Paul Cuffe, also known as Paul Cuffee (January 17, 1759 – September 7, 1817) was an American businessman,
whaler
A whaler or whaling ship is a specialized vessel, designed or adapted for whaling: the catching or processing of whales.
Terminology
The term ''whaler'' is mostly historic. A handful of nations continue with industrial whaling, and one, Japa ...
and
abolitionist
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
. Born
free into a
multiracial family on
Cuttyhunk Island
Cuttyhunk Island is the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. A small outpost for the harvesting of sassafras was occupied for a few weeks in 1602, arguably making it the first English settlement in New England. Cuttyhunk is locat ...
,
, Cuffe became a successful merchant and sea captain. His mother, Ruth Moses, was a
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
from
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
,
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
and his father an
Ashanti captured as a child in West Africa and sold
into slavery in
Newport about 1720. In the mid-1740s, his father was
manumitted
Manumission, or enfranchisement, is the act of freeing enslaved people by their enslavers. Different approaches to manumission were developed, each specific to the time and place of a particular society. Historian Verene Shepherd states that ...
by his
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
owner, John Slocum. His parents married in 1747 in
Dartmouth.
After Cuffe's father died when the youth was thirteen, he and his older brother, John, inherited the family farm (their mother had
life rights). They resided there with their mother and three younger sisters. The following year Cuffe signed on to the first of three whaling voyages to the
West Indies
The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...
. During the
Revolutionary War, Cuffe delivered goods to Nantucket by slipping through a
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
blockade
A blockade is the act of actively preventing a country or region from receiving or sending out food, supplies, weapons, or communications, and sometimes people, by military force.
A blockade differs from an embargo or sanction, which are le ...
on a small sailboat. After the war, he built a lucrative shipping business along the Atlantic Coast and in other parts of the world. He also built his own ships in a boatyard on the Westport River. In Westport, Massachusetts, he founded the first
racially integrated school in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
A devout Quaker, Cuffe joined the Westport Friends Meeting in 1808. He often spoke at the Sunday services at the Westport Meeting House and also at other Quaker meetings in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
.
[Abigail Mott, ''Biographical sketches and interesting anecdotes of persons of color'' (printed and sold by W. Alexander & Son; sold also by Harvey and Darton, W. Phillips, E. Fry, and W. Darton, London; R. Peart, Birmingham; D. F. Gardiner, Dublin, 1826)](_blank)
pp. 31–43 (accessed on Google Books). In 1813, he donated half the money for a new meeting house in Westport, and oversaw the construction. The building still survives. Few Americans of color were admitted to the Friends Meeting at that time.
Cuffe became involved in the British effort to found a
colony in Sierra Leone, to which the British had transported more than 1,000 former slaves originally from America. Some had been enslaved by American Patriots and had sought refuge and freedom behind British lines during the war. After the British were defeated, they took those former slaves first to
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
and London. Prodded by
Black Loyalists
Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the Cro ...
such as
Thomas Peters, who had agitated for a return to Africa, the British in 1792 offered the Nova Scotia blacks a chance to set up a colony of their own in Sierra Leone, where they resettled.
At the urging of leading
British abolitionists
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
, in 1810 Cuffe sailed to Sierra Leone to learn about conditions for the settlers and whether he could help them. He concluded that efforts should be made to increase the local production of exportable commodities and develop their own shipping capabilities rather than continuing to export freed slaves. Cuffe sailed to England to meet with members of The African Institution, who were also leading abolitionists. He offered his recommendations to improve the lives of all the people in Sierra Leone. His recommendations were well received in London and he subsequently made two more trips to Sierra Leone to try to implement them.
On his last trip in 1815–16, he transported nine families of free blacks from Massachusetts to Sierra Leone to assist and work with the former slaves and other local residents to develop their economy. Some historians relate Cuffe's work to the "
Back to Africa" movement being promoted by the newly organized
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
(ACS). A group made up of both Northerners and Southerners, it was focused on resettling free blacks from the United States to Africa - eventually resulting in development of Liberia. The leaders of the ACS had sought Paul Cuffe's advice and support for their effort. After some hesitation, and given the strong objections by free blacks in Philadelphia and New York City to the ACS proposal, Cuffe chose not to support the ACS. He believed his efforts in providing training, machinery and ships to the people of Africa would enable them to improve their lives and rise in the world.
Biography
Early life
Paul Cuffe was born on January 17, 1759, on
Cuttyhunk Island
Cuttyhunk Island is the outermost of the Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. A small outpost for the harvesting of sassafras was occupied for a few weeks in 1602, arguably making it the first English settlement in New England. Cuttyhunk is locat ...
,
. He was the youngest son of Coffe (
Kofi
Kofi is an Akan masculine given name among the Akan people (such as the Ashanti and Fante) in Ghana that is given to a boy born on Friday. Traditionally in Ghana, a child would receive their Akan day name during their Outdooring, eight days aft ...
) Slocum and his wife Ruth Moses. Kofi was an
Ashanti slave of
Akan Akan may refer to:
People and languages
*Akan people, an ethnic group in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire
*Akan language, a language spoken by the Akan people
*Kwa languages, a language group which includes Akan
*Central Tano languages, a language group w ...
heritage.
[Thomas, Lamont D. ''Paul Cuffe: Black Entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist'' (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988), pg 3] The Ashanti form of slavery was different from American chattel slavery, in a number of ways. Ashanti slaves had legal rights, could own property, inherit property and marry.
At around 10 years old Kofi was either seized or sold to
Fanti Fanti is an Italian surname. Notable people with this name include:
*Bartolomeo Fanti (1428–1495), beatified Italian Carmelite priest
*Fausto Fanti (1978–2014), Brazilian actor, comedian and musician
*Franco Fanti (1924–2007), Italian Olympic ...
middlemen, the first step in the Atlantic slave trade. On the West African coast he was traded to representatives of the
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English mercantile (trade, trading) company set up in 1660 by the royal House of Stuart, Stuart family and City of London merchants to trade along the West Africa, west coast of Africa. It was led by the J ...
and shipped to
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
, where he was purchased by Ebenezer Slocum, a Quaker farm owner in
Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Dartmouth (Massachusett: ) is a coastal town in Bristol County, Massachusetts. Old Dartmouth was the first area of Southeastern Massachusetts to be settled by Europeans, primarily English. Dartmouth is part of New England's farm coast, which co ...
.
[Thomas, Lamont D. ''Paul Cuffe: Black Entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist'' (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988), pp 3-4.] In 1742, Slocum sold Kofi to his nephew, John Slocum, for 150 pounds. John apparently intended to free Kofi after he had gained his purchase price in labor, and manumitted him around 1745.
Kofi took the last name of Slocum, his former owner.
[Thomas, Lamont D. ''Paul Cuffe: Black Entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist'' (Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988), pp 4-5.] In 1746, he married Ruth Moses.
She was a member of the
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
Nation, and had been born and raised on
Cape Cod
Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...
.
At that time Kofi was working as a paid laborer for Holder Slocum, who had a large farm in Dartmouth and also owned the westernmost Elizabeth Islands, off the south coast of Massachusetts. Holder Slocum and his neighbors transported sheep to those islands for grazing during the summer months. He hired Kofi Slocum to care for those sheep; in about 1750 Kofi moved with his family to the westernmost island, known as Cuttyhunk.
There he built a house and lived year-round with his family for the next 15 years. The last eight children of Coffe and Ruth were born on Cuttyhunk, including Paul, the 7th child and youngest of four boys. They had the only house and may have been the only full-time residents on Cuttyhunk. Members of the Wampanoag tribe likely lived, at least seasonally, on nearby islands in the Elizabeth chain and also on
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard, often simply called the Vineyard, is an island in the Northeastern United States, located south of Cape Cod in Dukes County, Massachusetts, known for being a popular, affluent summer colony. Martha's Vineyard includes the s ...
. In 1766 Coffe and Ruth bought a farm in nearby
Dartmouth, and moved to the mainland with their ten children in the spring of 1767.
Coffe Slocum died in 1772, when Paul was 13. As their two eldest brothers by then had families of their own elsewhere, Paul and his brother John took over their father's farm operations. They also supported their mother and several sisters.
Around 1777-1778, when he was 19, Paul's older brother John decided to use a version of his father's first name, Coffe, as his last name. Several of his siblings did the same, but not all. Paul later signed his name on correspondence, deeds, and his will by spelling 'Coffe', with a 'u' instead of an 'o'. In the national census of 1790, 1800 and 1810 his last name is recorded as "Cuff"; census takers sometimes wrote only how names sounded and are not required to meet the people whose names they're recording. Paul's mother, Ruth Moses, died on January 6, 1787.
Time as a mariner
In 1773, the year after his father's death and again in 1775, Paul Cuffe sailed on whaling ships, getting a chance to learn navigation. In his journal, he identified as a ''marineer'' (
mariner
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
). In 1776 after the start of the
Revolutionary War, he sailed on a whaler but it was captured by the British. He and the rest of the crew were held as
prisoners of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold priso ...
for three months in New York City before being released. Cuffe returned to his family in what is now Westport, Massachusetts. In 1779, he and his brother David borrowed a small sailboat to reach the nearby islands. Although his brother was afraid to sail in dangerous seas, Cuffe set forth, probably with a friend as crew in 1779 to deliver cargo to
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...
. He was waylaid by pirates on this and several subsequent voyages. Finally, he made a trip to Nantucket that turned a profit. He reportedly continued to make these trips to Nantucket throughout the war.
In 1780, at the age of 21, Paul and his brother John Cuffe refused to pay taxes because free blacks did not have the
right to vote
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...
in Massachusetts. In 1780, they petitioned the council of
Bristol County, Massachusetts
Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in S ...
, to end such taxation without representation, which had been an issue of colonists that led many to the Revolution. The petition was denied, but his suit contributed to the state legislature decision in 1783 to grant voting rights to all free male citizens of the state.
After the war ended, Cuffe entered into a partnership with his brother-in-law, Michael Wainer, to build ships and establish a shipping business along the Atlantic Coast. He gradually built up capital and expanded to a fleet of ships. After using open boats, he commissioned the 14- or 15-ton closed-deck ship ''Box Iron'', and then an 18- to 20-ton
schooner
A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...
. In 1789 he and Wainer set up their own shipyard on the east bank of the
Acoaxet River, in the new town of Westport which had been carved from Old Dartmouth. He continued to build ships for the next 25 years.
Paul's sister Mary had married Michael Wainer in 1772; they had seven sons together between 1773 and 1793. Many as men became crew members and even captains on ships owned by their father and uncle. Jeremiah Wainer and his two sons (Cuffe's great-nephews) were lost at sea in 1804 when one of the family ships went down.
Marriage and family
On February 25, 1783, Cuffe married the widow Alice Abel Pequit. Like Cuffe's mother, Alice was a Wampanoag woman.
[Harris, p. 30.] The couple settled first in an "Indian-style" house near Destruction Brook in Dartmouth and later in
Westport, Massachusetts
Westport (Massachusett: ) is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,339 at the 2020 census.
The village of North Westport lies in the town. Other named areas of the town are "Westport Point," which has a do ...
, where they raised their seven children: Naomi (born 1783), Mary (born 1785), Ruth (1788), Alice (1790), Paul Jr. (1792), Rhoda (1795), and William (1799).
Shipping
In 1787, Paul Cuffe and his brother-in-law, Michael Wainer (husband of Mary Slocum, his older sister and ten years older than Paul) built their first ship together, a 25-ton schooner ''Sunfish.'' It was the beginning of a long partnership between the two men and their families. Their next ship was the 40-ton schooner ''Mary'' that was built in their own boatyard on the Acoaxet River. They then sold the ''Mary'' and ''Sunfish'' to finance construction of the ''Ranger'' — a 69-ton schooner launched in 1796 again from Cuffe's shipyard in Westport. In 1799 Cuffe added to his shipyard property, increasing it from 0.22 acres to 0.33 acres to provide more room for both his family home and the boatyard.
By 1800 he had enough capital to build and hold a half-interest in the 162-ton
barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts having the fore- and mainmasts Square rig, rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) Fore-and-aft rig, rigged fore and aft. Som ...
''Hero''. At that time Cuffe was one of the most wealthy — if not the most wealthy — African American or Native American in the United States. His largest ship, the 268-ton ''Alpha'', was built in 1806, and his favorite ship, the 109-ton
brig
A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...
''Traveller'' the following year. In 1811, when Cuffe took the ''Traveller'' into
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
, ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' of London reported that it was probably the first vessel to reach Europe that was "entirely owned and navigated by Negroes."
Property purchases by Paul Cuffe
Paul Cuffe and his brother John inherited the 116-acre farm in Westport from their father. They subsequently divided it between them but Paul never seemed to show an interest in farming and left the management of the farming to his brother or later to tenants. Paul's first recorded property purchase in 1789 was the 0.22-acre lot on the Acoaxet River where he first located his boatyard and then his home. He added to that lot in 1799 by acquiring a 0.11-acre abutting property on the south side of his boatyard. http://paulcuffe.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/New-Revelations-FINAL.pdf
Also in 1799 Paul Cuffe bought two large properties from a Westport neighbor, Ebenezer Eddy. The first was the Eddy family homestead of 100-acres with a house and outbuildings that was some 300 yards south of his boatyard on the Acoaxet River. The following year Paul sold this property to his sister and brother-in-law, Mary and Michael Wainer, for the same price he had paid for it. In the deed it states that the Wainers were already living on the property. From this record it appears that Paul bought the property for the Wainers with the understanding that they would buy the property from him when they were able. Michael Wainer and Paul Cuffe remained partners, with Wainer's sons captaining and crewing most of the ships.
The second property that Paul purchased from the Eddy family in 1799 was a 40-acre lot several hundred yards north of his boatyard that had previously belonged to the Allen family and was known as "The Allen Lot." He appears to have leased this land out to others to farm and then willed it to his youngest son, William, along with money to build a house on it.
Some years later, in 1813, Paul purchased from David Soule a roughly 4-acre property abutting his boatyard and home on the north and west. This was property of only a little over 4 acres that he identified as his homestead and divided among his wife and children when he died in 1817.
Cuffe's landholdings and those of Michael Wainer are described in the Cole, Gifford, Slade listed and linked in the references.
Prior settlements of free blacks in Sierra Leone
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, most
White Americans
White Americans are Americans who identify as and are perceived to be white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. As of the 2020 Census, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented ...
believed that people of African descent were inferior to those of European descent. The
Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a Protestant religious revival during the early 19th century in the United States. The Second Great Awakening, which spread religion through revivals and emotional preaching, sparked a number of reform movements. R ...
, carried primarily by Quakers, Methodists, and Baptists from New England to the American South, had motivated some owners to
manumit (free) their slaves after the Revolutionary War. As slavery continued after the Revolution, primarily in the South, prominent men such as Presidents
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 18 ...
and
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
, both slave owners, believed the emigration of free Blacks to colonies either within or outside the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
was the easiest and most realistic solution to the race problem in America. It was a means of providing an alternative for free blacks, rather than absorbing a large population of ex-slaves into the white community through emancipation.
![Sierra Leone Johannes 1732](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b1/Sierra_Leone_Johannes_1732.jpg)
Attempts to settle American Blacks in other parts of the world had encountered many difficulties, including the British attempt to found a colony in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. Beginning in 1787, the
Sierra Leone Company sponsored 400 people, mostly the "Black Poor" of London, to resettle in
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
, Sierra Leone. Some were African Americans who had been freed from slavery by escaping to British lines during the Revolutionary War and then evacuated from American upon the war's conclusion. The
Freetown colony
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...
struggled to establish a working economy and develop a government that could survive against outside pressures. After the financial collapse of the
Sierra Leone Company, a second group, the newly-created
African Institution
The African Institution was founded in 1807 after British abolitionists succeeded in ending the slave trade based in the United Kingdom. The Institution was formed to succeed where the former Sierra Leone Company had failed—to create a viabl ...
, offered emigration to a larger group of
Black Loyalists
Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the Cro ...
who had been resettled in
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland".
Most of the population are native Eng ...
after the Revolutionary War. Many of the African Institution's sponsors hoped to gain an economic return from the colony.
The second wave of settlers in Sierra Leone consisted of some 1,200 free Blacks who, after England's defeat, had been transported by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
from American port cities to Nova Scotia for resettlement. These people of color, mostly from the southern U.S. states, found Nova Scotia a very uncomfortable place, where they faced regular discrimination at the hands of the local white residents.
John Clarkson
John Gibson Clarkson (July 1, 1861 – February 4, 1909) was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago White Stocking ...
, a young naval officer, and the younger brother of
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...
, an ardent abolitionist, led the expedition of 15 ships from Nova Scotia to Freetown in the early months of 1792.
This group of settlers had formed communities and congregations in Nova Scotia and many of them were educated and skilled in farming and various crafts. John Clarkson carried through on the promised housing and land allotments so long as he remained in Freetown, through the end of 1792. But two issues arose that caused continuing conflict between the Nova Scotians and the English authorities. The Sierra Leone Company in London, that had supported the movement of the Free Blacks from Nova Scotia to Sierra Leone, had different goals than the new settlers. They wanted to establish a commercially viable
plantation system
A plantation economy is an economy based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few commodity crops, grown on large farms worked by laborers or slaves. The properties are called plantations. Plantation economies rely on the export of cash ...
, using the two groups of settlers as laborers. They also demanded quit-rents from those settlers who received land distributions, a condition that John Clarkson was unaware of. The settlers refused to pay such rents and this became a continuing source of conflict.
These grievances led the Black Nova Scotians to launch a revolt in 1800, a revolt that was only suppressed by the arrival of a new group of settlers from Nova Scotia known as "
maroons
Maroons are descendants of African diaspora in the Americas, Africans in the Americas who escaped from slavery and formed their own settlements. They often mixed with indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous peoples, eventually ethnogenesi ...
." These were free blacks who had originally been brought as slaves to Jamaica in previous centuries but had managed to escape into the mountainous areas of that island where they had survived and governed themselves for over a century. This group of maroons were transported to Sierra Leone from
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
after the conclusion of the
Second Maroon War.
A final group of settlers that were deposited in Sierra Leone in the years after 1807 were the Africans who had been freed by the
British Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
from
slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast ...
s that they captured after the British
abolition of the slave trade
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The British ...
in 1807. These freed blacks came from various areas along the West African coast.
Cuffe's first venture to Sierra Leone, in 1811
Paul Cuffe had for some years taken an interest in the colonial settlements in Africa. One of his close Quaker friend and business partner, William Rotch Sr., had traveled to London shortly after the Revolutionary War ended at a time when there was much discussion in government and the press about the first settlement of
blacks from Britain in Sierra Leone. When Rotch returned to America and settled in New Bedford he potentially informed Paul Cuffe about these undertakings. Subsequently Cuffe wrote as follows:
I have for these many years past felt a lively interest in their behalf, wishing that the inhabitants of the colony might become established in truth, and thereby be instrumental in its promotion amongst our African brethren.
From March 1807 on, Cuffe was encouraged by Quaker and abolitionist friends in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, and
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to help the fledgling efforts to improve Sierra Leone. Cuffe mulled over the logistics and chances of success for the movement before deciding in 1809 to join the project. On December 27, 1810, he left Philadelphia on his first expedition to Sierra Leone.
Cuffe reached
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and p ...
,
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
, on March 1, 1811. He traveled the area and investigated the social and economic conditions of the region. He met with some of the colony's officials, who were opposed to American commercial vessels coming to Sierra Leone and competing with local merchants. His own attempts to sell goods yielded poor results, particularly because of high
tariff
A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and poli ...
charges on trade to and from the colony. On Sunday, April 7, 1811 Cuffe met with the foremost black entrepreneurs of the colony. Together, they wrote a petition for the African Institution in London, stating that the colony's greatest needs were for settlers to work in agriculture, merchandising, and the whaling industry, saying that these three areas would best facilitate the growth of the colony. Upon receiving this petition, the members of the Institution agreed with their findings. Cuffe and the black entrepreneurs together founded the
Friendly Society of Sierra Leone as a mutual-aid merchant group dedicated to furthering prosperity and industry among the free peoples in the colony.
At the invitation of the African Institution, Cuffe sailed to
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
to secure further aid for the colony, arriving in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
in July, 1811. He was warmly received by the heads of the African Institution in London, and they raised some money for the Friendly Society. He was granted governmental permission and license to continue his mission in Sierra Leone. He also stayed with British officials and merchants in London and Liverpool, who were very hospitable and respectful of the intelligent, dedicated, and hard-working African-American Quaker merchant who was full of positive ideas about what might be done to improve the colony of Sierra Leone and bring development to the African people. Encouraged by this support, Cuffe returned to Sierra Leone, where he and black settlers solidified the role of the Friendly Society. They refined development plans for the colony including building a grist mill, saw mill, rice-processing factory, and salt works.
Embargo, President Madison, and the War of 1812
Relations between the United States and Britain were strained and, as 1811 ended, the
U.S. government established an embargo on British goods, including goods from Sierra Leone. This affected U.S. transatlantic trade, as well as trade with Canada. When Cuffe reached
Newport in April 1812, his ship the ''Traveller'' was seized by U.S. customs agents, along with all its goods. Officials would not release his cargo, so Cuffe went to
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, to appeal. He was able to meet with Secretary of the Treasury
Albert Gallatin
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan– American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Often described as "America's Swiss Founding Father", he was a leading figure in the early years ...
and
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
James Madison
James Madison Jr. (March 16, 1751June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father. He served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison is hailed as the "Father of the Constitution" for hi ...
. Madison warmly welcomed Cuffe into the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
. This may have been the first time an African American had been a guest in the White House. Deciding that Cuffe had not intentionally violated the embargo, Madison ordered his cargo returned to him.
Madison also questioned Cuffe about his time in Sierra Leone and conditions there. Eager to learn about Africa, Madison was interested in the possibility of expanding colonization there by free American blacks. The strained diplomatic situation with Britain erupted into the
War of 1812
The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
. Despite this, it has been suggested that Madison regarded Cuffe as the leading U.S. authority on Africa at that time.
Cuffe intended to return to Sierra Leone regularly, but in June 1812 the war started. As a Quaker
pacifist
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...
, Cuffe opposed the war on moral grounds. He also despaired of the interruption of trade and efforts to improve Sierra Leone.
[Thomas, pp. 82-83.] As the war between the United States and Britain continued, Cuffe tried convincing both countries to ease their restrictions on trading, and allow him to continue trading with Sierra Leone. His petition to the
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
was acted on favorably in the Senate, but rejected in the House, that was dominated by representatives from the South. Like other merchants, he was forced to wait until the war ended.
Meanwhile, Cuffe visited
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, speaking to groups of
free blacks about the colony. Cuffe also urged blacks to form Friendly Societies in these cities, communicate with each other, and correspond with the African Institution and with the Friendly Society in Sierra Leone. He printed a
pamphlet
A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...
about Sierra Leone to inform the general public of the conditions in the colony and his ideas about bringing progress there. In At home in 1813, Cuffe worked mainly on the rebuilding of the Westport Friends Meeting House and contributed roughly half the cost of that project. c.
The war caused Cuffe to lose ships and he suffered financially. The ''Hero'' was declared not seaworthy while in
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
and never returned home. John James of
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, his managing partner in the ''Alpha'', was losing money in the ship's operations. Fortunately the war ended with the
Treaty of Ghent
The Treaty of Ghent () was the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812 between the United States and the United Kingdom. It took effect in February 1815. Both sides signed it on December 24, 1814, in the city of Ghent, United Netherlands (now in ...
at the end of 1814. After getting his finances in order, Cuffe prepared to return to Sierra Leone.
After the war
Cuffe sailed out of Westport on December 10, 1815, with thirty-eight free black colonists: eighteen adults and twenty children, ranging in age from eight months to sixty years old. The group included
William Gwinn
William Gwinn (Guinn, Guin) (born 1755) was an African American from Boston, Massachusetts. He was one of the first black Americans to participate in the antebellum American Back-to-Africa movement under the auspices of Captain Paul Cuffe's 1815 ...
and his family from Boston.
The expedition cost Cuffe more than $4,000 (). Passengers' fares, plus a donation by
William Rotch, Jr. of New Bedford, covered the remaining $1,000 cost. The colonists arrived in Sierra Leone on February 3, 1816. The ship was carrying such supplies as axes, hoes, a plow, a wagon, and parts to build a sawmill. Cuffe and his immigrants were not greeted as warmly as Cuffe had been previously. Governor MacCarthy of Sierra Leone was already having trouble keeping the general population in order, and was not excited at the idea of more immigrants. In addition, the Militia Act, which had been imposed upon the colony, required all adult males to swear an oath of allegiance to
the Crown
The Crown is the state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, overseas territories, provinces, or states). Legally ill-defined, the term has different ...
. Many local people refused to do so for fear of being drafted into military service. In addition, his cargo sold at undervalued prices. But the new colonists were finally settled in Freetown. Cuffe believed that once regular trade between the United States, Europe, and Africa began, the society would prosper.
For Cuffe, though, the expedition was costly. Each colonist needed a year's provisions to get started, which he had advanced to them. Governor MacCarthy was sure that the African Institution would reimburse Cuffe, but they did not, and he lost over $8,000 () after having to pay high tariff duties as well. The African Institution never reimbursed Cuffe for the mission, and Cuffe had to deal with mounting economic issues. He knew he needed stronger financial backing before undertaking another such expedition.
Later years
On his return to New York in 1816, Cuffe exhibited to the New York chapter of the African Institution the certificates of the landing of those colonists at Sierra Leone. "He has also received from Gov. MacCarthy a certificate of the steady and sober conduct of the settlers since their arrival, and an acknowledgment of $439.62 advanced to them since they landed, to promote their comfort and advantage."
During this time period, many African Americans became interested in emigrating to Africa, and some people believed this was the best solution to the problem of racial tension in American society. Cuffe was persuaded by Reverends
Samuel J. Mills and
Robert Finley
Robert Finley (1772 – November 3, 1817) was an American Presbyterian clergyman and educator who is known as one of the founders of the American Colonization Society, which established the colony of Liberia in West Africa as a place for free A ...
to provide information and advice to the
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society (ACS), initially the Society for the Colonization of Free People of Color of America until 1837, was an American organization founded in 1816 by Robert Finley to encourage and support the migration of freebor ...
(ACS), formed for this purpose. Cuffe was alarmed at the overt
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
displayed by many members of the ACS, who included slaveholders. Certain co-founders, particularly
Henry Clay
Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
, advocated relocating freed Blacks as a way of ridding the American South of "potentially troublesome agitators" who might disrupt their slave societies. Other Americans preferred the emigration to
Haiti
Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...
. The Haitian government of President
Jean-Pierre Boyer
Jean-Pierre Boyer (15 February 1776 – 9 July 1850) was one of the leaders of the Haitian Revolution, and President of Haiti from 1818 to 1843. He reunited the north and south of the country into the Republic of Haiti in 1820 and also annex ...
encouraged American immigrants, believing they could help the country develop and gain recognition by the United States government (which did not happen until 1861, when the Southern politicians who controlled the government withdrew ''en masse'' to form the
Confederacy).
Death and legacy
In early 1817, Cuffe's health deteriorated. He never returned to Africa, and died in Westport on September 7, 1817. His
last words
Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances.
Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately) which became a historical and liter ...
were "Let me pass quietly away." Cuffe left an estate with an estimated value of almost $20,000 (). His will bequeathed property and money to his widow, siblings, children, grandchildren, the widow and heirs of Benjamin Cook, and the Friends Meeting House in Westport. He is buried in the graveyard behind the Westport Friends Meeting House and his wife was later buried next to him. A crowd of more than 200 friends, relatives, and admirers gathered for the ceremony and his long-time friend and contemporary, William Rotch Jr., delivered one of the eulogies at the event. The following month, Reverend Peter Williams Jr. offered an extended eulogy at the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church in New York.
Henry Noble Sherwood, who wrote one of the first biographies about Paul Cuffe that is included in the references and further reading, summed up his life in the final paragraph of that work as follows:
"Overwhelming his industry, his religion and education stands his optimism. He believed in the victory of righteousness; therefore, he worked for it. He believed in the triumph of truth; therefore, he dedicated himself to it. He realized the mastery of poverty; therefore, he gave pursuit to wealth. He believed in the amelioration of his race; therefore, he consecrated himself to it." (Sherwood, Paul Cuffe, p. 229.)
Legacy and honors
*On January 16, 2009, Congressman
Barney Frank
Barnett Frank (born March 31, 1940) is a former American politician. He served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts from 1981 to 2013. A Democrat, Frank served as chairman of the House Financial Services Committee ...
inserted extended remarks titled "Paul Cuffe: Voting Rights Pioneer" into the ''
Congressional Record
The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...
''.
[https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2009-01-16/pdf/CREC-2009-01-16-pt1-PgE108.pdf ]
*Governor
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick (born July 31, 1956) is an American politician, civil rights lawyer, author, and businessman who served as the 71st governor of Massachusetts from 2007 to 2015. He was first elected in 2006, succeeding Mitt Romney, who ...
of Massachusetts issued a proclamation honoring the 250th anniversary of the birthday of Paul Cuffe
[In the possession of Brock N. Cordeiro of Dartmouth, MA] on January 17, 2009 by declaring it Paul Cuffe Day in Massachusetts.
*The Massachusetts State House and Senate issued citations on January 17, 2009 honoring Paul Cuffe's birth.
*On September 7, 2017 Governor
Charlie Baker
Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...
of Massachusetts issued a proclamation honoring the 200th anniversary of Paul Cuffe's death by making that date Paul Cuffe Day in Massachusetts.
[Westport Historical Society]
*The Massachusetts House and Senate issued citations on September 7, 2017 honoring the 200th anniversary of Paul Cuffe's death.
*The New Bedford Whaling Museum opened the Captain Paul Cuffe Park at the corner of Water and Union Streets in 2018.
*The Paul Cuffe Symposium Committee Inaugurated the Paul Cuffe Heritage Trail celebrating Native American and African American Heritage from New Bedford to Westport on September 7, 2017 which honors Cuffee Slocum, Paul Cuffe, and Michael Wainer.
*Th
Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter Schoolfor Providence Youth was established in 2001 in Providence, Rhode Island.
*The Paul Cuffe Math-Science Technology Academy ES was established in 2003 in Chicago, Illinois, replacing the Cuffe Elementary School.
See also
*
Absalom Boston, the first African-American captain to sail a whaleship, with an all-black crew
*
Lewis Temple, best remembered for the invention of "Temple's Toggle" or "Temple's blood" which was a harpoon toggle tip based upon Eskimo and Indian harpoon tips brought back to New England by Whalers in 1835
References
Further reading
* All the Symposium Papers from the paulcuffe.org website.http://paulcuffe.org/symposium-papers/
* ''Exploring Paul Cuffe: The Man and his Legacy'', a Public Symposium Saturday October 3, 2009 held at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. Selected Papers:
**Cole, David C
''The Struggle for Respect: Paul Cuffe and his Nova Scotian Friends in Sierra Leone''
**Kilson, Marion
''Paul Cuffe’s Social Networks and Entrepreneurial Success''**Lowther, Kevin G, ''If Paul Cuffe Had Lived a Few Years Longer: Sierra Leone and Liberia, as They Might Have Been'' http://paulcuffe.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Lowther_Kevin.pdf
**Winch, Julie
''Thou Art Often the Companion of my Mind: Cuffe, James Forten and the Portrait of a Friendship''* Cuffe 1759-1817: Following His Footsteps'': a Public Symposium Saturday, September 16, 2017, held at the Westport Friends Meeting House and Westport Grange. Selected Papers:
**Cole, David C., Gifford, Richard, and Slade, Bett
''New Revelations from Old Deeds''**Cruz, Carl J
''Envisioning Paul Cuffe: An overview of the images that have been used to represent Paul Cuffe''* Armistead, Wilson. ''Memoir of Paul Cuffe A Man of Colour.'' London: Edmund Fry, Bishopsgate Street, 1840 from the Cornell University Library Digital Collections.
* Channing, George A. ''Early Recollections of Newport, Rhode Island from the year 1793 to 1811'', Boston: A. J. Ward and Charles E. Hammett, Jr., 1898.
* Cole, David C., Richard Gifford, Betty F. Slade, Raymond Shaw. "Paul Cuffe: His Purpose, Partners and Properties." New Bedford, Spinner Publications, 2020.
* Cordeiro, Brock N
''Paul Cuffe: A Study of His Life and the Status of His Legacy in Old Dartmouth'' Boston, MA: University of Massachusetts Boston, 2004.
* Greene, Lorenzo Johnston. ''The Negro in Colonial New England'', (Studies in American Negro Life, New York: Atheneum, 1942), p. 307.
* Gross, David (ed.), ''We Won't Pay!: A Tax Resistance Reader'', pp. 115-117, .
* Harris, Sheldon H. ''Paul Cuffee: Black America and the African Return''. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972.
* ''The American Promise: A History of the United States'', 1998 (p. 286).
* Horton, James Oliver and Lois E. Horton (5 December 1996). ''In Hope of Liberty: Culture, Community and Protest among Northern Free Blacks, 1700-1860.'' Oxford University Press. p. 186.
* Mott, Abigail. "''Biographical Sketches and Interesting Anecdotes of Persons of Colour,''" 1826. Printed and sold by Harvey and Dalton, W. Phillips, E. Fry, and W. Darton, London; R. Pearl, Birmingham; D. F. Gardiner, Dublin, 1826), pp. 31- 43. https://books.google.com/books?id=vQ2qZk0hdlsC
* Nell, William C. ''
The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution
''The Colored Patriots of the American Revolution, With Sketches of Several Distinguished Colored Persons: To Which is Added a Brief Survey of the Conditions and Prospects of Colored Americans'', or, in brief, ''The Colored Patriots of the America ...
'', 1855.
* New Bedford Free Public Library. Paul Cuffe Manuscript Collection. Original source materials of Cuffee Slocum and Paul Cuffe.
* New Bedford Registry of Deeds. Deeds and plans of the land transactions of Cuffee Slocum, Michael Wainer and sons, and Paul Cuffe.
* Paul Cuffe website. "PaulCuffe.org" Compilation of articles, genealogy, ships built, timeline and other materials on Cuffee Slocum, Paul Cuffe, and Michael Wainer.
* Salvador, George. "P''aul Cuffe, the Black Yankee, 1759-1817''." New Bedford, Mass.: by the author, 1969.
* Sherwood, Henry Noble. "Paul Cuffe." ''Journal of Negro History''. Vol 8, No 2, April 1923, PP. 153-232.
* Thomas, Lamont D. ''Paul Cuffe: Black Entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist,'' Urbana and Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1988, pp 4-5.
* Thomas, Lamont D. ''Rise to Be a People'', University of Illinois Press, 1986, republished in 1988 as ''Paul Cuffe: Black Entrepreneur and Pan-Africanist.'' Comprehensive book on Paul Cuffe.
* Town of Westport, Ma. website. Historical documents. Digitized Paul Cuffe Manuscript Collection from both the New Bedford Free Public Library and the New Bedford Whaling Museum Library. https://www.westport-ma.com/historical-documents/pages/cuffe-paul-personal-and-family-papers.
* Wiggins, Rosalind Cobb. ''Captain Paul Cuffe's Logs and Letters, 1808-1817 A Black Quaker's " Voice from within the Veil"'']. Washington: Howard University Press, 1996.
* Williams, Jr., Peter, ''A Discourse Delivered on the Death of Capt. Paul Cuffee before the New-York African Institution'', in The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, October 21, 1817, New-York, Reprinted for W. Alexander; sold also by Darton & Co., W. Phillips, and W. Darton, Jr., London, 1818.
*
External links
* Paul Cuffe websit
— website established in 2017 and updated regularly by the Westport Historical Society, Westport, Massachusetts, that is dedicated to documenting current and ongoing research about the lives of Cuffee Slocum, Paul Cuffe, Michael Wainer, and their relatives and descendants. It includes information on the African American Native American Heritage trail established between New Bedford and Westport in 2017.
Captain Paul Cuffe Park and New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts
Paul Cuffee School a maritime
charter school
A charter school is a school that receives government funding but operates independently of the established state school system in which it is located. It is independent in the sense that it operates according to the basic principle of auto ...
in
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...
. Note this website spells Cuffee with two "e's".
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cuffee, Paul
1759 births
1817 deaths
18th-century Quakers
19th-century Quakers
African-American abolitionists
African-American Christians
African-American repatriation organizations
American colonization movement
American pan-Africanists
American people of Ashanti descent
American people of Ghanaian descent
American people in whaling
American Quakers
American tax resisters
Anglican saints
Converts to Quakerism
People from Cuttyhunk Island
People from Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Quaker abolitionists
Sierra Leone Creole history
Wampanoag people