Introduction

Abstract

In the introduction, Christopher Curry provides a theoretical foundation for the thematic chapters that follow. He discusses the notion that the Bahamas represents a unique geo-political space settled by loyalists at the end of the American Revolution. Racial identities inscribed in law, customs, and practices became the source of friction between black and white loyalists in the Bahamas. Such friction in fact was initiated during the course of the Revolutionary War but was amplified in the Bahamas due to competing aspirations. One group was seeking greater freedom under the protection of British promises and proclamations; and the other, already possessing liberty, was attempting to gain economic advantages as potential slave-owning planters. Curry argues that black loyalists were cultural carriers of a revolutionary movement reflected in their attitudes to work, demands for freedom, and their efforts to establish important religious and social institutions.