Freedom Status

Freedom status transaction

An event in which an enslaved person is part of a transaction that changes their status or ownership

Freedom status transaction: Dispute

An event in which there is a dispute over an enslaved person’s freedom status

Freedom status transaction: Emancipation

An event in which an enslaved person is freed by an order of a state

Freedom status transaction: Enslavement

An event in which a person’s status changes from free to enslaved

Freedom status transaction: Exchange

An event in which an enslaved person is exchanged for another enslaved person or goods by a free person who has control over them

Freedom status transaction: Manumission

An event in which an enslaved person is freed by an owner(s)

  • Usage: Use this event type when evidence of a person’s manumission comes from sources other than legal documents. For example, a biographical account of an enslaved person’s life recounts that the person was manumitted by their enslaver at a certain age. If there are official legal documents related to the manumission such as a certificate of freedom, use the Legal: Manumission event type.

  • Rationale:

Freedom status transaction: Purchase [Deprecated March 16, 2022, v0.9.2]

An event in which an enslaved person is purchased by a free person or an organization

  • Usage:

  • Rationale: This event type was deprecated in favor of using Freedom status transaction: Sale for all such transactions.

Freedom status transaction: Sale

An event in which an enslaved person is sold by their owner(s)

Freedom status transaction: Transfer

An event in which ownership or control of an enslaved person is transferred from one entity to another

  • Usage: Examples of this event: transfer of ownership of an enslaved person through a bequest upon the death of the enslaver; seizure of an enslaved person by the court as a result of bankruptcy proceedings or a lawsuit against the enslaver; Patriots capturing and seizing an enslaved person from a Loyalist enslaver during the Revolutionary War. Do not use this event type when an enslaved person is sold from one enslaver to another; instead use Freedom status transaction: Sale.

  • Rationale:

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