Freedom Seekers: Fugitive Slaves in North America, 1800-1860 (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781316631355)

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.

Author: Damian Alan Pargas
ISBN-10: 1316631354
ISBN-13: 9781316631355
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 11/18/2021
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.01lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.70d