Fenda Lawrence (1742Hassoum Ceesay: Gambian women: an introductory history. 1. Auflage. Fulladu Publishers, Gambia 2007 – after 1780), was an African

slave trader The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Likewise, its victims have come from many different ethnicities and religious groups. The social, economic, and legal positions o ...

who operated in the

Saloum The Kingdom of Saloum ( Serer: ''Saluum'' or ''Saalum'') was a Serer kingdom in present-day Senegal and parts of Gambia. The precolonial capital was the city of Kahone. Re-established in 2017, Saloum is now a non-sovereign traditional monarch ...

town of Kaur. In 1772, she visited the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

as a free black woman for both tourism and to trade.

Biography

Fenda Lawrence lived in pre-colonial

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

near the

Gambia river The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra, French language, French: ''Fleuve Gambie'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Rio Gâmbia'') is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward ...

during the mid-18th century. While there, she acted as a go-between for the British and French traders and the local Africans. This was a position afforded to her by marriage to an Englishman. Lawrence worked out of the

town of Kaur. In 1772, Lawrence visited the

of America as a tourist with some business interests. By this point, she had already separated from her English partner. Arriving on the ship ''New Britannia'', Lawrence took five personal slaves with her. It first arrived in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, after 36 days of sailing. Lawrence was then accompanied by the Captain of the vessel, Stephen Deane, to

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. She was issued a document from the state proclaiming that she was "a free black woman and heretofore a considerable trader in the River Gambia on the coast of Africa, hath voluntarily came to be and remain for some time in this province". Lawrence would have been a native speaker of

Wolof Wolof or Wollof may refer to: * Wolof people, an ethnic group found in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * Wolof language, a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania * The Wolof or Jolof Empire, a medieval West African successor of the Mal ...

, but in order to trade in Georgia, would have spoken Creole. Deane requested permission on behalf of Lawrence for her to settle permanently in Georgia. Deane stated that he had known Lawrence for seven or eight years, and stated that specifically James Lawrence, her son, should be allowed to stay. In Robert Davis' article for ''The Georgia Historical Quarterly'', her proposes that Fenda Lawrence was the mother of at least one if not more of Deane's children. He states that Deane's son David Laurence was certainly also the son of Lawrence.

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrence, Fenda 18th-century American businesswomen African slave traders 18th-century Gambian people 18th-century African businesspeople Women slave owners Women slave traders 18th-century slave traders

Biography

See also

Notes

References