Slavery in Canada and the United States: A Comparative Analysis
The history of slavery in North America is often discussed through the lens of the United States, where plantation slavery shaped the economy, politics, and social structure of the nation. However, slavery was also a significant institution in what is now Canada. While Canadian slavery was smaller in scale and differed in economic organization, it nevertheless formed part of a broader Atlantic system of forced labor and racial exploitation. Comparing slavery in Canada and the United States reveals important similarities and differences in legal frameworks, economic functions, demographics, resistance movements, abolition processes, and long-term legacies. The common perception of Canada as merely a refuge for enslaved African Americans through the Underground Railroad obscures the reality that slavery existed in Canadian territories for more than two centuries. Meanwhile, slavery in the United States developed into one of the largest and most profitable systems of human bondage...