New Books Network Ronald Angelo Johnson, "Entangled Alliances: Racialized Freedom and Atlantic Diplomacy During the American Revolution" (Cornell UP, 2025)
Nov 13, 2025
Ronald Angelo Johnson, the Ralph and Bessie May Lynn Endowed Chair of History at Baylor University, dives into the intricacies of diplomacy and racialized freedom in his book. He unravels stories of American patriots from Saint-Domingue resisting European tyranny. Johnson highlights how the 1763 Treaty sowed revolutionary seeds and examines the impact of print culture in shaping Atlantic ideas. He also discusses the overlooked contributions of Crispus Attucks to the Boston Massacre narrative and connects the American Revolution to the rise of the Haitian Revolution.
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Reframing The Revolution As Hemispheric
- The American Revolution extended far beyond North America and involved transatlantic exchanges of people and ideas.
- Ronald Angelo Johnson reframes the revolution as a hemispheric phenomenon connecting the Caribbean and the United States.
McIndall’s Maroon Mission And Martyrdom
- McIndall escaped slavery, led maroon circuits in Saint-Domingue, and preached Black pride to enslaved people.
- Authorities executed him in 1758, but his martyrdom inspired later Haitian resistance and the Haitian Revolution.
St. Croix Quarantine Sparked The Project
- Johnson began writing the book in quarantine on St. Croix after a fellowship to Edinburgh was canceled by COVID.
- Solitude on St. Croix led him to discover local archives linking Caribbean and North American revolutionary networks.
