Cover; Contents; Acknowledgments; INTRODUCTION. Elisabeth and Her Sisters; CHAPTER ONE. The Free Colored Moment War and Revolution in a Brave New World; CHAPTER TWO. Bars, Brothels, and Business Rachael Pringle Polgreen and Rosetta Smith; CHAPTER THREE. By Labors and Fidelity Judith Philip and Her Family; CHAPTER FOUR. A Lasting Testament of Gratitude Susannah Ostrehan and Her Nieces; CHAPTER FIVE. The Queen of Demerara Mrs. Dorothy Thomas; CHAPTER SIX. By Habit and Repute The Intimate Frontier of Empire; CHAPTER SEVEN. Uncertain Prospects Mixed- Race Descendants at the Heart of Empire
In the Caribbean colony of Grenada in 1797, Dorothy Thomas signed the manumission documents for her elderly slave Betty. Thomas owned dozens of slaves and was well on her way to amassing the fortune that would make her the richest black resident in the nearby colony of Demerara. What made the transaction notable was that Betty was Dorothy Thomas's mother and that fifteen years earlier Dorothy had purchased her own freedom and that of her children. Although she was just one remove from bondage, Dorothy Thomas managed to become so rich and powerful that she was known as the Queen of Demerara. Do
