sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underground_Railroad

                http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/en/article/underground-railroad/

 

The underground railroad was used during the 19th century, before the American civil war, by African American slaves who wanted to escape slavery. It led mainly to free states (states where slavery wasn’t legal) and Canada. It wasn’t actually underground nor a railroad but a network of secret routes and safe houses. The term underground was used because it was secret and it was called a railroad because they used railroad terminology as codes. Travelling on the underground railroad was very dangerous and not everyone made it to their destination. 

 

 

 

 

A map of the underground railroad network

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Symbols and codes

 

Terminology and symbols were adopted to mask the clandestine activities of the railroad and to avoid alerting owners of slaves.  The “conductors” were those who helped the slaves to escape during all their trip, they guided them along  different points of the Underground Railroad, using various ways of transportation over land or water. Some terms like “passengers”, “cargo”, “package” and “freight” were used to represent the escaped slaves. The passengers were delivered to safe houses called “stations” or “depots”. These temporary refuges could be, sometimes, identified by lanterns placed strategically in the front yard or by lit candles in their windows.

 

Guides and safe houses

 

The people who owned the safe houses were known as “Station masters”. They offered meals, cloths, a resting place and financial assistance to help them reach their next transfer point. Others volunteered as guides to lead the slaves between their stops. Those people were very brave and generous because they risked everything in order to help others.

 

 

 

 

              A safe house

 

 

 

 

Arrival

 

Around 30 000 to 40 000 Fugitives made it to their destinations. The majority settled in Ontario, then called Canada West, which led to the creation of many Black Canadian communities in Southern Ontario. A big group also went to Nova Scotia in villages like Africville and others near Halifax. Many slaves were disappointed when they arrived because life in Canada proved to be  harder than they thought. Racism was still very common and they had a hard time finding jobs since they had to compete with the European immigrants.