Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Undoubtedly the best documented record of a slave born in Africa, who married her owner in East Florida, operated a plantation after her husband's death, and ruled as matriarch over an extended family until the Civil War. Schafer has reconstructed Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley's story in a remarkable way."--Bruce L. Mouser, editor, A Slaving Voyage to Africa and Jamaica: The Log of the Sandown, 1793-1794 "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review Anna Kingsley's life story adds a dramatic chapter to histories of the South, the state of Florida, and the African diaspora. Working from surprisingly extensive records, including information and photographs from extended-family members and descendants, Daniel Shafer reconstructs and documents one slave's remarkable story. Both an American slave and a slaveowner--and possibly an African princess--Anna was a teenager when she was captured in her homeland of Senegal in 1806 and sold into slavery. Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., a planter and slave trader from Spanish East Florida, bought her in Havana, Cuba, and took her to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida, where she soon became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband formally emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves the following year. For 25 years, life on her farm and at the Kingsley plantation on Fort George Island was relatively tranquil. But when Florida passed from Spanish to American control, and racism and discrimination increased in the American territories, Anna Kingsley and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Amid the spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida, where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Such accomplishments by a woman in a patriarchal society are fascinating in themselves. To have achieved them as a woman of color is remarkable. Daniel L. Schafer is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Undoubtedly the best documented record of a slave born in Africa,who married her owner in East Florida, operated a plantation after her husband's death, and ruled as matriarch over an extended family until the Civil War. Schafer has reconstructed Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley's story in a remarkable way."--Bruce L. Mouser, editor, A Slaving Voyage to Africa and Jamaica: The Log of the Sandown, 1793-1794 "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review Anna Kingsley's life story adds a dramatic chapter to histories of the South, the state of Florida, and the African diaspora. Working from surprisingly extensive records, including information and photographs from extended-family members and descendants, Daniel Shafer reconstructs and documents one slave's remarkable story. Both an American slave and a slaveowner--and possibly an African princess--Anna was a teenager when she was captured in her homeland of Senegal in 1806 and sold into slavery. Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., a planter and slave trader from Spanish East Florida, bought her in Havana, Cuba, and took her to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida, where she soon became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband formally emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves the following year. For 25 years, life on her farm and at the Kingsley plantation on Fort George Island was relatively tranquil. But when Florida passed from Spanish to American control, and racism and discrimination increased in the American territories, Anna Kingsley and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Amid the spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida, where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Such accomplishments by a woman in a patriarchal society are fascinating in themselves. To have achieved them as a woman of color is remarkable. Daniel L. Schafer is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World by
[PRINT] "An original and important contribution to the scholarship of Florida, the British Empire, the Caribbean, Africa, slavery and emancipation, the colonial United States, and the Atlantic world. Kingsley was a figure who moved through many worlds, and this meticulously researched work follows his many trails. It is the definitive biography on this fascinating character."--Jane Landers, author of Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions "The story is fascinating and shows the interconnections of the Atlantic world in all its complexities. Kingsley's philosophy challenged the usual views of slavery, race relations, and the murky ground between freedom and dependency."--Paul E. Lovejoy, author of Transformations in Slavery A controversial figure for his views on manumission and his unorthodox marital arrangements, Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (1765-1843) is mostly known today for his Fort George Island plantation in Duval County, Florida, now a National Park Service site, and for his 1828 pamphlet, A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society, that advocated just and humane treatment of slaves, liberal emancipation policies, and granting rights to free persons of color. Paradoxically, his fortune came from the purchase, sale, and labor of enslaved Africans. In this penetrating biography, Daniel Schafer vividly chronicles Kingsley's evolving thoughts on race and slavery, exploring his business practices and his private life. Kingsley fathered children by several enslaved women, then freed and lived with them in a unique mixed-race family. One of the women--the only one he acknowledged as his "wife" though they were never formally married--was Anta Madgigine Ndiaye (Anna Kingsley), a member of the Senegalese royal family, who was captured in a slave raid and purchased by Kingsley in Havana, Cuba. A ship captain, Caribbean merchant, and Atlantic slave trader during the perilous years of international warfare following the French Revolution, Kingsley sought protection under neutral flags, changing allegiance from Britain to the United States, Denmark, and Spain. Later, when the American acquisition of Florida brought rigid race and slavery policies that endangered the freedom of Kingsley's mixed-race family, he responded by moving his "wives" and children to a vast agricultural settlement in Haiti that he established for free persons of color. Kingsley's assertion that color should not be a "badge of degradation" made him unusual in the early Republic. His unique life is revealed in this fascinating reminder of the deep connections between Europe, the Caribbean, and the young United States.
Colonial Plantations and Economy in Florida by
[PRINT] This illustrated collection documents the rich history of Florida's earliest indigo, rice and cotton plantations, cattle ranches, timbering operations, and Atlantic commercial networks. The essays trace the relationship of Florida to the Caribbean and Atlantic economies.
Africa in Florida by
[PRINT] "An inspiring, original, and significant work that takes our notions of 'diaspora' to exciting places and offers new and thoughtful data on the presence and impact of 'Africa' in Florida history, lives, and objects. Africa in Florida is an important contribution to American history and to the continuing and transforming histories of African diasporas and Africa itself."--Henry John Drewal, editor of Sacred Waters nbsp; "Fascinating. Indispensable. With contributions by excellent scholars in the field of African and African diaspora studies and cultural studies, the volume provides diverse meanings and interpretations of contacts among Africans from the continent, Europeans, and indigenous people of Florida that resulted in works of creative arts, language, music, and food."--Jacob K. Olupona, author of City of 201 Gods nbsp; Over the course of centuries, immigrants from numerous countries in contemporary Africa have influenced the Sunshine State's history and culture. Through a critical evaluation of the influences and effects of the numerous African and African-influenced cultures that have been a part of the state's history, this collection of essays and art explores how Florida both shapes and is shaped by the multiple African diasporas that move through it. Africa in Florida challenges the way American history and southern studies have characterized African contributions to the development of the United States by showing how Africans, both free and enslaved, asserted themselves as explorers, farmers, slave owners, artists, and more. nbsp; nbsp;
Historic Homes of Florida's First Coast by
[PRINT] Some of the earliest European settlers colonized Northeast Florida when it was little more than a wilderness. Today, the area is rich in multicultural heritage and historic significance, and its historic homes stand as a testament to its intriguing past. Step inside a Second Spanish Period structure that was home to European royalty and visited by iconic film star Greta Garbo. Visit the places that inspired works such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Yearling" and British composer Frederick Delius's masterpiece, "Florida Suite." Author and award-winning photographer Mary Atwood explores the homes of early colonial settlers, wealthy plantation owners, illustrious Florida artists and those responsible for shaping Florida's First Coast."
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Undoubtedly the best documented record of a slave born in Africa, who married her owner in East Florida, operated a plantation after her husband's death, and ruled as matriarch over an extended family until the Civil War. Schafer has reconstructed Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley's story in a remarkable way."--Bruce L. Mouser, editor, A Slaving Voyage to Africa and Jamaica: The Log of the Sandown, 1793-1794 "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review Anna Kingsley's life story adds a dramatic chapter to histories of the South, the state of Florida, and the African diaspora. Working from surprisingly extensive records, including information and photographs from extended-family members and descendants, Daniel Shafer reconstructs and documents one slave's remarkable story. Both an American slave and a slaveowner--and possibly an African princess--Anna was a teenager when she was captured in her homeland of Senegal in 1806 and sold into slavery. Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., a planter and slave trader from Spanish East Florida, bought her in Havana, Cuba, and took her to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida, where she soon became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband formally emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves the following year. For 25 years, life on her farm and at the Kingsley plantation on Fort George Island was relatively tranquil. But when Florida passed from Spanish to American control, and racism and discrimination increased in the American territories, Anna Kingsley and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Amid the spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida, where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Such accomplishments by a woman in a patriarchal society are fascinating in themselves. To have achieved them as a woman of color is remarkable. Daniel L. Schafer is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
Anna Kingsley by
[PRINT] 1st edition
Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World by
[PRINT] "An original and important contribution to the scholarship of Florida, the British Empire, the Caribbean, Africa, slavery and emancipation, the colonial United States, and the Atlantic world. Kingsley was a figure who moved through many worlds, and this meticulously researched work follows his many trails. It is the definitive biography on this fascinating character."--Jane Landers, author of Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions "The story is fascinating and shows the interconnections of the Atlantic world in all its complexities. Kingsley's philosophy challenged the usual views of slavery, race relations, and the murky ground between freedom and dependency."--Paul E. Lovejoy, author of Transformations in Slavery A controversial figure for his views on manumission and his unorthodox marital arrangements, Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (1765-1843) is mostly known today for his Fort George Island plantation in Duval County, Florida, now a National Park Service site, and for his 1828 pamphlet, A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society, that advocated just and humane treatment of slaves, liberal emancipation policies, and granting rights to free persons of color. Paradoxically, his fortune came from the purchase, sale, and labor of enslaved Africans. In this penetrating biography, Daniel Schafer vividly chronicles Kingsley's evolving thoughts on race and slavery, exploring his business practices and his private life. Kingsley fathered children by several enslaved women, then freed and lived with them in a unique mixed-race family. One of the women--the only one he acknowledged as his "wife" though they were never formally married--was Anta Madgigine Ndiaye (Anna Kingsley), a member of the Senegalese royal family, who was captured in a slave raid and purchased by Kingsley in Havana, Cuba. A ship captain, Caribbean merchant, and Atlantic slave trader during the perilous years of international warfare following the French Revolution, Kingsley sought protection under neutral flags, changing allegiance from Britain to the United States, Denmark, and Spain. Later, when the American acquisition of Florida brought rigid race and slavery policies that endangered the freedom of Kingsley's mixed-race family, he responded by moving his "wives" and children to a vast agricultural settlement in Haiti that he established for free persons of color. Kingsley's assertion that color should not be a "badge of degradation" made him unusual in the early Republic. His unique life is revealed in this fascinating reminder of the deep connections between Europe, the Caribbean, and the young United States.
Colonial Plantations and Economy in Florida by
[PRINT] This illustrated collection documents the rich history of Florida's earliest indigo, rice and cotton plantations, cattle ranches, timbering operations, and Atlantic commercial networks. The essays trace the relationship of Florida to the Caribbean and Atlantic economies.
Africa in Florida by
[PRINT] "An inspiring, original, and significant work that takes our notions of 'diaspora' to exciting places and offers new and thoughtful data on the presence and impact of 'Africa' in Florida history, lives, and objects. Africa in Florida is an important contribution to American history and to the continuing and transforming histories of African diasporas and Africa itself."--Henry John Drewal, editor of Sacred Waters nbsp; "Fascinating. Indispensable. With contributions by excellent scholars in the field of African and African diaspora studies and cultural studies, the volume provides diverse meanings and interpretations of contacts among Africans from the continent, Europeans, and indigenous people of Florida that resulted in works of creative arts, language, music, and food."--Jacob K. Olupona, author of City of 201 Gods nbsp; Over the course of centuries, immigrants from numerous countries in contemporary Africa have influenced the Sunshine State's history and culture. Through a critical evaluation of the influences and effects of the numerous African and African-influenced cultures that have been a part of the state's history, this collection of essays and art explores how Florida both shapes and is shaped by the multiple African diasporas that move through it. Africa in Florida challenges the way American history and southern studies have characterized African contributions to the development of the United States by showing how Africans, both free and enslaved, asserted themselves as explorers, farmers, slave owners, artists, and more. nbsp; nbsp;
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review
Anna Kingsley by
[PRINT] 1994 first edition
ASIN: B002EDUERU
Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World by
[PRINT] "An original and important contribution to the scholarship of Florida, the British Empire, the Caribbean, Africa, slavery and emancipation, the colonial United States, and the Atlantic world. Kingsley was a figure who moved through many worlds, and this meticulously researched work follows his many trails. It is the definitive biography on this fascinating character."--Jane Landers, author of Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions "The story is fascinating and shows the interconnections of the Atlantic world in all its complexities. Kingsley's philosophy challenged the usual views of slavery, race relations, and the murky ground between freedom and dependency."--Paul E. Lovejoy, author of Transformations in Slavery A controversial figure for his views on manumission and his unorthodox marital arrangements, Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (1765-1843) is mostly known today for his Fort George Island plantation in Duval County, Florida, now a National Park Service site, and for his 1828 pamphlet, A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society, that advocated just and humane treatment of slaves, liberal emancipation policies, and granting rights to free persons of color. Paradoxically, his fortune came from the purchase, sale, and labor of enslaved Africans. In this penetrating biography, Daniel Schafer vividly chronicles Kingsley's evolving thoughts on race and slavery, exploring his business practices and his private life. Kingsley fathered children by several enslaved women, then freed and lived with them in a unique mixed-race family. One of the women--the only one he acknowledged as his "wife" though they were never formally married--was Anta Madgigine Ndiaye (Anna Kingsley), a member of the Senegalese royal family, who was captured in a slave raid and purchased by Kingsley in Havana, Cuba. A ship captain, Caribbean merchant, and Atlantic slave trader during the perilous years of international warfare following the French Revolution, Kingsley sought protection under neutral flags, changing allegiance from Britain to the United States, Denmark, and Spain. Later, when the American acquisition of Florida brought rigid race and slavery policies that endangered the freedom of Kingsley's mixed-race family, he responded by moving his "wives" and children to a vast agricultural settlement in Haiti that he established for free persons of color. Kingsley's assertion that color should not be a "badge of degradation" made him unusual in the early Republic. His unique life is revealed in this fascinating reminder of the deep connections between Europe, the Caribbean, and the young United States.
Balancing Evils Judiciously by
[PRINT] "Kingsley's place in southern history and America's endless debate over race, to say nothing of his astonishing life, is only now beginning to be appreciated and explored. . . . Dr. Stowell's opening essay constitutes a splendid biographical and analytical introduction to the man and his work, and his editorial work in presenting these fascinating documents places professional historians and the general public deep in his debt."--From the foreword by Eugene D. Genovese "Oddly proslavery and antiracist in his views, Zephaniah Kingsley of Florida produced a critical contemporary analysis of the Old South's slaveholding society. Daniel W. Stowell's edition of Kingsley's writings makes that critique readily available to scholars."--Stanley Harrold, South Carolina State University For the first time, all the proslavery--but also pro-black--writings of Zephaniah Kingsley (1765-1843) appear together in one volume. Kingsley was a slave trader and the owner of a large plantation near Jacksonville in what was then Spanish East Florida. He married one of his slaves and had children with several others. While Kingsley eventually emancipated all of his children and their mothers, he became alarmed at the deteriorating status of free blacks after Florida became a territory in 1821. His unusual protest of their treatment, "A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society," called for a three-caste society that separated race and class. He envisioned a buffer caste of free people of color between whites and enslaved blacks, but united with whites by economic interests. The treatise simultaneously upheld the legitimacy and necessity of slavery yet assaulted the white southern premise of abject black inferiority. Daniel Stowell carefully assembles all of Kingsley's writings on race and slavery to illuminate the evolution of his thought. The intriguing hybrid text of the four editions of the treatise clearly identifies both subtle and substantial differences among the editions. Other extensively annotated documents show how Kingsley's interracial family and his experiences in various slaveholding societies in the Caribbean and South America influenced his thinking on race, class, and slavery. In despair of ever changing the slaveholding patterns of Florida, Kingsley finally settled his mixed-race children and several of his slaves in Haiti; however, he left behind more than 80 of his slaves to work his plantations in Florida. When he died, these African Americans remained in bondage, unfortunate victims of hardening American racial attitudes and of Kingsley's effort to "balance evils judiciously."
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Undoubtedly the best documented record of a slave born in Africa,who married her owner in East Florida, operated a plantation after her husband's death, and ruled as matriarch over an extended family until the Civil War. Schafer has reconstructed Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley's story in a remarkable way."--Bruce L. Mouser, editor, A Slaving Voyage to Africa and Jamaica: The Log of the Sandown, 1793-1794 "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review Anna Kingsley's life story adds a dramatic chapter to histories of the South, the state of Florida, and the African diaspora. Working from surprisingly extensive records, including information and photographs from extended-family members and descendants, Daniel Shafer reconstructs and documents one slave's remarkable story. Both an American slave and a slaveowner--and possibly an African princess--Anna was a teenager when she was captured in her homeland of Senegal in 1806 and sold into slavery. Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., a planter and slave trader from Spanish East Florida, bought her in Havana, Cuba, and took her to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida, where she soon became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband formally emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves the following year. For 25 years, life on her farm and at the Kingsley plantation on Fort George Island was relatively tranquil. But when Florida passed from Spanish to American control, and racism and discrimination increased in the American territories, Anna Kingsley and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Amid the spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida, where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Such accomplishments by a woman in a patriarchal society are fascinating in themselves. To have achieved them as a woman of color is remarkable. Daniel L. Schafer is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World by
[PRINT] "An original and important contribution to the scholarship of Florida, the British Empire, the Caribbean, Africa, slavery and emancipation, the colonial United States, and the Atlantic world. Kingsley was a figure who moved through many worlds, and this meticulously researched work follows his many trails. It is the definitive biography on this fascinating character."--Jane Landers, author of Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions "The story is fascinating and shows the interconnections of the Atlantic world in all its complexities. Kingsley's philosophy challenged the usual views of slavery, race relations, and the murky ground between freedom and dependency."--Paul E. Lovejoy, author of Transformations in Slavery A controversial figure for his views on manumission and his unorthodox marital arrangements, Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (1765-1843) is mostly known today for his Fort George Island plantation in Duval County, Florida, now a National Park Service site, and for his 1828 pamphlet, A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society, that advocated just and humane treatment of slaves, liberal emancipation policies, and granting rights to free persons of color. Paradoxically, his fortune came from the purchase, sale, and labor of enslaved Africans. In this penetrating biography, Daniel Schafer vividly chronicles Kingsley's evolving thoughts on race and slavery, exploring his business practices and his private life. Kingsley fathered children by several enslaved women, then freed and lived with them in a unique mixed-race family. One of the women--the only one he acknowledged as his "wife" though they were never formally married--was Anta Madgigine Ndiaye (Anna Kingsley), a member of the Senegalese royal family, who was captured in a slave raid and purchased by Kingsley in Havana, Cuba. A ship captain, Caribbean merchant, and Atlantic slave trader during the perilous years of international warfare following the French Revolution, Kingsley sought protection under neutral flags, changing allegiance from Britain to the United States, Denmark, and Spain. Later, when the American acquisition of Florida brought rigid race and slavery policies that endangered the freedom of Kingsley's mixed-race family, he responded by moving his "wives" and children to a vast agricultural settlement in Haiti that he established for free persons of color. Kingsley's assertion that color should not be a "badge of degradation" made him unusual in the early Republic. His unique life is revealed in this fascinating reminder of the deep connections between Europe, the Caribbean, and the young United States.
Balancing Evils Judiciously by
[PRINT] "Kingsley's place in southern history and America's endless debate over race, to say nothing of his astonishing life, is only now beginning to be appreciated and explored. . . . Dr. Stowell's opening essay constitutes a splendid biographical and analytical introduction to the man and his work, and his editorial work in presenting these fascinating documents places professional historians and the general public deep in his debt."--From the foreword by Eugene D. Genovese "Oddly proslavery and antiracist in his views, Zephaniah Kingsley of Florida produced a critical contemporary analysis of the Old South's slaveholding society. Daniel W. Stowell's edition of Kingsley's writings makes that critique readily available to scholars."--Stanley Harrold, South Carolina State University For the first time, all the proslavery--but also pro-black--writings of Zephaniah Kingsley (1765-1843) appear together in one volume. Kingsley was a slave trader and the owner of a large plantation near Jacksonville in what was then Spanish East Florida. He married one of his slaves and had children with several others. While Kingsley eventually emancipated all of his children and their mothers, he became alarmed at the deteriorating status of free blacks after Florida became a territory in 1821. His unusual protest of their treatment, "A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society," called for a three-caste society that separated race and class. He envisioned a buffer caste of free people of color between whites and enslaved blacks, but united with whites by economic interests. The treatise simultaneously upheld the legitimacy and necessity of slavery yet assaulted the white southern premise of abject black inferiority. Daniel Stowell carefully assembles all of Kingsley's writings on race and slavery to illuminate the evolution of his thought. The intriguing hybrid text of the four editions of the treatise clearly identifies both subtle and substantial differences among the editions. Other extensively annotated documents show how Kingsley's interracial family and his experiences in various slaveholding societies in the Caribbean and South America influenced his thinking on race, class, and slavery. In despair of ever changing the slaveholding patterns of Florida, Kingsley finally settled his mixed-race children and several of his slaves in Haiti; however, he left behind more than 80 of his slaves to work his plantations in Florida. When he died, these African Americans remained in bondage, unfortunate victims of hardening American racial attitudes and of Kingsley's effort to "balance evils judiciously."
Colonial Plantations and Economy in Florida by
[PRINT] This illustrated collection documents the rich history of Florida's earliest indigo, rice and cotton plantations, cattle ranches, timbering operations, and Atlantic commercial networks. The essays trace the relationship of Florida to the Caribbean and Atlantic economies.
Africa in Florida by
[PRINT] "An inspiring, original, and significant work that takes our notions of 'diaspora' to exciting places and offers new and thoughtful data on the presence and impact of 'Africa' in Florida history, lives, and objects. Africa in Florida is an important contribution to American history and to the continuing and transforming histories of African diasporas and Africa itself."--Henry John Drewal, editor of Sacred Waters nbsp; "Fascinating. Indispensable. With contributions by excellent scholars in the field of African and African diaspora studies and cultural studies, the volume provides diverse meanings and interpretations of contacts among Africans from the continent, Europeans, and indigenous people of Florida that resulted in works of creative arts, language, music, and food."--Jacob K. Olupona, author of City of 201 Gods nbsp; Over the course of centuries, immigrants from numerous countries in contemporary Africa have influenced the Sunshine State's history and culture. Through a critical evaluation of the influences and effects of the numerous African and African-influenced cultures that have been a part of the state's history, this collection of essays and art explores how Florida both shapes and is shaped by the multiple African diasporas that move through it. Africa in Florida challenges the way American history and southern studies have characterized African contributions to the development of the United States by showing how Africans, both free and enslaved, asserted themselves as explorers, farmers, slave owners, artists, and more. nbsp; nbsp;
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Undoubtedly the best documented record of a slave born in Africa, who married her owner in East Florida, operated a plantation after her husband's death, and ruled as matriarch over an extended family until the Civil War. Schafer has reconstructed Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley's story in a remarkable way."--Bruce L. Mouser, editor, A Slaving Voyage to Africa and Jamaica: The Log of the Sandown, 1793-1794 "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review Anna Kingsley's life story adds a dramatic chapter to histories of the South, the state of Florida, and the African diaspora. Working from surprisingly extensive records, including information and photographs from extended-family members and descendants, Daniel Shafer reconstructs and documents one slave's remarkable story. Both an American slave and a slaveowner--and possibly an African princess--Anna was a teenager when she was captured in her homeland of Senegal in 1806 and sold into slavery. Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., a planter and slave trader from Spanish East Florida, bought her in Havana, Cuba, and took her to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida, where she soon became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband formally emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves the following year. For 25 years, life on her farm and at the Kingsley plantation on Fort George Island was relatively tranquil. But when Florida passed from Spanish to American control, and racism and discrimination increased in the American territories, Anna Kingsley and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Amid the spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida, where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Such accomplishments by a woman in a patriarchal society are fascinating in themselves. To have achieved them as a woman of color is remarkable. Daniel L. Schafer is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley by
[PRINT] "Undoubtedly the best documented record of a slave born in Africa, who married her owner in East Florida, operated a plantation after her husband's death, and ruled as matriarch over an extended family until the Civil War. Schafer has reconstructed Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley's story in a remarkable way."--Bruce L. Mouser, editor, A Slaving Voyage to Africa and Jamaica: The Log of the Sandown, 1793-1794 "Provides an unexpectedly thorough account that traces the life of a woman from a Wolof village in Senegal, across the Atlantic via the middle passage, to a Florida community of African slaves and white slave owners."--Southern Historian "An absorbing account of Anna Madgigine Jai Kingsley, an African woman who was enslaved, forcibly transported to Florida, held in bondage, freed, and married to her white master; she bore several of his children and then rose to prominence as a slaveholder. . . . Brings a wider understanding to the lives of enslaved and free women in the nineteenth century South."--Journal of American History "Contributes to a growing literature on the possibilities for slave women's emancipation, especially in Spanish territory, and for propertied women's social and economic power in the Old South."--Journal of Southern History "Reminds the reader of the variations of the slave experience, the possibilities of forging racial bonds, and the debilitating effects of the racial divide in American society."--Georgia Historical Quarterly "Fosters understanding of the differences and similarities in the institution of slavery, in the distinction between free and enslaved, and in attitudes of racial prejudice between Spanish Florida and the United States."--North Carolina Historical Review Anna Kingsley's life story adds a dramatic chapter to histories of the South, the state of Florida, and the African diaspora. Working from surprisingly extensive records, including information and photographs from extended-family members and descendants, Daniel Shafer reconstructs and documents one slave's remarkable story. Both an American slave and a slaveowner--and possibly an African princess--Anna was a teenager when she was captured in her homeland of Senegal in 1806 and sold into slavery. Zephaniah Kingsley, Jr., a planter and slave trader from Spanish East Florida, bought her in Havana, Cuba, and took her to his St. Johns River plantation in northeast Florida, where she soon became his household manager, his wife, and eventually the mother of four of his children. Her husband formally emancipated her in 1811, and she became the owner of her own farm and twelve slaves the following year. For 25 years, life on her farm and at the Kingsley plantation on Fort George Island was relatively tranquil. But when Florida passed from Spanish to American control, and racism and discrimination increased in the American territories, Anna Kingsley and her children migrated to a colony in Haiti established by her husband as a refuge for free blacks. Amid the spiraling racial tensions of the antebellum period, Anna returned to north Florida, where she bought and sold land, sued white people in the courts, and became a central figure in a free black community. Such accomplishments by a woman in a patriarchal society are fascinating in themselves. To have achieved them as a woman of color is remarkable. Daniel L. Schafer is professor emeritus of history at the University of North Florida, Jacksonville.
Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. and the Atlantic World by
[PRINT] "An original and important contribution to the scholarship of Florida, the British Empire, the Caribbean, Africa, slavery and emancipation, the colonial United States, and the Atlantic world. Kingsley was a figure who moved through many worlds, and this meticulously researched work follows his many trails. It is the definitive biography on this fascinating character."--Jane Landers, author of Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions "The story is fascinating and shows the interconnections of the Atlantic world in all its complexities. Kingsley's philosophy challenged the usual views of slavery, race relations, and the murky ground between freedom and dependency."--Paul E. Lovejoy, author of Transformations in Slavery A controversial figure for his views on manumission and his unorthodox marital arrangements, Zephaniah Kingsley Jr. (1765-1843) is mostly known today for his Fort George Island plantation in Duval County, Florida, now a National Park Service site, and for his 1828 pamphlet, A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society, that advocated just and humane treatment of slaves, liberal emancipation policies, and granting rights to free persons of color. Paradoxically, his fortune came from the purchase, sale, and labor of enslaved Africans. In this penetrating biography, Daniel Schafer vividly chronicles Kingsley's evolving thoughts on race and slavery, exploring his business practices and his private life. Kingsley fathered children by several enslaved women, then freed and lived with them in a unique mixed-race family. One of the women--the only one he acknowledged as his "wife" though they were never formally married--was Anta Madgigine Ndiaye (Anna Kingsley), a member of the Senegalese royal family, who was captured in a slave raid and purchased by Kingsley in Havana, Cuba. A ship captain, Caribbean merchant, and Atlantic slave trader during the perilous years of international warfare following the French Revolution, Kingsley sought protection under neutral flags, changing allegiance from Britain to the United States, Denmark, and Spain. Later, when the American acquisition of Florida brought rigid race and slavery policies that endangered the freedom of Kingsley's mixed-race family, he responded by moving his "wives" and children to a vast agricultural settlement in Haiti that he established for free persons of color. Kingsley's assertion that color should not be a "badge of degradation" made him unusual in the early Republic. His unique life is revealed in this fascinating reminder of the deep connections between Europe, the Caribbean, and the young United States.
Africa in Florida by
[PRINT] "An inspiring, original, and significant work that takes our notions of 'diaspora' to exciting places and offers new and thoughtful data on the presence and impact of 'Africa' in Florida history, lives, and objects. Africa in Florida is an important contribution to American history and to the continuing and transforming histories of African diasporas and Africa itself."--Henry John Drewal, editor of Sacred Waters nbsp; "Fascinating. Indispensable. With contributions by excellent scholars in the field of African and African diaspora studies and cultural studies, the volume provides diverse meanings and interpretations of contacts among Africans from the continent, Europeans, and indigenous people of Florida that resulted in works of creative arts, language, music, and food."--Jacob K. Olupona, author of City of 201 Gods nbsp; Over the course of centuries, immigrants from numerous countries in contemporary Africa have influenced the Sunshine State's history and culture. Through a critical evaluation of the influences and effects of the numerous African and African-influenced cultures that have been a part of the state's history, this collection of essays and art explores how Florida both shapes and is shaped by the multiple African diasporas that move through it. Africa in Florida challenges the way American history and southern studies have characterized African contributions to the development of the United States by showing how Africans, both free and enslaved, asserted themselves as explorers, farmers, slave owners, artists, and more. nbsp; nbsp;
Landmarks of African American History by
[PRINT] In Landmarks of African American History, James Oliver Horton chooses thirteen historic sites to explore the struggles and triumphs of African Americans and how they helped shape the rich and varied history of the United States. Horton begins with the first Africans brought to Jamestown,Virginia, and the start of slavery in the colonies that became the United States. Boston's Old State House provides the backdrop to the martyrdom of Crispus Attucks, the former slave killed in the Boston Massacre, the confrontation with British troops that led to the American Revolution. After theCivil War, former slaves settled the desolate area of Nicodemus, Kansas, and turned it into a thriving community. The USS Arizona Memorial in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and Boston's Old State House illustrate African American contributions to the defense of their country and reveal racial tensions withinthe military. And the black students who demanded service at Woolworth's racially segregated lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina, launched the sit-in movement and advanced the fight for civil rights. Horton brings together a wide variety of African American historical sites to tell of theglory and hardship, of the great achievement and determination, of the people and events that have shaped the values, ideals, and dreams of our nation.
Historic Homes of Florida's First Coast by
[PRINT] Some of the earliest European settlers colonized Northeast Florida when it was little more than a wilderness. Today, the area is rich in multicultural heritage and historic significance, and its historic homes stand as a testament to its intriguing past. Step inside a Second Spanish Period structure that was home to European royalty and visited by iconic film star Greta Garbo. Visit the places that inspired works such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings's Pulitzer prize-winning novel The Yearling" and British composer Frederick Delius's masterpiece, "Florida Suite." Author and award-winning photographer Mary Atwood explores the homes of early colonial settlers, wealthy plantation owners, illustrious Florida artists and those responsible for shaping Florida's First Coast."