Paul Cuffe

American shipbuilder, abolitionist, and black nationalist

• Born: January 17, 1759
• Birthplace: Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts
• Died: September 7, 1817
• Place of death: Westport, Massachusetts

The son of an African-born slave and a Native American woman, Cuffe overcame racial discrimination to become a successful shipbuilder and trader and helped initiate a black nationalist movement that advocated colonizing of Africa by free African Americans.

Early Life

Paul Cuffe (KAH-fee) was the son of a man named Kofi who had been born in Africa and brought to New England as a slave in 1728. Given the surname of his owner, his father was known as Cuffe Slocum. After he was freed in 1742, he married a Native American woman, Ruth Moses, of the Wampanoag tribe. They then settled on a farm on Cuttyhunk, a small island off the coast of Massachusetts. Many of the local residents were Quakers—members of the Society of Friends. Although Ruth and Cuffe Slocum were not Quakers, they shared many Quaker beliefs and gave their ten children Christian names.

In 1766 Cuffe Slocum moved his family to Westport, Massachusetts, where Paul, his youngest son, worked on the family farm. There was no public school, so young Paul taught himself to read and write. Slocum died when Paul was fourteen; afterward, Paul and his brother John worked the farm to support the family. However, Paul was ambitious for an adventurous life. He signed on as a seaman, first on a New England whaling ship and later on cargo vessels. During these international voyages he learned the navigational skills that would serve him throughout his maritime career.

With the money Paul earned as a sailor, he and his brother David went into the shipbuilding business. During the Revolutionary War he ran ships through Great Britain’s blockade of New England ports to supply the settlers of the coastal towns and Nantucket with trading goods. He was once jailed by the British and later was several times attacked by pirates and robbed of his cargos.

Proud of his African heritage, Paul took his father’s name, calling himself Paul Cuffe (or Cuffee). At that time, free African Americans were few in Massachusetts, and although no state law prohibited them from voting, the local government denied them this right. Taking a stand against this injustice, Paul and his brother John refused to pay their taxes and were briefly jailed. Eventually, they negotiated a settlement to pay only part of their assessments and were freed. In 1783, Paul married Alice Pequit, a Native American woman, and began the career that would eventually make him one of the wealthiest black men in America.

Life’s Work

Cuffe began building ships in his own shipyard in Westport and went into business with his brother-in-law. His crews were made up of African Americans and Native Americans, several of whom were his nephews. At that time, white Americans generally regarded African Americans as inferior and treated them poorly. However, Cuffe was highly regarded by white men as a “Negro” who “knew his place” and managed to make his way in a racist society by exercising great personal charm, without sacrificing his dignity. As captain of a ship with a mixed black and Indian crew, he made trading voyages into southern U.S. ports, where the slave owners feared rebellions. Cuffe and his crew won the respect and admiration of the local citizens with their model behavior.

With the money earned from his trading voyages Cuffe established a home for his wife and seven children in Westport, Massachusetts. Although recognized as a successful businessperson and a civic-minded member of the community, Cuffe still faced discrimination in his public life. Determined to educate his children properly, he petitioned the citizens of Westport in 1797 for support to found a school but was rejected at every turn. Undaunted, he built a schoolhouse on his own property, hired a teacher, and opened the school to all the children of Westport. Cuff’s School, as it was called, was probably the first integrated school in America.

Cuffe embraced Quaker beliefs and had a number of influential white friends who admired his personal integrity and his skill in business. Although Quakers were committed to abolishing slavery, they did not accept African Americans as social equals. However, Quakers had successfully “civilized” several groups of Native Americans and helped them to become economically self-sufficient. With this example in mind and increasingly distressed by the injustice of slavery, Cuffe began a lifelong crusade to help free blacks achieve economic independence and end slavery in America

Cuffe believed that free African Americans, many of whom were skilled craftspeople and artisans, could emigrate to Africa and help “civilize” native Africans. Slavery would end, he thought, if the Africans who had profited by the slave trade were to become economically successful in other endeavors. His plan for an exploratory voyage to Africa was supported by such prominent abolitionists as Dr. Benjamin Rush and U.S. president James Madison. Cuffe hoped to transform the economy of West Africa with his American immigrants and to establish trade among the United States, Sierra Leone, and Great Britain.

During 1810 to 1811, Cuffe made his first voyage to Sierra Leone, a West African colony that Great Britain had established as a refuge for liberated slaves. By the time that Cuffe arrived there, the colony had undergone several transitions in government. The African Institutes, an organization founded by English abolitionists, supported Cuffe’s mission. He traveled to England, winning the friendship and admiration of these influential men, then returned to Africa before coming home. However, trade restrictions instituted during the War of 1812 between Great Britain and the United States obstructed Cuffe’s plans. Moreover, British merchants in Sierra Leone were hostile to his mission, which threatened their own economic interests.

Undaunted by these setbacks, Cuffe returned to West Africa in 1815 with thirty-eight African American emigrants who intended to settle there. Although Cuffe was supported by both British and American abolitionists, he faced many problems. Beset by restrictive trade regulations, he suffered severe financial losses when he attempted to sell his cargo. The British colonists continued to oppose his efforts. Ultimately, the abolitionists of both countries who nominally supported his mission did not support him financially. He returned to America, his dream of a self-sufficient colony unrealized.

Although Cuffe never abandoned his vision, he was forced to face reality. Having personally experienced many instances of racial discrimination and discouraged by the increasing opposition to the abolition of slavery, he continued to believe that Africa offered the only hope for the true freedom of African Americans. He was encouraged by the support of a new organization, the American Colonization Society , which had formed in 1817. That body endorsed the emigration of free blacks to Africa; however, it soon became clear to Cuffe that its primary goal was simply to rid the United States of free blacks. However, the society did play a role in the settling of Liberia, which became an independent black-ruled country in West Africa in 1847.

Reconciled to the knowledge that his life’s work was at an end, Cuffe died peacefully at his home in Westport in 1817. In 1808, he had been accepted as a member of the Westport Friends Meeting. He was buried in the Quaker cemetery, but his grave was segregated from those of the white Quakers. The New Bedford, Massachusetts, Free Library now holds his journals and letters.

Significance

Although Paul Cuffe’s dream of a homeland in Africa for free black Americans was never fully realized, he is remembered as a founder of the black nationalist movement advocating the emigration of African Americans to Africa. He also made significant contributions to the abolitionist movement within the United States, even though he did not live to see abolition achieved.

As the first African American to earn a considerable fortune though hard work and entrepreneurship, Cuffe led a life that contradicted the prejudiced views of white Americans who believed that black people were intellectually inferior and incapable of achievement. His generous capacity for interracial friendships and his strong support for the freedom and dignity of African Americans mark him as an extraordinary man of his times.

Bibliography

Atkin, Mary Gage. Paul Cuffe and the African Promised Land. Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson, 1977. Contains useful details about early whaling and shipping industries and a detailed description of the Freetown, Sierra Leone, settlement that also describes tribal life in the surrounding area.

Diamond, Arthur. Paul Cuffe: Merchant and Abolitionist. New York: Chelsea House, 1989. A biography written for young-adult readers, this book is a good introduction to Cuffe’s life. It includes a wealth of historical background about race relations of his era. It is part of the inspirational series Black Americans of Achievement, which is introduced by Coretta Scott King.

Harris, Sheldon H. Paul Cuffe: Black America and the African Return. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1972. Focuses on Cuffe’s missionary activities in his attempt to colonize Sierra Leone. Includes journals of his African visit in 1811-1812 and a selection of his letters.

Thomas, Lamont D. “Paul Cuffe.” In Encyclopedia of African American Culture and History, edited by Jack Saleman, David Lionel Smith, and Cornel West. Vol. 2. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996. Succinct biography of major events in Cuffe’s life; useful for quick reference.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Rise to Be a People: A Biography of Paul Cuffe. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1986. A detailed scholarly account of Cuffe’s life and work that draws on contemporary records, newspapers, and periodicals to place his career in historical context.