Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions

by Jane G. Landers

Sailing the tide of a tumultuous era of Atlantic revolutions, a remarkable group of African-born and African-descended individuals transformed themselves from slaves into active agents of their lives and times. Big Prince Whitten, the black Seminole Abraham, and General Georges Biassou were “Atlantic creoles,” Africans who found their way to freedom by actively engaging in the most important political events of their day. These men and women of diverse ethnic backgrounds, who were fluent in multiple languages and familiar with African, American, and European cultures, migrated across the new world’s imperial boundaries in search of freedom and a safe haven. Yet, until now, their extraordinary lives and exploits have been hidden from posterity. Through prodigious archival research, Jane Landers radically alters our vision of the breadth and extent of the Age of Revolution, and our understanding of its actors. Whereas Africans in the Atlantic world are traditionally seen as destined for the slave market and plantation labor, Landers reconstructs the lives of unique individuals who managed to move purposefully through French, Spanish, and English colonies, and through Indian territory, in the unstable century between 1750 and 1850. Mobile and adaptive, they shifted allegiances and identities depending on which political leader or program offered the greatest possibility for freedom. Whether fighting for the King of Kongo, England, France, or Spain, or for the Muskogee and Seminole chiefs, their thirst for freedom helped to shape the course of the Atlantic revolutions and to enrich the history of revolutionary lives in all times.

Genres: History, Latin American History

352 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 2010

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nicely done -- Landers's prose is exceptionally readable and she makes a compelling case for the importance of these previously unknown or understudied Atlantic Creoles, mostly black men, mostly living in Florida and/or Cuba. The chapter on black Seminoles is solid, but then again, everything about this study is solid, so far as I can see.

[Dan Gorman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Landers may have tackled somewhat too much geographic terrain in this book, but it's a great, smooth read. She shows how black creoles and former slaves played a major role in the politics and warfare of the Atlantic/Caribbean zone. The book notes three great exoduses – black creoles fleeing from Florida to Cuba when Britain took Florida from Spain, blacks again fleeing a Spanish Florida when the Americans took over, and the Cuban government expelling black creole refugees after a failed Cuban slave revolt. In between, we see how black creoles fought for their livelihoods in Florida, South Carolina, Cuba, and Haiti. This is as close to an adventure book as academic histories get, but Landers does a good job of showing the tragedy in these creoles' often-thwarted bids for liberty.

[Ramona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Landers interwoven skill of blending historical facts with imagination makes for a great narrative. She provides wonderful character studies which have you visualizing various figures in the work. She also gives the reader several great perspectives of military leadership exhibited by those throughout Florida, the Carolinas, Haiti and Cuba. Those interested in Florida history will benefit greatly from her work.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very readable account of independent Black lives navigating complex political and social terrain. Strongly recommended for World History teachers who want to complicate legacy narratives of an Age of Revolutions. Some great stories! Plus, shoes the importance of context in Florida and Cuba.

"They based their alliances primarily on their desire for freedom and a measure of dignity. By comparing different imperial systems, analyzing new sources, and uncovering new narratives, we can better understand the agency and interconnectedness of Atlantic Creoles in the Age of Revolutions, and thus the Revolutions themselves" (235)

Landers follows Atlantic Creoles--African descended people who worked across cultures--as they traveled into and out of the Spanish America, especially Florida and Cuba. She describes how Atlantic Creoles sometimes embraced Royalism as better protector of their own freedom than republicanism, especially the white supremacist version practiced in the new USA. This strategy had its own limits as the expanding USA incorporated Florida and Cuba evolved into a "racist plantation regime" (230) buttressed by Absolutism.