A Question of Roots and Wilderness: Marronage in 18th Century Virginia.

The main question of this thesis is how marronage can be conceptualized in the context of Colonial Virginia and to what extent a runaway’s social network and location can enable a further subdivision of marronage. It will be argued that by considering marronage as a relationship characterized by liminality; a relationship between slave and society that bordered between freedom and slavery, one can distinguish rooted marronage from wilderness marronage without losing the underlying similarities. The first chapter will set up a theoretical framework by giving an overview of current conceptualizations of marronage. Furthermore, it will explain why this thesis considers marronage as a type of relationship that can be divided into rooted marronage and wilderness marronage. The second chapter will explore the concept of rooted marronage; the appropriation by a runaway of a liminal identity on the basis of a runaway’s social network. The third chapter will then compare this concept with...Show moreThe main question of this thesis is how marronage can be conceptualized in the context of Colonial Virginia and to what extent a runaway’s social network and location can enable a further subdivision of marronage. It will be argued that by considering marronage as a relationship characterized by liminality; a relationship between slave and society that bordered between freedom and slavery, one can distinguish rooted marronage from wilderness marronage without losing the underlying similarities. The first chapter will set up a theoretical framework by giving an overview of current conceptualizations of marronage. Furthermore, it will explain why this thesis considers marronage as a type of relationship that can be divided into rooted marronage and wilderness marronage. The second chapter will explore the concept of rooted marronage; the appropriation by a runaway of a liminal identity on the basis of a runaway’s social network. The third chapter will then compare this concept with wilderness marronage; the appropriation of a liminal space at a inaccessible location by either a group or an individual runaway that depended on remaining unseen.Show less

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A Question of Roots and Wilderness: Marronage in 18th Century Virginia.