
In the Swamps, Archaeologists Are Finding How Fugitive Slaves Kept Their Freedom - benbreen
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/deep-swamps-archaeologists-fugitive-slaves-kept-freedom-180960122?no-ist
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spraak
I understand the context, but 'fugitive slaves' bothers me.

I'd like to think more in terms of 'people who escaped slavery', as no one is
inherently a slave - it is only a condition forced by someone else, and so a
'fugitive' is too from the perspective of a slave master.

If someone were held in slavery, then escaped into hiding, and then slavery
were abolished, would they still be responsible for their 'crime'?

It is written that 'slaves were captured from west Africa' (not in this
article, but in general topics about slavery) - No! PEOPLE were captured and
ENSLAVED.

It's a simple change in how things are phrased.

Edit: I'm being highly pedantic for a reason. The way we phrase ideas and use
language shapes how we feel about something. If we can feel a more human
connection to these events, I believe we can have more empathy.

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djtriptych
They were fugitives under the law at the time. Just as someone who escapes
prison today is a fugitive. I think it's a useful term, reflecting the law of
that time (and hopefully reminding us of our capacity to create legal
oppression).

I'm sure there are fugitives today who committed "crimes" that some of us
don't find objectionable at all.

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spraak
Right, like I said:

> I understand the context, ...

So yes, at the time. But why do you think it is a useful term, when 'people
who escaped from slavery', while not as succinct, communicates both the
original situation AND the modern moral considerations?

> I'm sure there are fugitives today who committed "crimes" that some of us
> don't find objectionable at all.

That's what I mean - as I mentioned, I'm being very pedantic here for a
specific reason.

I don't advocate ignoring the situation of the past, but amending our current
speech.

~~~
Bluestrike2
The article references the use of term 'maroons', despite its nastier
historical origin in the Spanish _cimarrón_ , "meaning feral livestock,
fugitive slave or something wild and defiant."

That said, I think the term 'fugitive' in this context has multiple layers of
meaning. It's more than just about their legal status and the moral
implications of it; to exist as a 'fugitive' was to very much live a very
unique existence. In that sense, it's very much a point on how they chose to
live their lives. They could have considered moving north, or even further up
into Canada. For those who had escaped while it was in operation, they could
have embraced the Underground Railroad and used the aid of white abolitionists
and other freed blacks who ran it. Far too many wouldn't have made it, though
many others would have. Not that I believe for an instant that it would have
stopped them: to escape was to embrace an incredible risk.

Instead, they chose to create their own communities right in the seemingly
inhospitable heart of the territory that had held them in bondage, and they
did it on their own. For slaveowners and the whites who supported slavery,
that had to be a terrifying realization: it challenged all of their
preconceived little notions about their own superiority. These weren't the
simple-minded cattle their would-be owners believed them to be; they were men
and women and children capable of creating a life of their own in wilderness
and swamps filled with challenges that others steered clear of. It was very
much an act of fierce resistance. It's no wonder that most of the written
references to maroons were so tinged with a sort of a paranoia. It was
probably one of those hidden little secrets everyone knew about, but tried so
very desperately to pretend otherwise.

The label 'maroon' might have been used disparagingly originally, but I think
it's a term that many would have embraced if we could ask them. Their lives
were harsh, but they were fully their own: they didn't just escape slavery,
but built up communities and lives that defied it with every breath they took.
And in the backyards of the very people who sought to see them brought to
heel. They certainly knew what the white world outside the swamps thought of
them. They just didn't give a damn. As odd as it might sound to our ears,
lacking the experiences that shaped their decisions, to be a 'fugitive slave'
living as a maroon was very much a lifestyle. And what a remarkable, self-
actualizing one at that.

It's a terrible loss that so little of their story is known today.

~~~
spraak
Thanks for sharing your perspective!

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gallamine
I've spent all of my life driving through this swamp to visit the Outer Banks
of NC for summer vacations. It's a beautiful, dreadful area. I knew it was a
refuge for American soldiers during the American Revolutionary War, but I
didn't know about the history of fugitive slaves there.

It's nearly impossible to imagine a life knowing you couldn't leave your
island-in-a-swamp for risk of being hunted like an animal.

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was_boring
Archaeology is one of those sciences that is desperate need of attention from
CS. While there have been many advances, they (generally speaking) are still
at least 10 years behind the technology curve and lack the knowledge required
to really leverage the advances that have come.

The entire field is ripe for the picking for cross collaboration of people who
can bring technical skills to "big data" and other problems.

~~~
jdavis703
Can you elaborate more on specific scenarios you've seen where big data or CS
techniques would improve research? I've always thought of archaeology and
history as being more anecdotal endeavours, which might indicate a certain
ignorance of these fields on my end.

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Joof
Took an archaeology into once and it's pretty clear they do analysis on all
types of data. All artifacts are collected and meticulously tested for a
variety of things, soil samples are taken and so on.

Some poorly informed ideas: Artifacts of various make and size could be placed
in history and culture by neural networks. We could guess the locations of
undiscovered sites.

We could also analyze cultural trends in cultural anthropology and relate
cultures to each other.

Socially speaking, a prof of mine studied African American representations in
media and sentiment analysis on images could have helped him sift through that
data.

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jaredandrews
Very interesting article, I had heard nothing about this previously. I am
going to be in N.C. sometime soon, I will have to add the swamp to my
destination list.

I was recently thinking about what my life would be like if I grew up in
Europe in the Middle Ages. Statistically, it is likely that I would have had a
poor, unsatisfying life (maybe this interpretation is incorrect?). But lets
say I somehow processed the same attitude that I do today, I almost certainly
would have disapeared into the vast wilderness.

From what I could tell though not many made that choice. But perhaps they just
weren't documented? Is there a term for these "off the grid" societies that
have existed throughout time? I would certainly like to learn more about
them...

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cmarschner
Statistically, if you were dropped in a random country today, you would still
likely lead a poor, unsatisfying life.

~~~
wineisfine
Many "poor" people, not necessarily have an unsatisfing life. Take some random
tribe in South America: poor yes, but very likely to be happy

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threepipeproblm
The Great Dismal Swamp, the Fire Swamp, and the Bog of Eternal Stench... great
swamps in history.

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vorotato
Is hacker news just a general news site or a programming/tech site?

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rdtsc
Why do you ask? Do you want it to be one, the other or just curious?

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vorotato
Mostly curious, and I got my answer and it only cost a few rep :P.

