WashingtonPapers FALL 2017 Slavery in Barbados and Virginia A Cross-Cultural Exchange Lynn Price, ASSISTANT EDITOR George Washington became a slaveholder at age 11 when he inherited relied on imports such as livestock, foodstuffs, and lumber, many 10 slaves upon the death of his father, Augustine Washington, of which were supplied by Virginia traders. In return, Virginians and he continued to own slaves throughout his life. However, his imported slaves from the island. The economic connection between views regarding the peculiar institution evolved over time, and in the colonies later prompted thousands of Barbadians to migrate to his will, he promised to free his slaves upon Martha’s death. Virginia, where land could be obtained more readily. The emigrants comprised substantial numbers of As a 19-year-old, George traveled to slaveholders and slaves, who brought Barbados with his half brother Lawrence. their ideas and customs with them.1 Although his surviving diary of the experience does not explicitly discuss The sugar revolution in Barbados slavery on the island, his encounters demanded a steady workforce, leading with slavery there likely brought to the island to become the first English- view a higher level of brutality than American colony to replace indentured he had witnessed in Virginia. servants with African slaves. It gained a reputation as a harsh environment By the time of George Washington’s for the enslaved.2 For plantation owners, birth, Virginia had been settled by on the other hand, Barbados became Britain for 125 years. Soon after its a highly profitable venture, earning the colonization, Virginia began growing Washington at Mount Vernon, status of Britain’s most valuable colony. and exporting tobacco to England as lithograph by Nathanial Currier (1852). Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association. Even as the much larger island of part of a plantation-based economy. Jamaica surpassed Barbados in sugar Barbados, meanwhile, had been production in 1720, the industry continued to thrive, as did the colonized by Britain in 1625 and quickly became a vital trading institution of slavery.3 Virginia—with a climate that precluded partner of Virginia. While the island’s tropical climate was favorable sugar production—remained a tobacco colony and, like Barbados, to the tobacco and cotton industries, the low market value of such transitioned from indentured servants to slaves. exports led planters to switch to higher value sugar production in the 1640s. With the assistance of Dutch entrepreneurs, Barbados Barbados influenced slavery in Virginia. In 1661, the island soon built a prosperous sugar industry. government passed an “Act for the Better Ordering and Governing of Negroes,” making Barbados the first English colony to extensively With sugar as the predominant crop, land in Barbados became scarce for other endeavors.To fulfill additional needs, residents Continued on page 10. Always Moving Forward The Woman in the Shadows An Interview with a Martha Washington Interpreter Katie Blizzard, COMMUNICATIONS SPECIALIST Katharine McEnery Pittman, COLONIAL WIILLIAMSBURG INTERPRETER With the anticipated end dates for The Papers of George Washington, edition of her papers. As of now, transcription is complete, and Following the death of George Washington, Martha burned her Katharine McEnery Pittman dressed as Martha Washington. the Martha Washington Papers, and the Family Papers projects editors are deep into annotation. correspondence with him, effectively casting herself into the shadow Courtesy of Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. on the horizon, we are planning for the future. The Center for of her famous husband. Katharine McEnery Pittman, a first-person We continue to engage with the public by sharing our historical Digital Editing, led by senior editor Jennifer Stertzer, continues to historical interpreter of Martha Washington at Colonial Williamsburg, insights. Some of these efforts have garnered widespread recognition. bring projects together, ensuring that the talent and expertise is helping to shed light once again on Martha. Communications For example, a link from The Oatmeal website to a Washington cultivated at The Washington Papers and beyond are not lost. specialist Katie Blizzard recently spoke with Pittman. Papers blog post resulted in more than 60,000 online hits for us You have to find a way to answer this in character but give all due Already, collaborations have been organized with more than 20 in two days. And a blog post about the Hartford Conference— . respect to the person you’re talking about. It’s a very fine line. different organizations (see page 12). a November 1780 event overshadowed by Benedict Arnold’s Katie Blizzard: What do you wish more people knew about KB: Has Martha rubbed off on you? Meanwhile, work on The Papers of George Washington carries on. treachery—received praise from National Archivist David Ferriero. Martha Washington? KMP: Definitely. When you interpret a character, you have to Volume 25 of the Revolutionary War Series will be published in These efforts would not be possible without the generosity of Katharine McEnery Pittman: I wish people knew more about her find some similarities with them in order to find their humanity. the fall. A single-volume edition of the diary Washington kept on our donors and funding institutions. We invite you to read the involvement behind the scenes. She was so effective in her constant I’ve found that Martha is a fiercely loyal and protective person, his journey to Barbados, his only travel beyond the shores of the complete donors list on page 9. We are deeply grateful for support and assistance to Washington: going to every single winter at least in my interpretation of her. That’s something I am as North American continent, is anticipated in the spring of 2018. camp, going to the presidency, establishing what that role of the the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities, well. Especially now having my son, I understand on a new level Two other volumes are currently under editorial review: First Lady is. And yet, she was never asked if she wanted any of it. the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, Martha’s motherly instincts. Presidential Series volume 20 (the penultimate volume in that series) Many people talk about Washington’s duty to his country, but the Packard Humanities Institute, the Mount Vernon Ladies’ KB: Any final comments? and Revolutionary War Series volume 26. Work is under way on Martha’s duty to her country was just as fierce as his. Association, the Florence Gould Foundation, and the University KMP: I encourage people to come and talk to us [historical volumes 27 through 29 of the latter series. KB of Virginia. Thank you! : Are there any liberties you have to take in order to make interpreters]. Oftentimes, especially when interpreting in first- . The Martha Washington Papers project also is progressing Martha accessible today? person, I think people can’t quite wrap their heads around steadily. The team, which is preparing as comprehensive a Above KMP: I’ve noticed a lot of questions about slavery and Martha’s what we’re doing. But if people really would immerse themselves volume as possible, has found more than 80 letters to and from Cameo portrait of Martha Washington, perspective on it, especially recently. One of the trickiest things for into what we’re saying, it can give such a different perspective created with ivory, gold, and mother-of-pearl (c. 1830–1870). me is that Martha was a typical eighteenth-century woman. But to Martha that were missing from the only other documentary on this time, that a history book could not even begin to scratch Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. answer [in that way] would come off sounding harsh and racist. the surface on. THE WASHINGTON PAPERS IN THE NEWS ■ Managing editor William M. Ferraro reviewed ■ A May 2017 comic strip from website The come to include teeth from his slaves CONTACT NEWSLETTER CREDITS Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, Fatal Sunday: George Washington, the Monmouth Oatmeal cited research specialist Kathryn challenges a core belief in his character. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Campaign, and the Politics of Battle, by Mark Gehred’s blog post “Did George Washington’s ■ MAILING ADDRESS EDITORS In a Feb. 22, 2017, article about George Princeton University Art Museum, Union Edward Lender and Gary Wheeler Stone, for false teeth come from his slaves?” The Oat- University of Virginia Katie Blizzard, Kim Curtis, Thomas E. Dulan, Washington’s medical history, The Washington Township Historical Society The Journal of American History. meal used Gehred’s scholarship to help Post extensively quoted from a report about P.O. Box 400117 William M. Ferraro, Jane Haxby illustrate the psychological phenomenon ■ The Historian will feature assistant editor the possible causes of George Washington’s DESIGN known as the backfire effect, a reaction that Charlottesville, VA 22904-4117 PHOTOGRAPHY Lynn Price’s book review of The Washingtons death. The examination was a collaboration Anne Chesnut occurs when core beliefs are challenged. Atria Books, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, by Flora Fraser. The Historian is a quarterly between University of Virginia physician 434.924.3569 TEL In this instance, consideration of how John Carter Brown Library, Library of PRINTER historical journal published by Phi Alpha White McKenzie Wallenborn and The George Washington’s dentures may have gwpapers.virginia.edu Congress, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mid Valley Press Theta. Washington Papers. 2 Washington Papers • Fall 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA Washington Papers • Fall 2017 | UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 3 Washington’s Farewell Address was no small undertaking—liter- An Introduction to ally years in the making—and it produced enough drafts, revisions, General Washington and chronologically challenging contributions to be confounding. Former senior editor David R. Hoth, who himself retired from The Presidential Series Washington Papers in February 2017, proved up to the challenge, Calls on the Militia of New Jersey Volume 20, April–September 1796 rearranging the pieces until a clear, coherent picture of the chronol- ogy of events emerged.