The world of Thomas Jeremiah : Charles Town on the eve of the American Revolution
William Randolph Ryan (Author)
"This book profiles the port of Charles Town, South Carolina, during the two-year period leading up to the Declaration of Independence. It focuses on the hanging and burning of Thomas Jeremiah, a free Black harbor pilot and firefighter accused by the patriot party of plotting a slave insurrection during the spring and summer of 1775. The author shows that the Black majority of the South Carolina Low Country managed to assist the British in their invasion efforts, despite patriot attempts to frighten Afro-Carolinians into passivity and submission. Although Whigs attempted, through brutality and violence, to keep their slaves from participating in the conflict, Afro-Carolinians became actively involved in the struggle between colonists and the Crown as spies, messengers, navigators and marauders. The book shows that what was going on in this vital seaport during the mid-1770s has broader implications for the study of the Atlantic world, African American history, naval history, urban race relations, labor history, and the turbulent politics of America's move toward independence"--Publisher's description
Print Book, English, 2010
Oxford University Press, New York, New York, 2010