In Latin America You Could Be Free An African American History
In Latin America You Could Be Free An African American History | 7.63 MB
Title: In Latin America You Could Be Free An African American History
Author: Yesenia Barragan
Category: Americas, 19th Century, Discrimination & Race Relations, Latin America, Military
Language: English | 297 Pages | ISBN: 9781541608931
Description:
A hemispheric history of how free and fugitive antebellum African Americans sought freedom in Latin America.
"A groundbreaking account of African American freedom struggles." —Alice Baumgartner, author of South to Freedom
Fifty years before the United States went to war over the issue, Chile abolished slavery. Colombia followed in 1821, and Mexico soon after. Black Americans took note. As plantation slavery terrorized their communities, Latin America emerged as the place they could be free.
Many have written about the Underground Railroad and northward migration to Canada, but for thousands of African Americans, freedom lay to the south. Abolitionists from Boston to San Antonio celebrated anti-slavery efforts in Latin America.
Freed and fugitive slaves began to see the region as a viable place to migrate, a land where they could find stability, safety, and opportunity. Some went on their own initiative. Others were...