Michael Kay and Lorin Cary illuminate new aspects of slavery in colonial America by focusing on North Carolina; which has largely been ignored by scholars in favor of the more mature slave systems in the Chesapeake and South Carolina. Kay and Cary demonstrate that North Carolina's fast-growing slave population; increasingly bound on large plantations; included many slaves born in Africa who continued to stress their African pasts to make sense of their new world. The authors illustrate this process by analyzing slave languages; naming practices; family structures; religion; and patterns of resistance. Kay and Cary clearly demonstrate that slaveowners erected a Draconian code of criminal justice for slaves. This system played a central role in the masters' attempt to achieve legal; political; and physical hegemony over their slaves; but it impeded a coherent attempt at acculturation. In fact; say Kay and Cary; slaveowners often withheld white culture from slaves rather than work to convert them to it. As a result; slaves retained significant elements of their African heritage and therefore enjoyed a degree of cultural autonomy that freed them from reliance on a worldview and value system determined by whites.
#1633887 in Books John Hope Franklin 1995-12-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x .73 x 6.00l; 1.02 #File Name: 0807845469290 pagesThe Free Negro in North Carolina 1790 1860
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. I Highly Recommend John Hope Franklin's "The Free Negro in Noth Carolina"By William D Howardi am about to write a biography of my paternal ancestors who come from North Carolina. My apical NC ancestor lived from about 1799 to 1857 (the period covered by this book); and he was a free person of color (who owned his own business); but he was born a slave. I can hardly begin to tell you how much I learned about him and his descendants as a result of reading this well researched and documented book. It is written clearly; and I could hardly bear to put it down.I definitely recommend this book!0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. It is a great read; well researched and writtenBy CustomerIt is a great read; well researched and written. However I was looking for genealogical information; of which there is very little and none of value to me. However that does not take away for the value of the book. John L. Whitney0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Three StarsBy F W HallNo fault to the author; it was not the book I was looking for.
