Thread by @ABLACKPEOPLESH1

Enslaved Teenager Diana Bastian of Nova Scotia
Warning: Disturbing Content
 
📜 a thread...

Bastian lived most of her life as a slave in obscurity but entered historical consciousness as a result of her rape, pregnancy, and subsequent death.

We can learn of Bastian’s tragic story because of a brief burial-record document inserted in the St. George’s Anglican Church’s burial registry in Sydney. Her story tragically evidences the vulnerability of enslaved African Canadian Black women.

Bastian was just 15 years old in 1792 when she was raped by George More, a member of the Governing Council of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Though Bastian begged for assistance during the resultant pregnancy, More denied her such aid and cast her aside.

Bastian further appealed to More's brother, a local magistrate, who also denied Bastian any help, and Bastian died giving birth to the twins More sired.
 
Bastian's brief and tragic history is told in her death certificate recorded at the St. George's Anglican Church, Sydney.

This document brings to light the story of racial and sexual abuse on the Canadian frontier. Her story helps us to understand the marginal status of Black women's lives in colonial Canada and the catastrophic impact the systems of power and privilege had on their bodies.

📖 References:
☛ files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ116…
 
📷 Image Credits: d3d0lqu00lnqvz.cloudfront.net/media/study_gu…
 
#DianaBastian #Slavery #PowerStructure #BlackHistoryMonth #BlackHistory #BlackExcellence #BHM #Love #BLM

#BlackHistoryMonthCanada #CelebratingBlackHeritage #HonouringBlackLeaders #CanadaRecognizesBlackHistory #BlackCanadiansMakingHistory #BlackExcellenceInCanada #AfricanCanadianLegacies #BlackHistoryMonth2023 #RememberingBlackCanadianStruggles #CanadaPaysTributeToBlackHistory