[Black Jacks: African American Seamen in the Age of Sail, by W. Jeffrey Bolster]

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THE YOUNG BRUTUS

"After the American Revolution, seafaring became one of the few occupations commonly available to free black men. Although many maintained only a passing allegiance to respectable black society and families ashore, others used their paltry wages to support associations and churches, like the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia [not pictured]. Working aboard schooners like The Young Brutus (painted by Frederic Roux c. 1830 with black men on the foredeck), sailors often were separated from their families for months."

(photo caption)

Copyright © 1997 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
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