Alles voor de vrede – de brieven van Boston Band tussen 1757 en 1763:
Who was Boston Band? In the oral tradition, he has been known and is highly valued as “progenitor”, resistance fighter, writing ex-slave and initiator of the peace. Boston arrived probably after the year 1749 in Suriname and died in 1766. In the mid-18th century, he became one of the leaders of rebellious slaves in Eastern Suriname.
He could read and write and bcame captain of the Maroons (runaway slaves). By his correspondence with the colonial rule in Suriname Boston has accomplished and shaped peace between that government and the Maroons in the east of the country. He wrote about eighteen letters, mostly addressed to the board in Paramaribo. Letters of Boston are unique, because they are written by a (former) slave in the mid-18th century, in a period in which the enslaved hardly wrote, sometimes it was even forbidden to learn how to read and write. These letters are of great significance in the historiography of slavery because very few written testimonials are provided from the period mentioned above.
It is extraordinary that events in the history of slavery and relationships with the slave owner or colonizer are also discussed from the perspective of a Maroon. The correspondence shows that in the period between 1757 and 1763 Boston has made its mark on the relationship between the board and runaway slaves in Suriname.
With the letters of Boston the perspective of a contemporary, former slave and Maroon itself, is added to the existing publications on the Maroon community. This book is only available in Dutch.
He could read and write and bcame captain of the Maroons (runaway slaves). By his correspondence with the colonial rule in Suriname Boston has accomplished and shaped peace between that government and the Maroons in the east of the country. He wrote about eighteen letters, mostly addressed to the board in Paramaribo. Letters of Boston are unique, because they are written by a (former) slave in the mid-18th century, in a period in which the enslaved hardly wrote, sometimes it was even forbidden to learn how to read and write. These letters are of great significance in the historiography of slavery because very few written testimonials are provided from the period mentioned above.
It is extraordinary that events in the history of slavery and relationships with the slave owner or colonizer are also discussed from the perspective of a Maroon. The correspondence shows that in the period between 1757 and 1763 Boston has made its mark on the relationship between the board and runaway slaves in Suriname.
With the letters of Boston the perspective of a contemporary, former slave and Maroon itself, is added to the existing publications on the Maroon community. This book is only available in Dutch.