"Freedom" is one of the overarching themes of Atlantic History. Particularly when turning to the Americas, many narratives depict freedom as an ultimate goal that, even if unachievable, guided people’s lived experiences. This is even true for those accounts that are not optimistic or recognize freedom as a linear or expeditious process.

There is, however, not always a lot of attention to what freedom means, what it meant in different times and places, and how different people understood it. For example, we can think of freedom largely as not being forced to work against one’s will for the benefit of others. We can also think of it as civil and legal rights or social inclusion in society. Depending on the historical context, all, some, or none of these meanings can make sense.

Just like the concept of and the ideas behind freedom have been fluid and relational, "Atlantic slavery" is no monolith either. With dramatic variations in place and time, and often fundamentally different experiences for the enslaved, the plural “slaveries” is but a first try to stress the diverse shapes that institutions and processes of slavery took in Africa, Europe, and the Americas. 

In this vein, and in sync with the primary research agenda of the BCDSS, this working group aims to move beyond the confines of the conceptual binary opposition "slavery/freedom."  We will do so by, first, considering slavery and freedom not as antithetical but rather as intertwined and mutually constitutive. We are therefore interested in examining how historical actors mobilized certain language, ideas, and ideologies, and to which ends.

Second, we propose that "slavery" and "freedom"—regardless of the discussions about their definition and meanings—might not fully capture the struggles of the people who have been subjected to forced labor, violence, and exploitation in the Atlantic region. This motivates us to look for other concepts and methods to raise new questions (and answers) to better understand their experiences and to learn how freedom and slavery (including its legacies) impacted other forms of coercion and asymmetrical dependencies.

If you like to participate, please contact Pia Wiegmink and/or Viola Müller.