When David George lay sick with smallpox in Savannah during the Revolutionary War, he faced three possible outcomes: death, re-enslavement, or freedom.
Greg O'Malley, Professor of History at UC Santa Cruz, follows David George across six decades and three continents, from enslaved Virginia to the Muscogee Creek nation, and from British-occupied Georgia to Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, in his new book, The Escapes of David George: An Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution. It's a story that will change how you think about what the Revolution...
When David George lay sick with smallpox in Savannah during the Revolutionary War, he faced three possible outcomes: death, re-enslavement, or freedom.
Greg O'Malley, Professor of History at UC Santa Cruz, follows David George across six decades and three continents, from enslaved Virginia to the Muscogee Creek nation, and from British-occupied Georgia to Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, in his new book, The Escapes of David George: An Odyssey of Slavery, Freedom, and the American Revolution. It's a story that will change how you think about what the Revolution actually delivered, and for whom.
Greg’s Website | Book
Show Notes: https://www.benfranklinsworld.com/403
EPISODE OUTLINE
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:14 Welcome to Ben Franklin's World
00:02:31 Introducing Greg O'Malley and David George
00:05:43 David George's Odyssey Begins
00:08:12 The Rare Narrative of David George
00:11:07 Authenticating David George's Voice
00:13:39 David George's Multiple Escapes from Slavery
00:20:30 David George's Conversion to Christianity
00:24:53 Why Baptist? The Appeal of Evangelical Faith
00:29:52 David George's Family and Name
00:37:12 Life in Nova Scotia as a Refugee Preacher
00:42:03 Journey to Sierra Leone
00:54:44 Piecing Together David George's Later Years
00:59:49 Discovering the Silver Bluff Baptist Church
01:06:24 Time Warp: What If David George Stayed?
01:10:29 Reflections and Takeaways
RECOMMENDED NEXT EPISODES
🎧 Episode 008: Final Passages: The Intercolonial Slave Trade
🎧 Episode 322: Running from Bondage in Revolutionary America
🎧 Episode 424: Dunmore's Proclamation
🎧 Episode 434: The Frank Brothers: Freeborn Black Soldiers
🎧 Episode 440: Brooke Newman, Jefferson's Cut Grievance and the British Monarchy's Role in Slavery
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