull light brown. The term could also refer to the color of the fabric itself.
- Duffel
- Heavy, coarse woolen cloth, typically used in the making of jackets, coats and bags. A duffel coat was a short, boxy, loose-hooded coat first manufactured in the Belgian town of Duffel and associated with sailors. Duffel coats or jackets typically fastened with rope and wood.toggles. Also spelled "duffil."
- Flannel
- Soft, woven woolen fabric originally made from carded or worsted wool that has been brushed to produce a nap on both sides, providing warmth. Used for many types of garments.
- Frieze
- A coarse, heavy woolen plain weave cloth with a nap, raised by rubbing and left unshorn, on one side. Often used for overcoats. Also spelled frize.
- Fustian
- A stout twilled fabric made by weaving a cotton weft and a linen or flax warp. The fabric gained its strength by using the strongest fiber in the warp, and cotton in the weft. Chiefly used for men's clothing.
- Gown
- A woman's full length, loose-fitting garment consisting of a bodice and full length skirt, typically open at the front and worn over a petticoat. Compare this with a shortgown.
- Kersey
- A coarse twill-woven fabric made from inferior quality wool that has been carded into a thick yarn. The fabric is fulled and napped, resulting in a sturdy, dense fabric that makes durable, weather-resistant warm clothing somewhat inferior to broadcloth.
- Linsey
- A coarse plain woven fabric made from linen or sometimes linen and cotton. The term was sometimes used to refer to linsey-woolsey (below)
- Linsey-Woolsey
- A coarse plain woven fabric made from a linen warp and a wool weft or sometimes a cotton warp with a wool weft. It was a cheap, heavy, durable, warm fabric popularly used as work clothes and heavily utilized due to a shortage of wool in the early colonies.
- Muslin
- A plain weave cotton fabric, commonly used for men's shirts. It could be bleached, unbleached or piece-dyed.
- Nankeen
- Durable cotton cloth produced from a pale yellow variety of cotton, or regular cotton cloth that is dyed a buff or pale yellow color. Typically used for trowsers. Nankeen fabric was originally cloth produced in and imported from Nanjing.
- Osnaburg
- Osnaburg was a coarse, durable plain weave fabric produced from unbleached and undyed flax or hemp. It was cheap and easily made and quite hard-wearing, so was used for work clothing for the poorest classes. Osnaburg was also made into sheeting, bags, mattress covers and more. It was identifiable by its coarse appearance and brown color. When mentioned in newspaper escaped notices, spellings varied considerably. The fabric originated in Osnabruck, Germany, but was also made in England for export to the American colonies.
- Pantaloons
- Tight-fitting pants worn by men, extending to the ankle and often buttoned down the leg. Frequently worn with boots. Pantaloons gradually replaced breeches in the late 1700s.
- Pea Jacket
- A close-fitting, double-breasted short to medium length coat of thick coarse wool, fulled for weather resistance and warmth. It was typically dark or navy blue or drab with oversized collars capable of being turned up to protect the ears and wide cuffs so that hands could be tucked into the other sleeve. Probably named for, pij, a heavy wool fabric first manufactured in the Netherlands in the 1700s. Pea jackets were developed for use by sailors in the frigid North Sea, in the 1700s.
- Roundabout
- A close-fitting jacket or coat buttoned down the front and cut short at the waist.
- Short Gown
- A utilitarian t-shaped gown with long, three-quarter or short sleeves, slightly longer than hip-length. Short gowns were typically cut from a single piece of fabric, including the arms. A working class or servant garment designed loose to allow for freedom of movement to perform house or farm work. Compare this with a gown.
- Surtout
- A style of men's overcoat with a fitted waist and flared skirt, worn over other coats (such as a waistcoat). From the French sur (over) and tout (all). Surtouts were typically of wool, anke-length (1700s), with a wide collar that could be turned up against the cold.
- Tow
- Tow cloth is made from the course flax fibers that remain after the straighter, softer fibers have been combed out to produce linen. It is durable and cheap and was used for working clothes.
- Waistcoat
- A man's close fitting, generally sleeveless garment with a turned-up collar, worn underneath a coat or jacket as both protection and ornamentation to the outer coat or jacket. Fabrics varied considerably, from fine expensive cloth to more utilitarian material.
- Image credit: Man’s waistcoat, possibly England, circa 1760. Cotton plain weave with cotton corded quilting (Marseilles quilting). Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
- Worsted
- A garment or cloth made of high-quality worsted wool yarn or worsted-spun wool. The process used long-staple wool from pastured sheep. The wool was washed, combed, oiled and spun so that the fibers lay parallel and the natural crimp of the wool fiber removed, producing a stronger and smoother fabric than ordinary woolens, which, using short-staple wool and having fewer spinning steps, were softer and bulkier. Worsted fabric was more suitable to tailoring.
Currencies
- Pistole
- Spanish gold coin used as a unit of exchange in Europe and the Americas in the 16th through 18th centuries. Pistoles were a frequent unit of exchange in Virginia in the early to mid-1700s. A pistole was worth two escudos, or a "double escudo," from which it became known as a doubloon.
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