TO MY FATHER

     IT is the purpose of this study to bring to light a hitherto neglected phase of early American history: the enslavement of the Indians. The extensiveness of negro slavery in comparison with Indian slavery has so emphasized the former that, in the study of the institution in general, the existence of Indian slavery during the colonial period has almost entirely been lost sight of. In this discussion it is shown that the enslavement of the natives was practiced by the Indians themselves, the Spanish, the French and the English; yet in the case of no one of the European nations did it exist as a system separate and distinct from negro slavery. Though the holding of Indians as slaves by three of the European nations has been considered, it is the author’s intention to lay emphasis chiefly upon the institution as practiced by the English.

     The fact that hitherto no special attention has been given to the subject of Indian slavery has made the gathering of material difficult. Many of the important sources treating of the subject have never been published and are widely scattered. Much of even this material is vague in nature and consequently more or less unsatisfactory. The rapid increase in the number of negro slaves during the colonial period resulted in the general use of such terms as “slaves,” “negroes and other slaves” and “negroes,” without specification of Indian slaves as such. This is true particularly of the colonial laws, even in the case of those colonies where Indian slavery existed to the greatest extent.

     The author desires to express his indebtedness to Mrs.

N. M. Surrey for her generous permission to use manuscript material collected in the southern states; to the librarians and their assistants of the Massachusetts Historical Society, the New York Historical Society, the Pennsylvania Historical Society, and the Maryland Historical Society, for their many kindnesses; and to Professor Herbert L. Osgood, of Columbia University, for his advice and for the use of extracts from the records of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The author’s most sincere thanks are due to Professor William R. Shepherd, of Columbia University, under whose guidance this work has been carried on. His suggestions and criticisms have been invaluable, and he has given unsparingly of his time in reading both manuscript and proof.

ALMON W. LAUBER

NEW YORK CITY, MARCH 15, 1913.

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