Newspaper-Brokered Slave Trade Advertisements in North America, 1704-1807

Newspapers and newspaper printers played a crucial role in brokering the sales of enslaved people in eighteenth-century North America. This dataset collects information from more than 2,100 newspaper advertisements that document printers’ involvement in trafficking thousands of enslaved people. It extends from 1704, when the first long-running newspaper was published in North America, through 1807, after which the transatlantic slave trade officially ended and gradual abolition schemes in the north meant that the internal slave trade shifted slowly to the South. The dataset is useful for those interested in newspaper printers’ involvement in the internal slave trade, as well as particular transactions involving enslaved people. It includes available information about the subjects of each advertisement, as well as the terms of sale or transfer proposed by the advertiser.

18世纪北美地区，报纸与报纸印刷商在黑奴贩卖经纪活动中发挥了关键作用。本数据集收录了超过2100条报纸广告信息，这些广告记录了印刷商参与贩运数千名黑奴的相关情况。该数据集的时间跨度为1704年至1807年：1704年北美首份长期发行的报纸创刊，1807年之后，跨大西洋奴隶贸易正式终止，同时北方各州逐步推进的废奴方案使得国内奴隶贸易逐渐向南转移。本数据集对于关注报业印刷商参与国内奴隶贸易，以及涉及黑奴的具体交易的研究者具有较高参考价值。数据集包含每条广告所涉被贩卖者的可获取信息，以及广告发布方提出的售卖或转让条款。