Once Mississippi joined the Union as a slave state, approximately 458 former slaves secured freedom there. Free Black persons in Mississippi, however, faced violent “and increasingly restrictive laws and attitudes” that pushed many to journey elsewhere. Additionally, Mississippi implemented numerous Black codes including anti free-Black laws and legislation that made it virtually impossible for any enslaved person to purchase or petition for their freedom.
In 1822, a set of key legislation was passed to return free people back to enslavement. While a few were given legal permissions to remain in the state, the Mississippi state law of 1822 required all free Black women, men, and children to leave the state at once and banned emigration. If they returned to Mississippi, they would be re-enslaved. Children born to free mothers or parents were allowed to petition for the purchase of their freedom, but only those approved by the state legislature could submit their petitions. These approvals often revolved around having state legislators appoint white “respectable freeholders” as their legal guardians.
It is not hard to acknowledge the various reasons that may have led this businesswoman to leave Mississippi and make her way to Mexico, particularly as the newly minted Mexican Republic had been consistently paving the road to the abolition of slavery since its establishment. By September 1829, freedom was legally available and easily accessible to Black women, men, and children who arrived on Mexican soil. Furthermore, thousands of Black Americans exerted courageous acts of abolitionary resistance to claim and secure freedom in Mexico.
This businesswoman turned border-crosser engineered a life in Mexico. She traversed over nine hundred miles to not just survive, but also take advantage of the various liberties and levels of protections that existed in Mexican spaces for Black Americans. Her life there was anchored through her own pursuits, self-liberation, and claims to the various levels of freedom she accessed in Mexico. However, freedom in Mexico was always as fragile as freedom was elsewhere in North America for Black Americans.
Once in Monclova, this woman set up her own shop. Her choosing butter-making as her business plan was undeniably strategic and a very ingenious selection. She likely saw the gap in the local market, one that at the time was primarily flooded with other shortenings such as manteca, (lard). Butter was not a widely utilized product across that frontier region. During the mid 1800s, butter was considered a luxury product that had to be brought in “firskins [sic] from New York,” and one often and only found in the households of the upper-class and elite who consumed it only during special occasions and holidays like Christmas.