Freedom on the Grand: The Paradox of Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)
- Equity Justice
- Nov 22, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Nov 10
The narrative of Black history in Brant County, Ontario, is a profound and complex tapestry that predates the more commonly cited stories of the Underground Railroad. It is a history that begins not with freedom, but with the legal institution of slavery in Upper Canada, deeply intertwined with the region's most prominent Indigenous and Loyalist figures.
To understand the foundations of the Black community in this region, one must first look to the establishment of the Haldimand Tract and the paradoxes of its founder, Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea).
The Founder and the Enslaved
Joseph Brant, the influential Mohawk military and political leader for whom the City of Brantford is named, is a central and complicated figure in this origin story. A close ally of the British during the American Revolution, Brant led the Haudenosaunee (Six Nations) Loyalists north to the Grand River Valley.
In 1784, as compensation for the lands the Haudenosaunee had lost in New York, Governor Frederick Haldimand granted a vast tract of land—the Haldimand Tract—to Brant and his followers.
However, when Joseph Brant and his followers arrived in the Grand River Valley, they brought with them the system of chattel slavery. Having been educated among colonists and allied closely with the British, Brant had adopted several Euro-American customs, including the economic and social practice of owning enslaved human beings.
Historical records indicate that Brant brought between 30 and 40 enslaved Black people with him from New York State. This group represented one of the largest, if not the largest, single slave-holdings in Upper Canada at the time.
These individuals were not free settlers; they were his property. They were forced to labor in his fields and in his home at his settlement on the Grand River. They also worked at his other large estate at Burlington Bay (present-day Burlington), building and maintaining his homestead, tending to crops, and serving his household. This history complicates the simple pioneer narrative, establishing that the Black presence in Brant County begins with a foundational, local history of enslavement—one tied directly to the region's namesake.
A Complicated Legacy of Land and Freedom
To close the loop on the region's complex origins, the legacy of Joseph Brant himself remains one of profound contradiction. Despite his role as a prominent slaveholder, historical accounts note that in later years, Brant also provided land and opportunity to some Black individuals.
His actions reveal a unique and complex socio-racial landscape:
Providing Sanctuary: Brant permitted some Freedom Seekers arriving from the United States to settle on Six Nations land.
Manumission and Grants: He engaged in manumission (the act of freeing an enslaved person) and granted land to some of his formerly enslaved confidants.
Specific Deeds: He gave land in West Brant to Sophia Pooley (discussed in our next post) and Prince Van Patter. He also deeded 200 acres on Bishopsgate Road to another relative, Elizabeth, and her husband John Morey, who had also been previously enslaved.
This figure—a slave-owning Indigenous leader who also provided land and sanctuary to other formerly enslaved people—sets Brant County's Black history apart. It reveals a foundational Black presence that was neither fully free nor fully enslaved, existing in a complex relationship of dependence and agency with both the colonial government and the Six Nations.
The Legacy Today: Facing a Complicated Past
What does this paradox mean for us today? It means that the Black history of Brant County is not separate from its founding; it is integral to it.
This history forces us to move beyond simple, celebratory narratives. We cannot honestly celebrate Joseph Brant as a founder without also acknowledging the 30 to 40 individuals whose forced labor built his estates. Their presence, their work, and their stories are a foundational part of Brantford's very origin.
Understanding this complexity is central to the work we do. It is not about erasing heroes; it is about telling the whole, true story. We learn that history is messy, and that the path to a more just community requires us to confront these uncomfortable truths.
To carry on a legacy of "change for the better," we must give voice to those who were silenced. We must acknowledge that the resilience and contributions of enslaved individuals like Sophia Pooley are as fundamental to the story of this region as the political achievements of the leaders who enslaved them. This is the honest, unfiltered history we are committed to rediscovering and sharing new perspectives on.
Sources:
Brantford's Black History :: The Story of Joseph Brant - Unite Against Hate! (https://www.uniteagainsthate.ca/blogs/brantfordblackhistory/the-story-of-joseph-brant)
City of Brantford celebrates Black History Month – February 2021 (https://www.brantford.ca/en/city-of-brantford-celebrates-black-history-month-february-2021.aspx)
"Thayendanegea (Joseph Brant)" - Dictionary of Canadian Biography. (http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/thayendanegea_5E.html)
"Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea)" - The Canadian Encyclopedia. (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/joseph-brant)
"Slavery in Canada" - The Canadian Encyclopedia. (https://www.google.com/search?q=https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/slavery-in-canada)
Hill, Daniel G. The Freedom-Seekers: Blacks in Early Canada. Toronto: Stoddart, 1992. (via Library and Archives Canada / University collections)
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