For the first time; all the proslavery--but also pro-black--writings of Zephaniah Kingsley (1765-1843) appear together in one volume. Kingsley was a slave trader and the owner of a large plantation near Jacksonville in what was then Spanish East Florida. He married one of his slaves and had children with several others. While Kingsley eventually emancipated all of his children and their mothers; he became alarmed at the deteriorating status of free blacks after Florida became a territory in 1821. His unusual protest of their treatment; "A Treatise on the Patriarchal System of Society;" called for a three-caste society that separated race and class. He envisioned a buffer caste of free people of color between whites and enslaved blacks; but united with whites by economic interests. The treatise simultaneously upheld the legitimacy and necessity of slavery yet assaulted the white southern premise of abject black inferiority. Daniel Stowell carefully assembles all of Kingsley's writings on race and slavery to illuminate the evolution of his thought. The intriguing hybrid text of the four editions of the treatise clearly identifies both subtle and substantial differences among the editions. Other extensively annotated documents show how Kingsley's interracial family and his experiences in various slaveholding societies in the Caribbean and South America influenced his thinking on race; class; and slavery. In despair of ever changing the slaveholding patterns of Florida; Kingsley finally settled his mixed-race children and several of his slaves in Haiti; however; he left behind more than 80 of his slaves to work his plantations in Florida. When he died; these African Americans remained in bondage; unfortunate victims of hardening American racial attitudes and of Kingsley's effort to "balance evils judiciously."
#660812 in Books Random House Trade Paperbacks 2011-02-15 2011-02-15Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.01 x .68 x 5.16l; .55 #File Name: 0812979494320 pages
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Mountaineering in reverse!By Anthony M. FrascaBlind Descent is the story of the obscure international competition to find the deepest cave on earth. We meet Bill Stone; a career spelunker; who explores supercaves in Mexico including Hualta and Cheve over decades. And Alexander Klimchouk who descends into Krubera cave in Abkhazia. The stories delve into the difficulties of spelunking including technical and psychological issues. There are underground rivers; gorges; waterfalls and sumps.Stone's obscession with Hualta cave and the difficult San Augustin sump leads him to invent a rebreathing scuba system that creates controversy when an expedition member; Ian Rolland; an experienced cave diver dies suddenly trying to crack the sump. The author belabors the issue unnecessarily; mostly because numerous expedition members and others implicate the rebreathing system in Rolland's death. However; when Stone and his girlfriend; novice cave diver Barbara am Ende; crack the sump with the same system Rolland used it becomes clear that Stone's rebreather is revolutionary despite its complexity.The title of deepest cave eventually goes to Krubera and Klimchouk's team.The book is filled with the technically difficulties of descending into deep supercave systems. The story is well written and exhaustively researched however it does ramble on at times and perseverates over some issues that can be dealt with in one paragraph. Still; it is a worthwhile read and a window into the underworld exploits of spelunkers.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. Go Where Few Have Gone BeforeBy William CapodannoAfter reading quite a few books on some of the world's most alluring and deadly mountains --- Everest; K2 -- and books on climbing to the highest parts of earth; this presented an interesting counterpoint. Tabor captures the world of deep cave diving and the world of extreme spelunkers attempting to explore the deepest caves the world has to offer.Bring together no personal experience exploring caves and without any knowledge on the subject; I found "Blind Descent" to be a fascinating and at times a nerve wracking read. The individuals who pursue these caves possess some of the same characteristics as world class mountain climbers; except they enjoy spending their time in the dark; burrowing through rocks; descending giant waterfalls and into sinkholes and looking for air pockets that might lead to new; unexpored passages.There are times when it can be a bit difficult to make a mental image of what Tabor is describing; especially without exprience exploring caves and without pictures (completely realize why there aren't) but overall; "Blind Descent" makes for a fascinating read about some of the least explored and least hospitable parts of the earth.3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. Well-Written; Well-Conceived Adventure StoryBy Kindle CustomerI love books of this kind; so I'm a bit partial.But I loved the way Tabor framed this story as a race between two very different explorers; in very different environments; with very different management styles; temperament; and personalities.Could the book have used a little editing? Sure.I also would have liked more pictures and maps; or perhaps that's just an issue with the Kindle edition -- I'm not sure.But in the whole I would recommend this book as a look at a relatively unknown yet massive achievement; which happened just a few years ago while no one was really paying attention.
