‘All spirited likely young lads’: free men of colour, the defence of Jamaica, and subjecthood during the American War for Independence

Bollettino, M. A., Dziennik, M. P. and Newman, S. P. (2020) ‘All spirited likely young lads’: free men of colour, the defence of Jamaica, and subjecthood during the American War for Independence. Slavery and Abolition, 41(2), pp. 187-211. (doi: 10.1080/0144039X.2020.1714110)

Abstract

The American War for Independence provided opportunities across the British Americas for people of African descent to embrace military service as a means of enhancing their rights. In Jamaica wartime disagreements between imperial officials and the planter elite gave free men of colour an opportunity to lay claim to fairer treatment and the rights of subjecthood through military service. By examining a series of unique and unprecedented petitions and recruiting proclamations, this article reconstructs the creation of the Jamaica Rangers in 1782 and reveals how free men challenged the racial hierarchies of the island and coalesced politically a decade before scholars have previously recognised the emergence of community mobilisation.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Newman, Professor Simon
• Authors: Bollettino, M. A., Dziennik, M. P., and Newman, S. P.
• Subjects: D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain; F History United States, Canada, Latin America > F1201 Latin America (General)
• College/School: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
• Journal Name: Slavery and Abolition
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis
• ISSN: 0144-039X
• ISSN (Online): 1743-9523
• Published Online: 14 January 2020
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2020 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor and Francis Group
• First Published: First published in Slavery and Abolition 41(2):187-211
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced in accordance with the publisher copyright policy