Description

Distinct patterns of the application of slavery emerged in the North American regions of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, the Chesapeake, the South's Eastern Seaboard, and the Lower Mississippi Valley. The differences among these five geographical areas forced a measure of diversity into American slavery so that there is no single black-slave experience that emerges today. The two demographic experience factors shared by slaves in North America were the "saltwater slave" experience of coming to the New World directly from capture on the African continent, versus the "seasoned" or "freshwater slave" experience of having labored in the Caribbean before arriving on the mainland. As the population of African slaves increased, their progeny became American-born Creoles, a multi-racial mix of African, European, and Indian ethnicity. Also important to the development of specific slave societies was the amount of interaction of the African slaves with white people. The South was especially segregated, allowing a richer dimension of African culture to be retained by slaves that wound up there. But regardless of region, black slaves established networks of familial links among themselves and friendships with Native Americans, while using the cultures and ancient rivalries of the Europeans to their best advantage when possible.

African American History

Nat Turner:

Prologue and Part One

Answer the questions with complete sentences. You must type the question and the answer. Cite page numbers from The Fires of Jubilee to receive credit. Submit as a word document only in the Dropbox on Blackboard. Do not use the comment field.

"This Infernal Spirit of Slavery"

1. Provide a brief background description of Southampton County, Virginia in 1831.

1. Describe the background of Nat's mother, Nancy.

1. What happened to Nat's father?
2. Why was the young Nat perceived as a special person?
3. How did Nat become the property of Samuel Turner?
4. How and why does Nat's life change at age twelve?
5. What do we know about Nat's wife, Cherry?
6. Describe Nat's effort to run away? Why does he return?