Description
Book SynopsisOnce We Were Slaves tells the story of a brother and sister who were born enslaved Christians in Barbados yet ended up among the wealthiest white Jews in New York. Tracing the siblings' extraordinary journey throughout the Atlantic world, Leibman examines artifacts they left behind, family heirlooms, and official documents to show how this transformation was possible. Though their affluence was exceptional, their story mirrors that of the largely forgottenpopulation of mixed African and Jewish ancestry that constituted as much as ten percent of the Jewish communities in the New World and challenges current notions regarding Jews and race in early America.
Trade ReviewOnce We Were Slaves most definitely "works." It is a book one needs to dive into, step back from, and then reread as the story of this far-flung multiracial family begins to emerge ... Leibman has done a remarkable job of evoking time and place in a vast Atlantic world in which identities were made and remade ... Her discussion of pandemics has an eerily contemporary ring as she reminds us that they are nothing new -- and neither are our responses to them. * Julie Winch, The Civil War Book Review *
This book is a must read for both academic historians and for those who simply love a good story. * Jessica V. Roitman, Studia Rosenthaliana *
Table of ContentsIllustrations Preface Chapter 1: Origins (Bridgetown, 1793-1798) Chapter 2: From Slave to Free (Bridgetown, 1801) Chapter 3: From Christian to Jew (Suriname, 1811-12) Chapter 4: The Tumultuous Island (Bridgetown, 1812-1817) Chapter 5: Synagogue Seats (New York & Philadelphia, 1793-1818) Chapter 6: The Material of Race (London, 1815-17) Chapter 7: Voices of Rebellion (Bridgetown, 1818-24) Chapter 8: A Woman Valor (New York, 1817-19) Chapter 9: This Liberal City (Philadelphia, 1818-33) Chapter 10: Feverish Love (New York, 1819-1830) Chapter 11: When I am Gone (New York, Barbados, London, 1830-1847) Chapter 12: Legacies (New York and Beyond, 1841-1860) Epilogue Appendix: Family Trees Abbreviations Bibliography Notes
