Enslaved black Bermudians, by comparison, had little choice but to go were they were taken, and more affluent white Bermudians who settled on the continent or elsewhere often brought slaves with them, as was the case with Denmark Vesey (born in the West Indies, who was enslaved for years to a Bermudian who then resettled with him in South Carolina). Given the choice, enslaved black Bermudians consequently generally chose not to emigrate, even when it would have meant freedom. Abandoning their families in Bermuda was too great a step. Enslaved, adult, black Bermudian males, like white Bermudian men, were generally sailors and or shipwrights, and hired themselves out as did free men, or were hired out, with their earnings usually divided between themselves and the slave masters, who relied on the enslaved man's family bonds to Bermuda to ensure he did not abscond; allowing slaves to carry out a small degree of control over their economic life and to amass their own savings also worked to discourage slaves from escaping overseas, where they might find freedom, but also likely face poverty and social exclusion.