Boston King ( 1760–1802) was a former American slave and

Black Loyalist Black Loyalists were people of African descent who sided with the Loyalists during the American Revolutionary War. In particular, the term refers to men who escaped enslavement by Patriot masters and served on the Loyalist side because of the C ...

, who gained freedom from the British and settled in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

after the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

. He later

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierr ...

, where he helped found

Freetown Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

and became the first

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

to African indigenous people. He published his autobiography in 1798, which was one of only three by Black Nova Scotians and also notable among

slave narratives The slave narrative is a type of literary genre involving the (written) autobiographical accounts of enslaved Africans, particularly in the Americas. Over six thousand such narratives are estimated to exist; about 150 narratives were published as s ...

as a work that was trans-Atlantic. King, who had been born a slave in

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, was apprenticed as a carpenter. He joined the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

when they occupied Charleston, as they promised freedom to slaves.

Early life and education

Boston King was born in South Carolina, the son of a literate slave taken from Africa. His mother knew of herbal preparations from the Native Americans. Boston first joined the British near Charleston; after surviving

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

, he made his way to New York during the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

, twice escaping capture. In New York, he met and married Violet, an enslaved woman from North Carolina who had also joined the British."Boston King"
''Revolution'', Part 2, PBS They had each made their way to New York on the promise of freedom for their contribution to the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

effort.Robin W. Winks, ''The Blacks in Canada: A History''
McGill-Queen's Press, 1997, accessed 27 September 2011 The Kings were among the 3,000 black American slaves who were given certificates of freedom, entered into the ''

Book of Negroes The ''Book of Negroes'' is a document created by Brigadier General Samuel Birch, under the direction of Sir Guy Carleton, that records names and descriptions of 3,000 Black Loyalists, enslaved Africans who escaped to the British lines during ...

'', and evacuated with the British; they were resettled in

Migration to Nova Scotia

King, a master carpenter, helped to form a community with his wife in Birchtown, where he worked a number of odd jobs to survive. The Black Loyalists especially struggled through the early years of the colony; there were delays in their land grants and supplies, and it turned out that the soil was too poor to support much farming. Before the Kings decided to leave Nova Scotia, Boston King was appointed as Methodist minister to a congregation at Preston, near Halifax.

Immigration to Sierra Leone

Although conditions were improving for them in Nova Scotia, King and his wife decided to immigrate to the new British colony, the

Province of Freedom Cline Town is an area in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The area is named for Emmanuel Kline, a Hausa Liberated African who bought substantial property in the area. The neighborhood is in the vicinity of Granville Town, a settlement established in 1787 a ...

(now

) in 1792. It was established for blacks from London and Canada. The Black Canadians, numbering nearly 1200 and traveling on several ships, established their own settlement of

Freetown, Sierra Leone Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is located in the Western Area of the country. Freetown is Sierra Leone's major urban, economic, financial, cultural, educational and po ...

. Violet King died of fever soon after arrival.Vincent Carretta, ''Unchained Voices: An Anthology of Black Authors in the English-Speaking World of the Eighteenth Century''
University of Kentucky Press, 2003, pp. 394-395 At first Boston was employed by the company to preach to the native Africans in Sierra Leone, despite the fact that he could not understand their language. Soon he opened a school, late traveling to England to be schooled himself as a teacher. In 1794, the Sierra Leone Company sent King to England for education as a teacher and missionary at the Methodist-Kingswood School near Bristol. He returned to Sierra Leone in 1796 to teach other settlers and act as a missionary to local native peoples. During that period, he wrote his autobiography, which was published in London.

Marriage and Family

King married again in Sierra Leone after Violet died of malaria. While serving as a

to the

Sherbro people The Sherbro people are a native people of Sierra Leone, who speak the Sherbro language; they make up 1.9% of Sierra Leone's population or 134,606. The Sherbro are found primarily in their homeland in Bonthe District, where they make up 40% o ...

, who were located in the coastal area about 100 miles south of Freetown, he and his second wife died about 1802. King was survived by two sons and a daughter, according to the 1802 census of Sierra Leone.

Autobiography

While studying in Bristol, England, he wrote an autobiography, ''Memoirs of the Life of Boston King'' (1798), which was published in four installments in the ''

Wesleyan Methodist Magazine The ''Wesleyan Methodist Magazine'' was a monthly Methodist magazine published between 1778 and 1969. Founded by John Wesley as the ''Arminian Magazine'', it was retitled the ''Methodist Magazine'' in 1798 and as the ''Wesleyan Methodist Magazi ...

'' in London. It was one of the genre of African American

, notable as one of three by Black Nova Scotians and one that spanned the Atlantic, as he wrote about his emigration to Sierra Leone.Joe Lockard, "Memoirs of Boston King: A Black Preacher"
, Anti-slavery Literature Website, Arizona State University, accessed 27 September 2011 A new edition was published as ''The Life of Boston King, Black Loyalist, Minister, and Master Carpenter'' (2003), by Nimbus Publishing Ltd. and the Nova Scotia Museum.

References

External links

"Schama's Revolutionary Tale: 'Rough Crossings
NPR, 4 July 2006
Francis G. Halpenny, ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography''
University of Toronto Press, 1983
Boston King, excerpt from "Memoirs of the Life of Boston King, A Black Preacher"
''The Methodist Magazine'' 21 (March 1798), 106–10, and 21 (April 1798), 15, ''History Matters'', George Washington University
"New Book Features Story of Black Loyalist"
Nova Scotia Museum, March 2003

with author

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He fi ...

about ''

Rough Crossings ''Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution '' is a history book by Simon Schama. It was the 2006 National Book Critics Circle Award winner for general nonfiction. A 2007 drama-documentary television programme was based on ...

'' on ''Book Talk'', Radio National, ABC Australia, 19 November 2005
"Boston King"
''Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People'', Canadian Digital Collections

''Black Loyalists: Our History, Our People'', Canadian Digital Collections
"Boston King"
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

Shelby County, Nova Scotia {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Boston 1802 deaths African Americans in the American Revolution African-American Methodist clergy American Methodist clergy Black Loyalists Loyalists in the American Revolution from South Carolina Nova Scotian Settlers Sierra Leone Creole people Year of birth uncertain Year of birth unknown People who wrote slave narratives American memoirists African-American non-fiction writers American non-fiction writers African-American missionaries American Methodist missionaries Methodist missionaries in Sierra Leone South Carolina colonial people