Unnamed, 1710
The earliest document in this collection to reference an enslaved individual dates to 1710 (pictured below). The original is in Dutch.
“Received by means of a quittance from Jakobes Lisnard for Mr. R[---]
paid to him by Hugo Frer
being the sum of 52 pont stucken
as Payment for A certain negro
bought from Barent Reynders by
Huge freer. Kinghstone [sic] 1710 July 2
J Hardenbergh”
Barent uses the money earned from selling this unnamed human to Hugo, to pay off his debts.
We want to know the name of this individual, whether it was their own name or a name given to them by enslavers. Were they male or female? Did they have family or children they were separated from?
In this case, we cannot answer these questions. To these men, this transaction would have been no different than selling chattel. It made no difference whether they named the enslaved individual in this document or not. We cannot even keep track of the individual through other such documents. But where some documentation gives us a wealth of information from which to draw conclusions, the lack of information can also be very telling. This individual still has an important role in telling us about the treatment and perception of enslaved people.