Africa in Florida in MEXICO

While much scholarly attention has been focused on the "Black Atlantic," the Gulf of Mexico--which swirls amongst Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean has received very little notice within the broader field of African Diaspora Studies. Sagrario Curz Carretero's chapter "From Florida to Veracruz: The Foundation of San Carlos Chachalacas," drew our volume into that realm.

A panel discussion in Mexico City about our book, Africa in Florida, made me realize how fascinating and important dialogues about the African Diaspora are in Mexico. Mexican scholars are dealing with complex histories where identities related to Africa are submerged within national identities that favor indigenous and Spanish heritage. Graduate students looking for a dissertation topic....go to Mexico! I believe that foreign scholars have so much to learn from these Mexican scholars and those foreigners could also enrich the conversations with their outside perspectives.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Conference of the Caribbean Book! I learned so much. Gracias.

Allara publishes a review of Africa in Florida

Pamela Allara publishes a review of Africa in Florida! In Coming to Light: The Spiritual and Material Legacies of African Cultures in Florida (H-AfrArts, July 2014), she writes.... 

What initially appeared to me (as someone from the Northeast) as a rather marginal topic reveals itself instead to be so rich...

...one of the pleasures of this book--and what would make it an ideal supplementary text for a graduate seminar--is the discovery of illuminating narratives...

In order to map this complex mental and physical space, the editors cast a wide net that includes theorists, historians, anthropologists, poets, and artists, resulting in differing approaches that deliberately avoid coherence or closure.

Read the entire review, see H-Net Review.

The Maroons of Prospect Bluff and Their Quest for Freedom in the Atlantic

  

Available from University Press of Florida

Nathaniel Millet (Associate Professor of History, Saint Louis University) is a contributing author to Africa in Florida, see Chapter 2: An Overview of Florida's Black Past. His book--The Maroons of Prospect Bluff and Their Quest for Freedom in the Atlantic World-- was recently published and has already won two awards (Florida Book Award for Florida Nonfiction, Silver - 2013 and Rembert Patrick Book Award - 2014).  

Synopsis from the UPF website:

During the War of 1812, Edward Nicolls of the Royal Marines armed ex-slaves, Red Sticks, and Seminoles to fight alongside the British from a fort erected at Prospect Bluff in the Florida panhandle. This so-called Negro Fort became the largest maroon community ever to emerge in North America. Fervently opposed to slavery, Nicolls galvanized the Prospect Bluff allies with his radical anti-slavery ideology and the promise of freedom, asserting their rights and privileges equal to those of any British subject.

At war’s end, Nicolls remained at Prospect Bluff, petitioning American officials to respect the territorial sovereignty of his Indian allies. When diplomacy failed, Nicolls left the fort to his black army of radicalized British subjects and encouraged it to defend the territory against all threats. What developed was a well-organized community that regarded itself as an independent British polity.

Nathaniel Millett examines how the Prospect Bluff maroons constructed their freedom, shedding light on the extent and limits of their physical and intellectual fight to claim their rights. He compares their settlement extensively with maroon communities across the Americas, emphasizing the rare opportunity offered by Prospect Bluff to examine black consciousness during the era of slavery.