This is the story of a mother and daughter in Maryland who became trapped in a perpetuating cycle of indenture and transgression.
VIEW
This 1522 illustration of the horrors of the "encomienda" system highlights the way women and children were particularly vulnerable to abuse by their Spanish overlords.
VIEW
This document details the trial of Jeane Gardiner, who was accused of witchcraft during the Bermuda hysteria of 1651–1655.
VIEW
This poem by Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz highlights the hypocrisy of gender relations in Spanish colonial society.
VIEW
This record of the slaving voyage of the English ship "James" contains records of women and girls who endured the brutalities of the Middle Passage.
VIEW
The first patent issued to an English colonist was for a new invention created by Philadelphian inventor Sybilla Masters. The patent was filed under her husband’s name because women could not be legally recognized.
VIEW
The story of the enslaved Native woman who acted as the primary interpreter for Hernan Cortés during his conquest of the Aztec Empire.
VIEW
This digging stick illustrates Native women’s role in the development of North American crops and agricultural practices.
VIEW
This story documents how the Native market women of colonial Quito fought in court to preserve their rights.
VIEW
Excerpts from the French legal code governing enslaved people that deal specifically with enslaved women and reproduction.
VIEW