At the start of 1750, a total of twenty three enslaved men, women and children lived at Philipsburg Manor. Four of these individuals were listed as men not fitt for work. (sic.).
When we think about slavery in America, many of us think it was limited to the South. Throughout most of the 1700s, however, slavery was legal in all thirteen colonies. By 1750, the enslaved population of New York City was second only to Charleston, South Carolina. The Akan, B’Kongo, Coromantine, Vili and Ibo people were as present in New York as the Dutch, English, Huguenot, Scottish and Germans. What aspects of these African cultures survived the centuries and how did these various cultures come together to form a community? You are an archaeologist. You are interested in finding out about the everyday lives of enslaved Africans at a Philipsburg manor house in colonial New York1. The Manor is located the historic Hudson Valley, New York, dating to 1693, and served as a plantation and headquarters for a trade operation of goods including the trade of slaves. Philipsburg Manor of the 1750s was more of a commercial enterprise than a residence. At its peak, the manor was farmed by hundreds of tenant farmers who paid rent to the Philipse family. In addition to African slaves, records suggest that Philipsburg manor also had Indian slaves during its earliest period of occupation. At the start of 1750, a total of twenty three enslaved men, women and children lived at Philipsburg Manor. Four of these individuals were listed as men “not fitt for work.” (sic.) More than a third of the enslaved population at Philipsburg Manor consisted of children under ten years old. The original property was over 50,000 acres along the eastern shore of the Hudson River; however, only the main house and surrounding acres have been preserved as an historical site today. Luckily, due to the fact that the site has been designated a National Historic Landmark, there has been little modern construction or destruction of the main house and its surroundings which include a barn, a water powered mill and stables. Your research of historical documents has suggested that the slave residences would have been located near the main house, thus, they should be preserved on the historic site (although the documents do not say exactly where they were located and there are no visible traces left on the surface). You want to conduct archaeological investigations at this site to learn about the everyday lives of enslaved peoples in New York. Write a proposal to a granting organization to obtain funding for a research project. Be sure to include ALL of the following sections in your grant proposal: 1. Questions: Come up with TWO research questions that you will seek to answer with your research. Be sure to justify why your questions are significant/important. (HINT: Be specific is the overall theme of the project, NOT a 2. Hypotheses: What are your hypotheses for each question? (Remember a hypothesis is a provisional explanation that can be falsified). What evidence would you need to find in order to support your hypotheses? What evidence would falsify your hypotheses? 3. Methods: A. What kind of sampling strategy will you use and why? B. How will you locate the slave residences? C. What kind of excavation techniques will you employ and why? D. What kinds of evidence will you collect? 4. Analysis: What analytical techniques will you use and why?
