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People & Perspectives: From Enslaved to "Merikin"

Following Freedom-Seekers from Sotterley to Trinidad

This is a FREE hybrid event put on by Historic Sotterley with presenter Dr. Tayzhuan Glover. Join in-person at Historic Sotterley OR virtually. Registration is required.

During the War of 1812 between the United States and Great Britain, hundreds of enslaved men, women, and children in the Chesapeake, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana were able to secure their freedom by offering aid to the British. Following the war, many of these freedom-seekers were resettled in Nova Scotia and Trinidad. This presentation will use American and British colonial archives to follow the journey to freedom of the enslaved men, women, and children from Historic Sotterley who were resettled in Trinidad in 1815, where they laid the foundation for Trinidad’s “Merikin” descendant community.

Dr. Tayzhuan Glover is currently a Mellon Humanities Postdoctoral Research Fellow for the National Park Service where he researches and interprets the legacy of enslaved people from the Chesapeake who joined the Colonial Marines during the War of 1812.