Demographics: Slave Owner - Enslaver

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Individuals in the Dutch Colonial system could own slaves.     The enslaved people could be sold or bequeathed to others upon the death of the owner.     Manumission was  potentially a way out of enslavement, but often involved some kind of compensation to the enslaver either in a single payment or a series of payments, or an agreement to perform work for pay whenever requested.   

Slaveholders were expected  to provide clothing and food for enslaved people along with housing.   But given the very small houses in New Amsterdam, this was often a very cramped attic or cellar space.   See Andrea Mosterman's book Spaces of Enslavement  for a careful examination of the subject of housing.