Final answer:
Freedom for slaves in the Atlantic World between 1550 and 1800 was primarily achieved through escape, manumission by slaveowners, formal petitions for liberty, and legislative changes in the northern United States that led to the abolition or gradual emancipation of slavery.
Step-by-step explanation:
During the period from 1550 to 1800, freedom for slaves in the Atlantic World was achieved through various means. Individuals could liberate themselves by escaping or could be emancipated by their owners.
The efforts of enslaved people to gain freedom often mirrored the wider movements and ideological shifts of the period, with increasing calls for emancipation couched in the same language of liberty asserted by American colonists.
Enslaved people used petitions, such as the one made by Felix in Boston in 1773, to formally request redress and liberty.
Furthermore, some were able to attain freedom through the practice of manumission, where slaveowners would voluntarily free their slaves.
However, in many regions, especially the South, this practice began to decline in the early 1800s. In contrast, the Northern states moved toward state-wide abolition of slavery, with Pennsylvania and Vermont banning slavery in their state constitutions during the 1770s and other states following with acts of gradual emancipation.
In the earlier years of slavery in North America, the status of Africans could vary, with some acquiring land and becoming free landowners before the institution became fully entrenched. The post-Revolutionary War era saw an increase in the free black population, yet they continued to face significant prejudice and discrimination.