4.0
Freedom Ship
ByPublisher Description
A definitive, sweeping account of the Underground Railroad’s long-overlooked maritime origins, from a pre-eminent scholar of Atlantic history and the award-winning author of The Slave Ship
As many as 100,000 enslaved people fled successfully from the horrors of bondage in the antebellum South, finding safe harbor along a network of passageways across North America now known as the Underground Railroad. Yet imagery of fugitives ushered clandestinely from safe house to safe house fails to capture the full breadth of these harrowing journeys: many escapes took place not by land but by sea.
Deeply researched and grippingly told, Freedom Ship offers a groundbreaking new look into the secret world of stowaways and the vessels that carried them to freedom across the North and into Canada. Sprawling through the intricate riverways of the Carolinas to the banks of the Chesapeake Bay to Boston’s harbors, these tales illuminate the little-known stories of freedom seekers who turned their sights to the sea—among them the legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, one of the Underground Railroad’s most famous architects.
Marcus Rediker, one of the leading scholars of maritime history, puts his command of archival research on full display in this luminous portrait of the Atlantic waterfront as a place of conspiracy, mutiny, and liberation. Freedom Ship is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the complete story of one of North America's most significant historical moments.
As many as 100,000 enslaved people fled successfully from the horrors of bondage in the antebellum South, finding safe harbor along a network of passageways across North America now known as the Underground Railroad. Yet imagery of fugitives ushered clandestinely from safe house to safe house fails to capture the full breadth of these harrowing journeys: many escapes took place not by land but by sea.
Deeply researched and grippingly told, Freedom Ship offers a groundbreaking new look into the secret world of stowaways and the vessels that carried them to freedom across the North and into Canada. Sprawling through the intricate riverways of the Carolinas to the banks of the Chesapeake Bay to Boston’s harbors, these tales illuminate the little-known stories of freedom seekers who turned their sights to the sea—among them the legendary abolitionist Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman, one of the Underground Railroad’s most famous architects.
Marcus Rediker, one of the leading scholars of maritime history, puts his command of archival research on full display in this luminous portrait of the Atlantic waterfront as a place of conspiracy, mutiny, and liberation. Freedom Ship is essential reading for anyone looking to understand the complete story of one of North America's most significant historical moments.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesFreedom Ship Reviews
4.0
“this shit was so heavy but crazy interesting”
“"This book makes it clear that the thoughts, voices, actions, and agency of enslaved people were indispensable to the origins and growth of the antislavery movement." (Epilogue; pg. 324; Hardback)
An eye-opening account of escaping bondage by sea. Like most Americans I learned about the Underground Railroad. However, I was surprised to hear that a significant majority of those escapes were by ship. This book offers a great addendum to the history of the Underground Railroad.
While escaping slavery is the main topic, Rediker also makes a great point about how major ports were at the crossroads of the Industrial Revolution. As shipping expanded in the early 1800s, so did the means of escape for fugitive slaves. It's also a great look at the solidarity of dockworkers, sailors, abolitionists, merchants, and Free Blacks coming together to help their fellow man.
Other than the exciting stories of escape, there are mini-biographies on Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Jonathan Walker, and others. You'll learn about the history of trade in America. You'll learn about major sea routes toward freedom. And You'll learn how abolitionists worked together to create a system of escape in these ports.
The system of maritime escape is a fascinating one and I for one am glad that Marcus Rediker has published a great book on it. You'll be horrified, angry, and yet hopeful when you hear these stories. If you're a history buff, please read this book when you can!”Start a Book Club
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