Freedom seekers : fugitive slaves in North America, 1800-1860 / Damian Alan Pargas.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pargas, Damian Alan, author.

Series:

Cambridge studies on the American Southh.

Cambridge studies on the American South

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Fugitive slaves--United States--History--19th century.

Fugitive slaves.

Enslaved persons--Emancipation--North America--History--19th century.

Enslaved persons.

Maroons--United States--History--19th century.

Maroons.

Fugitive slave communities--United States--History--19th century.

Fugitive slave communities.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 297 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

In this fascinating book, Damian Alan Pargas introduces a new conceptualization of 'spaces of freedom' for fugitive slaves in North America between 1800 and 1860, and answers the questions: How and why did enslaved people flee to - and navigate - different destinations throughout the continent, and to what extent did they succeed in evading recapture and re-enslavement? Taking a continental approach, this study highlights the diversity of slave fight by conceptually dividing the continent into three distinct - and continuously evolving - spaces of freedom. Namely, spaces of informal freedom in the US South, where enslaved people attempted to flee by passing as free blacks; spaces of semi-formal freedom in the US North, where slavery was abolished but the precise status of fugitive slaves was contested; and spaces of formal freedom in Canada and Mexico, where slavery was abolished and runaways were considered legally free and safe from re-enslavement.

Contents:

The changing geography of slavery and freedom

"Lurking amongst the free Negroes" : spaces of informal freedom in the urban South

"As if their own liberty were at stake : spaces of semi-formal freedom in the northern United States

"Departure from the house of bondage : spaces of formal freedom in British Canada and Mexico.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 24 Nov 2021).

ISBN:

9781316843833

1316843831

9781316846070

1316846075

9781316832264

1316832260

OCLC:

1492943202