A Tale of Two Slaves: Loyalty and Disloyalty in Master and Slave Relationships in 18th-Century Boston

Compared to its southern counterpart, northern slavery is considered benign; Phillis Wheatley perhaps its quintessential specimen. Despite Wheatley singular status, the lives of her Boston enslaved contemporaries complicate such a portrait. This paper examines the relationship between Thomas Fleet, Sr. and Jr., the printers of the Boston Gazette, and their complex relationship with their bondservants.