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“Creatures Of Mimic And Imitation”: The Liberty Tree, Black Elections, And The Politicization Of African Ceremonial Space In Revolutionary Newport, Rhode Island, Edward E. Andrews

History & Classics Faculty Publications

The article explains how African slaves changed the colonial space of 18th century Newport, Rhode Island by transporting and preserving cultural and political concepts and codes. African slaves who came directly to Newport frequently came from the Gold Coast and consisted of Mandingo, Mende, Ibo, Ashanti and Fante peoples. Although the city's black population came from various regions and groups, its Africans could draw on a common cultural vocabulary that gave trees a sacred, and even cosmic, importance.