At the close of that year I was sold to a Thomas Stanton, and had to be separated from my wife and one daughter, who was about one month old. He resided at Stonington-point. To this place I brought with me from my late master’s, two johannes, three old Spanish dollars, and two thousand of coppers, besides five pounds of my wife’s money. This money I got by cleaning gentlemen’s shoes and drawing boots, by catching musk-rats and minks, raising potatoes and carrots, etc., and by fishing in the night, and at odd spells. –A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, A Native of Africa, Venture Smith The excerpt describes an experience in the life of Venture Smith, an African who was enslaved in the British colonies in the 1700s.
What do Smith’s experiences reveal about enslavement in North America?
Enslaved Africans were able to purchase their freedom.
Enslaved families could be torn apart and separated.
Enslaved Africans could sometimes open bank accounts.
Enslaved families were very much like indentured servants.