Fate & Freedom: Book I - The Middle Passage

by K.I. Knight

“Fate & Freedom – Book I, The Middle Passage“ reveals the story of two African children, Margarita and Juan, captured during the Portuguese invasion of the Kingdom of Ndongo, high in the mountains of Angola. The year is 1619. Brutally, they are enslaved and shipped some seven thousand miles away to their doom in the silver mines of Mexico. But, before the slaver can reach its destination the ship is pirated by two English corsairs and the children’s fate is set in motion by the Calvinist Reverend turned Privateer, Captain John Jope. Their new destination becomes a small English settlement in the New World which will eventually become known as America.

Until recent years their true story was shrouded in mystery. It was simply told that a Dutch captain transported “twenty and odd” Africans to the shores of Virginia. Now, intense research has uncovered their true identities, the tragic fate which brought them to America, and the cover-up perpetrated to shroud their arrival. Knight, a genealogist, traces the steps of the first Africans to arrive in English America, revealing a heartfelt and powerful story that was lost in the ashes of our history.

406 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 8, 2014

About the author

Kathryn Knight, who uses the pen name K. I. Knight, is an international award-winning author, genetic genealogist, acclaimed 1619 historian, keynote speaker, and cemetery preservationist, serving on the board of directors for several national non-profit organizations. Knight has logged more than 20,000 hours over the last thirteen years researching the first documented Africans to arrive in the English settlement of Virginia in 1619. In 2016, as a national advisory board member and historian for Project 1619, Inc., she co-curated the 1619 First African Landing exhibit at the Hampton History Museum in Hampton, Virginia. Knight's passion is unrivaled and strongly evident in the international award-winning series "Fate & Freedom" as well as "UNVEILED – The Twenty & Odd, Documenting the First Africans in England's America 1619-1625 and Beyond."
With the commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of the First African Landing in Hampton, Virginia, Knight's work took center-stage. In 2018 and 2019, Knight received the highest of accolades from the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society for her historical series, "Fate & Freedom." Knight also received the Phillis Wheatley Literary Award from the Sons and Daughters of the US Middle Passage for "Unveiled – The Twenty & Odd. " Additionally, Unveiled - The Twenty & Odd was awarded three medals from the Florida Authors & Publishers Association in August in the following three categories - Nonfiction-Adult, Research/Reference, and Best Cover Design. All of Knight’s books have received five stars from Readers Favorite, calling the Fate & Freedom series a "Masterpiece with an irresistible appeal."

Reviews

[C.L. Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great historical read.

Fate and Freedom is a well written book with amazing characters and history mixed together with truth and fiction, just enough to make it a wonderful experience. You can't help but fall in love with Margaret and her young eyes and determined soul. This story takes you back to when life was hard and slaves were ripped from their homelands and made to work in the houses and fields of the white man. Sometimes it's hard to read about, but it is where we all came from. The blunt reality of our past is brought to the presence of today. I can't wait to see what happens with Margaret and John. Congratulations K. I. Knight for capturing a time in history that is a mystery to many of us.