About the book
By tracing the largely forgotten eighteenth-century migration of elite mixed-race individuals from Jamaica to Great Britain, Children of Uncertain Fortune reinterprets the evolution of British racial ideologies as a matter of negotiating family membership. Using wills, legal petitions, family correspondences, and inheritance lawsuits, Daniel Livesay is the first scholar to follow the hundreds of children born to white planters and Caribbean women of color who crossed the ocean for educational opportunities, professional apprenticeships, marriage prospects, or refuge from colonial prejudices.
The presence of these elite children of color in Britain pushed popular opinion in the British Atlantic world toward narrower conceptions of race and kinship. Members of Parliament, colonial assemblymen, merchant kings, and cultural arbiters — the very people who decided Britain’s colonial policies, debated abolition, passed marital laws, and arbitrated inheritance disputes — rubbed shoulders with these mixed-race Caribbean migrants in parlors and sitting rooms. Upper-class Britons also resented colonial transplants and coveted their inheritances; family intimacy gave way to racial exclusion. By the early nineteenth century, relatives had become strangers.
Editions of Children of Uncertain Fortune
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781469634432
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469634456
- EBook
- ISBN 9798890852168
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469634449
- PDF
- ISBN 9798890852151
Read an Excerpt
By tracing the largely forgotten eighteenth-century migration of elite mixed-race individuals from Jamaica to Great Britain, Children of Uncertain Fortune reinterprets the evolution of British racial ideologies as a matter of negotiating family membership. Using wills, legal petitions, family correspondences, and inheritance lawsuits, Daniel Livesay is the first scholar to follow the hundreds of children born to white planters and Caribbean women of color who crossed the ocean for educational opportunities, professional apprenticeships, marriage prospects, or refuge from colonial prejudices.
The presence of these elite children of color in Britain pushed popular opinion in the British Atlantic world toward narrower conceptions of race and kinship. Members of Parliament, colonial assemblymen, merchant kings, and cultural arbiters — the very people who decided Britain’s colonial policies, debated abolition, passed marital laws, and arbitrated inheritance disputes — rubbed shoulders with these mixed-race Caribbean migrants in parlors and sitting rooms. Upper-class Britons also resented colonial transplants and coveted their inheritances; family intimacy gave way to racial exclusion. By the early nineteenth century, relatives had become strangers.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Children of Uncertain Fortune about?
By tracing the largely forgotten eighteenth-century migration of elite mixed-race individuals from Jamaica to Great Britain, Children of Uncertain Fortune reinterprets the evolution of British racial ideologies as a matter of negotiating family membership. Using wills, legal petitions, family correspondences, and inheritance lawsuits, Daniel Livesay is the first scholar to follow the hundreds of children born to white planters and Caribbean women of color who crossed the ocean for educational opportunities, professional apprenticeships, marriage prospects, or refuge from colonial prejudices.
The presence of these elite children of color in Britain pushed popular opinion in the British Atlantic world toward narrower conceptions of race and kinship. Members of Parliament, colonial assemblymen, merchant kings, and cultural arbiters — the very people who decided Britain’s colonial policies, debated abolition, passed marital laws, and arbitrated inheritance disputes — rubbed shoulders with these mixed-race Caribbean migrants in parlors and sitting rooms. Upper-class Britons also resented colonial transplants and coveted their inheritances; family intimacy gave way to racial exclusion. By the early nineteenth century, relatives had become strangers.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Children of Uncertain Fortune?
History and Archaeology > History > History of the Americas
Where can I read a sample of Children of Uncertain Fortune?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469634432
How long is Children of Uncertain Fortune and how many pages does it have?
Children of Uncertain Fortune has 432 page(s)
Is Children of Uncertain Fortune part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Published by the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture and the University of North Carolina Press
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Children of Uncertain Fortune?
Daniel Livesay
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Children of Uncertain Fortune is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469634432) and ebook(ISBN 9781469634456) and ebook(ISBN 9798890852168) and ebook(ISBN 9781469634449) and pdf(ISBN 9798890852151)
Where can I buy Children of Uncertain Fortune online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Children of Uncertain Fortune from below
Where can I buy Children of Uncertain Fortune?