Learn about African Americans in the early republic.

Paterson Joseph describes how his research into Black British history led him to write his first play, Sancho: An Act of Remembrance. In this one-man show, Paterson Joseph inhabits the life of Ignatius Sancho, the 18th-century composer,...

This article explains how Daniel Defoe came to write Robinson Crusoe, and why the novel and its protagonist have fascinated readers for centuries.

From the mid 18th century, Africans and people of African descent - many of them former slaves - began to write down their stories. This article describes these writings and assesses their role in the abolition of slavery.

In the 17th century, London was at the center of global trade, with goods and individuals arriving in the capital from all over the world. This article looks at how travel, trade, and empire shaped the works of Daniel Defoe, Alexander...

This website explains why Virginia needed laborers, why it led to the use of African labor and how it was justified by Christians. Hyperlinks to related topics on the site.

This site from the Cornell University School of Law provides a brief description of what happened during the Amistad Revolt and gives details concerning the Supreme Court that followed.