![]() ![]() Runaways tended to bolt in two stages: in the first, a pioneer runaway made initial contact with the British, and then in the second stage, he returned home to liberate kin and friends. Transcending the usual Anglocentric version of our colonial past, he recovers the importance of Native American tribes, African slaves, and the rival empires of France, Spain, the Netherlands, and even Russia in the colonization of North America. Presley’s return represents a common pattern in the slave escapes during the war. With this volume, Alan Taylor challenges the traditional story of colonial history by examining the many cultures that helped make America. In October 1814, Presley guided a British raiding party to Kinsale, liberating the rest of the slaves and casting Jones out. ![]() In 1815 a visitor to HMS Havannah recognized Presley, whom he praised as “uncommonly likely & trained as a House Servant.” The visitor noted that Presley had renamed himself “Washington,” evidently after the great revolutionary leader who had won liberty and independence for the Americans.3 As a black Washington, Presley returned to free his friends and family left behind. Presley, however, preferred to serve a Royal Navy captain. “Fleeing first, in November 1813, Presley represented the greatest blow, for a body servant was a master’s favorite and confidante: no one knew Jones better than Presley did. ![]()
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