ABSTRACT
This chapter explores enslaved individuals’ experiences with criminal justice and social in 1730’s Curaçao. By studying court cases against enslaved individuals and local ordinances, this article sheds light on the daily lives of enslaved inhabitants of Curaçao and their experiences with colonial authorities. Enslaved people resisted or adjusted to repression of the colonial authorities by breaking and bending the rules and mitigating their position. The colonial elite responded with more repression and social control This chapter distinguishes three areas of repression: mobility, thievery, and violence. Criminal justice was employed as a means to enforce the racial hierarchy and maintain the slavery system on Curaçao. Lastly, this chapter discusses indication of the existence of an African-Creole jurisdiction on Curaçao.
