Date: Tuesday, October 21, 2025
Time: 7:00 pm (EDT) - 8:30 pm (EDT)
North Slavery in Colonial America
We tend to think of slavery as a labor system that was confined to the American South. But it turns out that that’s not the full story. Slavery was also a fact of life in many northern colonies before the American Revolution. Northern slavery was never as widespread or as essential to the economy as it was in the south, but it was there nonetheless. What did it look like? What forms did it take? And what forms of resistance to it were possible? Quite a few, actually. In fact, in 1741 white New Yorkers thought they’d discovered a slave plot in their city – a plot to burn down Manhattan’s houses, rape its white women, and kill its white masters.
The Historic Annapolis 2025 Virtual Lecture Series is offered free of charge thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor. If you enjoy this program, we hope you will consider becoming a member or making a donation today to support Historic Annapolis and our mission to connect all people with our shared history.
Cost: FREE
About the Presenter
Dr. Richard Bell is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland and author of the new book Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home. He has won more than a dozen teaching awards, including the University System of Maryland Board of Regents Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, the highest honor for teaching faculty in the Maryland state system. He has held major research fellowships at Yale, Cambridge, and the Library of Congress and is the recipient of the National Endowment of the Humanities Public Scholar award. He serves as a Trustee of the Maryland historical Society, as an elected member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and as a fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
This lecture will be offered virtually by Zoom. Upon registration, you will be sent the link for the video conference to join on the evening of the lecture. If you do not receive your confirmation email after you register, please check your Spam folder, or email Cara Garside at cara.garside@annapolis.org. To learn more about Zoom and to download the app to your computer, visit the Zoom website.
Can’t watch live? All lectures will be recorded. Please register and you’ll receive the link to watch the recording after the event.
Time: 7:00 pm (ET) (pre-registration required; registration closes at 6:30pm)