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| “ | You ain't a free man. You're nothing but a Georgia runaway. You're just a runaway n***** from Georgia. | „ |
| ~ Birch to Solomon when the latter insists he's a free man. |
James H. Birch is a minor antagonist of the 2013 autobiographical film 12 Years a Slave. He is a slave trader in Virginia who delivered Solomon Northup, a free black man from Saratoga Springs, into slavery after the latter's unlawful kidnapping.
He was portrayed by Christopher Berry.
Biography[]
Solomon Northup is drugged and kidnapped by two men, Hamilton and Brown, in Washington D.C. and sold to James Birch, where he confined Solomon in his slave pen. When Solomon tries to explain he's a free man and demands to be released, Birch rebuts by telling him to present his papers, which Solomon doesn't have, and proceeds to tell him he's a runaway slave from Georgia. Birch has one of his men, Radburn, force Solomon to his knees, with Birch then proceeding to mercilessly beat Solomon with a wooden paddle until it breaks, then beating him with cat-o'-nine tails.
Several other black men and women in the pen, including Clemens, Eliza, and her son and daughter, are taken by Birch and Radburn to a ship bound for New Orleans where they will eventually be sold into slavery. When John makes a fuss that his master will pay his debt to Birch, hoping to be freed, Birch beats him into silence, warning the slaves not to say a single word. Birch and Radburn board the slaves onto the ship and subsequently leave before it departs.
Trivia[]
- Birch's name is misspelled in both Solomon Northup's biography and in the film (spelled instead as "Burch", as seen in the movie in the end credits).