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History Pre-confederation (to 1867)

The Refugee

Narratives of Fugitive Slaves in Canada

by (author) Benjamin Drew

introduction by George E. Clarke

Publisher
Dundurn Press
Initial publish date
Jun 2008
Category
Pre-Confederation (to 1867), General, General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781550028010
    Publish Date
    Jun 2008
    List Price
    $29.99
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781459712270
    Publish Date
    Jun 2008
    List Price
    $9.99

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Description

In the early 1850s, white American abolitionist Benjamin Drew was commissioned to travel to Canada West (now Ontario) to interview escaped slaves from the United States. At the time the population of Canada West was just short of a million and about 30,000 black people lived in the colony, most of whom were escaped slaves from south of the border. One of the people Drew interviewed was Harriet Tubman, who was then based in St. Catharines but made several trips to the U.S. South to lead slaves to freedom in Canada.

In the course of his journeys in Canada, Drew visited Chatham, Toronto, Galt, Hamilton, London, Dresden, Windsor, and a number of other communities. Originally published in 1856, Drew’s book is the only collection of first-hand interviews of fugitive slaves in Canada ever done. It is an invaluable record of early black Canadian experience.

About the authors

Benjamin Drew (1812-1903) was an American abolitionist from Boston whose work was made possible thanks to the support of the Canadian Anti-Slavery Society and John P. Jewett, a renowned anti-slavery sympathizer from Boston who had unexpectedly reaped a fortune from publishing Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852.

Benjamin Drew's profile page

George Elliott Clarke is the E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. An award-winning poet, playwright, and screenwriter, he is the author of Execution Poems, winner of the 2001 Governor General's Award for Poetry.

George E. Clarke's profile page