Strange New Land: Africans in Colonial America

by Peter H. Wood

Engaging and accessibly written, Strange New Land explores the history of slavery and the struggle for freedom before the United States became a nation. Beginning with the colonization of North America, Peter Wood documents the transformation of slavery from a brutal form of indentured servitude to a full-blown system of racial domination. Strange New Land focuses on how Africans survived this brutal process--and ultimately shaped the contours of American racial slavery through numerous means,
- Mastering English and making it their own
- Converting to Christianity and transforming the religion
- Holding fast to Islam or combining their spiritual beliefs with the faith of their masters
- Recalling skills and beliefs, dances and stories from the Old World, which provided a key element in their triumphant story of survival
- Listening to talk of liberty and freedom, of the rights of man and embracing it as a fundamental right--even petitioning colonial administrators and insisting on that right.

Against the troubling backdrop of American slavery, Strange New Land surveys black social and cultural life, superbly illustrating how such a diverse group of people from the shores of West and Central Africa became a community in North America.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, American History, Africa

112 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

I have always been interested in early American history and in the interactions of diverse cultures. My undergraduate honors paper at Harvard in 1964 dealt with the Puritans' relations with the Indians, and my doctoral thesis there focused on African Americans in South Carolina before 1740. Since coming to Duke in 1975, I have taught Colonial American History and Native American History, as well as a course on the History of Documentary Film. Long term interests in race relations and in American painting led me to collaborate with art historian Karen Dalton in 1988 on an exhibition and a related book concerning Winslow Homer's images of Blacks. Time spent as the department's Director of Graduate Studies (1988-95) and as one of the professors in the U.S. Survey class (History 91D) has made me increasingly interested in the ways we learn and teach American history. Perhaps for this reason, I have always been actively involved as a humanities advisor on diverse public history projects and as a board member with a variety of grassroots organizations and mainstream institutions. I am a lead author for the US survey textbook, Created Equal, which is now in its second edition.

Reviews

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

This little history book should be a part of every American history course. Wood presents many unknown parts of African American history, interwoven with the history of the United States. African Americans have been a part of the founding of this country long before the Euros, and their knowledge of African plants/agriculture/music and woodworking contributed to our culture and ability to thrive here, esp. in the South. It was eye-opening to learn also that bias against skin color was a relatively new invention in the last few hundred years, that prior to that slave status was judged by religious beliefs. Hopefully, an indication that bigotry can reverse itself in its evolution.

[Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply important book which I’ve revisited several times since being exposed to it in an African American History course in college. While the book can be bland at certain points, it helped me understand the unequivocal material influence of black indentured servants in colonial America. It also describes what historians have dubbed the “Terrible Transformation” of indentured servitude of captured African people into chattel slavery, and the various events that led to it in a digestible way. This book should be required reading in the study of American colonial history. Peter H. Wood offers a deep insight into the undeniable influence black people had on America’s development, a crucial yet often misunderstood aspect of our country’s history.

[Geicodave · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short survey of Blacks in Colonial America. It is especially useful for those who are unfamiliar with the subject. The author clearly explains how and why, during the seventeenth century, blacks (and blacks alone) were deliberately reduced by law and custom to the status of lifelong chattel slaves. This is a subject that historians continue to debate, but the author provides as clear an explanation as any I have read.

[Cinda Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a brief but interesting book. It was a general overview of the history of Africans in the Americas. The book is fact-oriented but does not shy away from the worst facts related to slavery. I learned a lot from reading it and would recommend it, esp if you are interested in history.

[Natasha Ortiz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, there was so much that I did not know about Africans in Colonial America,

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book that held my attention throughout. I would have liked more detail, but maybe there simply isn't any.

[Mariyam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect book for my African-American History class.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

An introductory overview of the subject, but worthwhile.

[Paige · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Read for HIS 257)

Short and sweet introductionary studies of early African influence in North America. Wished it was longer, but the book sets you up for an individual jounrey to grasp the details of this history.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to this book from the Slate podcast "History of Slavery in America," and I am glad that I did. I learned a lot. Wood lays out how indentured servitude led to chattel slavery over the course of the 17th century, and how racist ideas were then retroactively used to justify the institution that had been created. Wood also explores the lives of a few specific people whose lives are known to us by fluke of historical documentation, like Job ben Solomon, Anthony Johnson, and Phillis Wheatley. I was particularly interested in the section that detailed African contributions to American culture, such as foods, cooking styles, and house construction, and African cultural artifacts that have remained in African American culture.
I think this book was originally intended as a college textbook, but I enjoyed just reading it. Definitely worth reading.

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting (i.e. it didn't bore me to tears, and some of it was actually enjoyable to read) history of the slave trade industry and slaves' lives in early America.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, easy to read history of the forced immigation of Africans to the new world and the process by which they established a new culture. Not bad. But not as detailed as I would have liked.

[Mark Cheathem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, concise summary of the African/African-American experience in colonial America.

[Jennie Butler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of Colonial slavery but not very in-depth

[Deanna Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much new info given and many individuals were named and what they had attempted.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange New Land: Africans in Colonial America by Peter H. Wood – This was one of my American Colonial textbooks from college, and it was really fascinating! Happy Reading!