Bound by Bondage

Slavery and the Creation of a Northern Gentry (New Netherland Institute Studies)

By: Nicole Saffold Maskiell

Narrated by: Stephanie S.

During the first generations of European settlement in North America, a number of interconnected Northeastern families carved out private empires. In Bound by Bondage, Nicole Saffold Maskiell argues that slavery was a crucial component to the rise and enduring influence of this emergent aristocracy. Dynastic families built prestige based on shared notions of mastery, establishing sprawling manorial estates and securing cross-colonial landholdings and trading networks that stretched from the Northeast to the South, the Caribbean, and beyond. The members of this elite class were mayors, governors, senators, judges, and presidents, and they were also some of the largest slaveholders in the North.

Using original research drawn from archives across several continents in multiple languages, Maskiell expertly traces the origin of these private familial empires back to the founding generations of the Northeastern colonies and follows their growth to the eve of the American Revolutionary War. Maskiell reveals a multiracial Early America, where enslaved traders, woodsmen, millers, maids, bakers, and groomsmen developed expansive networks of their own that challenged the power of the elites, helping in escapes, in trade, and in simple camaraderie.

The book is published by Cornell University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

"Offers a sweeping view of networks of power and wealth created by slaveholding and slave trading in early America." (Thomas A. Chambers, Canisius College)

"Ambitious and eye-opening...changes how we understand slavery in New Netherland and New York." (Susanah Shaw Romney, New York University)

"Nicole Saffold Maskiell skillfully brings into sharp focus the enslaved women, men, and children owned by elite Dutch families." (Marisa J. Fuentes, Rutgers University)

©2022 Cornell University (P)2025 Redwood Audiobooks

Well Researched, Super Informative, Easy Listening

Dr. Maskiell...well done! This was an incredible resource for African American, Native American and U.S. colonial history as well as the various countries involved in the slave trade. With references to historical texts and academic experts, I walked away with a better understanding of the family surnames that I often reference on a daily basis as locations and cities. The narrator also kept up the momentum and used accurate pronunciations. I look forward to listening to another book by this professor!