New Books Network Marcus Rediker, "Freedom Ship: The Uncharted History of Escaping Slavery by Sea" (Penguin Group, 2025)
Sep 20, 2025
Marcus Rediker, a Distinguished Professor of Atlantic History at the University of Pittsburgh and acclaimed historian, dives into the thrilling subject of maritime escapes from slavery. He reveals how up to 100,000 fugitives found freedom at sea, sharing gripping tales of conspiracies and daring sails. Rediker discusses the essential roles of multiethnic dockworkers and abolitionists like Frederick Douglass in these escapes. He also highlights the challenges and strategies employed by those seeking liberation, emphasizing their bravery and resilience in history.
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Sea As A Frontier Of Freedom
- Maritime escape was a major, overlooked engine of resistance to slavery, visible in hundreds of runaway ads and abolitionist accounts.
- Marcus Rediker uncovered this long-hidden maritime frontier over decades of archival research.
Sources That Reveal Hidden Journeys
- Three key sources reveal maritime escapes: runaway advertisements, abolitionist life narratives, and vigilance committee records.
- Court records and varied archives filled gaps and allowed voices of fugitives to be recovered.
Escape As An Art
- Escaping by sea required planning, local ecological knowledge, timing, and social intelligence rather than pure physical flight.
- Rediker calls it an "art of escape" because success depended on reading people and networks at ports.
