Paul Cuffe
Merchant, Abolitionist
1759-1817
Paul Cuffe was born a free child in 1759, on Chuttyhunk Island,
Massachusetts. His father, Kofi was a member of the Ashanti tribe of West
Africa, who was captured and brought to America as a slave at the age of ten.
A skilled carpenter, Kofi (Cuffe) earned his freedom, and educated himself.
Following his death, Paul signed up on a whaling vessel and later cargo
ships, upon which he learned navigational skills. With the outbreak of the
American Revolution, he and his brother built a boat and began their trading
business, which included running British blockades with American supplies.
This small business gradually became a large fleet of merchant vessels,
including his own shipyard, which helped make him one of the wealthiest men
in America. Although wealthy, he was concerned about the unfair treatment of
Blacks, both free and slave, and in 1780 petitioned the council of Bristol
County to end taxation
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Paul Cuffe
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without representation (Blacks denied the right to vote).
However,
his largest crusade took shape in the form of a "Back to Africa" campaign.
On December 10, 1815, after four years of exploratory research and much of his
wealth invested, he set sail for Sierra Leone, Africa, with a group of free
Blacks. His intent was to end slavery at the West African colony by building
a free and prosperous industrialized Africa. Despite difficulties by white
merchants, the American group prospered. Returning to America, Paul Cuffe
died on this day in 1817.
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