ON TO ANGOLA
THIS IS A SURVIVAL STORY ABOUT EVENTS THAT SHOULD BE ON ANY BLACK HISTORY TOUR.
On to Angola Has Been Republished as THE CHASE IS ON.
With the introduction of the orphans rescued at Fort Mims in my novel, ONE STEP AWAY FROM FOREVER, I set out to craft a story for each of them. Inspired by the events at Angola, I realized that Andro’s story must also involve Angola. Discovering a twin who had been raised in slavery brought the poignancy of a family ripped apart to combine with the raid on Angola by the Coweta Indians. Add to that the horror of any mother to have a child ripped from one’s arms and you have a human tragedy that could not help but touch any heart.
The pirate, Gasparilla, they say is legend. If that is true, why is there a Gasparilla Island, a Captiva Island, a Sanibel Island? So, Gaspar finds a place in this novel and in my imagination. Black Caesar is mentioned as an authentic participant in Haiti and pirate in the Gulf of Mexico. Creatures in the Okefenokee Swamp. So the legends say.
The twins, Andro and Cato, separated at the Massacre at Fort Mims, surmount a separation that includes both class and distance to reunite with their mother. The raid sanctioned by Andrew Jackson on the Red Sticks and Seminoles that remained in Florida and to bring escaped slaves back to their owners. Slave traders and adventurers challenged the boys and Sabrina Stapleton with whom Cato was captured but they had the help of their Seminole friends to make it to Angola before it was destroyed.
The pirate, Gasparilla, they say is legend. If that is true, why is there a Gasparilla Island, a Captiva Island, a Sanibel Island? So, Gaspar finds a place in this novel and in my imagination. Black Caesar is mentioned as an authentic participant in Haiti and pirate in the Gulf of Mexico. Creatures in the Okefenokee Swamp. So the legends say.
The twins, Andro and Cato, separated at the Massacre at Fort Mims, surmount a separation that includes both class and distance to reunite with their mother. The raid sanctioned by Andrew Jackson on the Red Sticks and Seminoles that remained in Florida and to bring escaped slaves back to their owners. Slave traders and adventurers challenged the boys and Sabrina Stapleton with whom Cato was captured but they had the help of their Seminole friends to make it to Angola before it was destroyed.
published originally as IN PURSUIT
Amazon.com
Historical Fiction
Black and Native American History
Florida
Sharman Burson Ramsey tells the complicated, important story of a haven for freedom on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Angola, a maroon community of self-emancipated slaves and free blacks, was hidden from slave raiders and from history, until recently. Piecing together the archaeological and historical information on the hundreds of people living near the Manatee River and Sarasota Bay in early 19th century, the novel skillfully weaves a story of people from across Spanish La Florida, the US southeast, and Britain who sought freedom and family in Tampa Bay, themes that continue to inspire us today.
Uzi Baram
Professor of Anthropology
Director of the New College Public Archaeology Lab
New College of Florida
5800 Bay Shore Road
Sarasota, FL 34243 USA
Baram@ncf.edu
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