An Overseer Doing His Duty Near Fredericksburg, Virginia, ca. 1798.

An Overseer Doing His Duty Near Fredericksburg, Virginia, ca. 1798.

This watercolour painting showcases an overseer supervising two enslaved women as they work on a plantation. Although the scene takes place in Virginia, it somewhat reflects the labour performed by enslaved Black Canadians. They carried out similar tasks, including fieldwork, tending to livestock, and supporting farming estates owned by white families. However, the work of early Canadian Black folks bore quite a few differences with that of the rest of the Americas: not only did slave owners often rely on children to carry out labour, but that labour was also largely domestic, mainly due to the harsh winters that did not allow for year-round farmwork.

This image serves as a visual reference for the labour systems that did exist in Canada, as its calm appearance hides the reality of control and constant surveillance that shaped the lives of early enslaved Black folks.

Benjamin Latrobe

Latrobe, Benjamin Henry. An Overseer Doing His Duty near Fredericksburg, Virginia. Watercolour, ca. 1798. Maryland Historical Society. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Un_surveillant_faisant_son_travail_pr%C3%A8s_de_Fredericksburg_en_Virginie,_vers_1798.jpg

Maryland Historical Society via Wikimedia Commons

1798

Public Domain

Watercolour Painting