Day 5 / Thursday, July 12
We began our 5th day of this Chesapeake Journey at St. Mary’s College beneath a tree as educators discussing how we will impart this newly acquired knowledge to our students — raising questions of race, gender and equity as it relates to the historically rich sites of this experience.
Dr. Martin Sullivan & St. Mary's City statehouse
Click on any photo to enlarge
We temporarily tabled this discussion to continue our historical journey. We were joined by Dr. Sullivan — in a place where almost everything that once stood on the town lands from the 1600’s has disappeared — at least above ground. Dr. Martin Sullivan, executive director of St. Mary’s City, warmly greeted our group and energetically began an orientation of time and place explaining what we were seeing, especially the role of this historical college.
We continued with a lecture at St. Mary’s College from Dr. Henry Miller, Director of Archaeology. Dr. Miller gave a presentation entitled “The Atlantic World, Africa and Early Maryland,” fleshing out the story he has discovered from the evidence found within this historic ground. He began by speaking of the 15th-century slave trade. The numbers were quite staggering as he explained that out of the 10+ million slaves traded from West Africa during 1500–1850, 45% arrived in the Caribbean, 50% in South America, and 4% in British North America. It is this 4% that we struggle as teachers to accurately portray when we attempt to teach about slavery in a just, meaningful and compassionate manner in our classrooms.
Not only was this a lesson about slavery, but Dr. Miller also dispelled the myth that Maryland was founded by Lord Baltimore in 1634 purely for Catholic refuge. For it attracted all religions as a proprietary colony. He further explains that Maryland, looking to prosper from the fur trade, found the cash crop of tobacco to be more lucrative. This attracted settlers to Maryland, primarily single males between the ages of 14–25, as well as indentured servants (who were given freedom dues which consisted of corn, land, and farm equipment after four years of service).
Mathias de Sousa monument
As explained by Dr. Miller, the presence of Africans in this area is difficult to document, except for the minimal scattered cowry shells which give a small amount of physical evidence to signify their presence. One prominent figure to leave a legacy on this area was Mathias de Sousa, an Atlantic creole. He is said to be one of the indentured servants to arrive on the Ark. After serving his time as a servant, he then utilized his skills which included bartering, sailing, and interpreting language. In 1642, he became the first African American to vote in a North American legislature.
It was here that Dr. Miller continued to show, through his primary sources, the significant “change” as the legislature stated in 1664, that all Negroes and their children will be slaves for life with the exception of those who become baptized. Shortly after, in 1671, a new piece of legislation stated that no Negro could become Christian. Dr. Miller expertly connected time and place, filling in the gaps of primary sources with his archaeological findings.
Chesapeake Journey educators with the
Dove replica
Dr. Sullivan then led our group on a beautiful walking tour of St. Mary’s City that included a discussion of the monument to Sousa and a brief time aboard the replica of the Dove. Unfortunately our time here quickly came to an end. We returned to our bus for a journey to Sotterley Plantation in St. Mary’s County for a tour of the grounds, house, and slave quarter.
Sotterley Plantation mansion
Sotterley Plantation was home to many prominent families and over 90 enslaved people. While the Bowles, Platter, and Briscoe families lived a life of wealth and status with their luxurious living accommodations and finest linens, it was the enslaved population that kept plantation life going. They did this by working from sun up to sun down in the tobacco fields, filling massive hogsheads for sale, and performing other onerous tasks, like cleaning massive amounts of linens by hand. It was here, we found one of the oldest intact slave cabins dating back to the 1830’s, measuring 16’ x 18’, and housing up to 24 slaves. This plantation is now a working, hands-on, educational site depicting life during the 1840’s under the Briscoe family.
Original slave cabin at Sotterley Plantation
Hands-on history at Sotterley Plantation
We ended our day full circle by discussing teaching implications in a conference room in our Alexandria hotel. We then ventured out to a enjoy a scrumptious Italian dinner in Old Town Alexandria with Henry Wiencek, author of several books, including George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America, in preparation for Day 6. Our journey continues, the knowledge accumulates, and the group is bonding!
Jasper learns a trade at Sotterley Plantation
—MONICA JETT AND AMY ROOSE
Click here for a gallery of more photos from Day 5.
A Chesapeake Journey: From Slavery to Freedom