26 Years a Slave
Juan Miranda and Other "Spanish Negroes" in Colonial New York
Published on 10. July 2025
Book
Hardback
384 pages
978-90-04-73376-3 (ISBN)
Description
26 Years a Slave represents the inaugural book-length study of the little-known "Spanish Negroes," or non-white Spanish-speaking sailors enslaved in colonial North America. Bringing to light their history of slavery and resistance, the book tells the incredible story of the free-born Juan Miranda. Enslaved in New York, Miranda fights an arduous legal battle to win his freedom. His attorney, William Kempe, makes a strong case for his rights and against slavery based on skin color. This well-illustrated account touches on legal history, the War of Jenkins' Ear, and the so-called "Slave Plot" of 1741.
26 Years a Slave is not just a translation of the critically acclaimed publication 26 anos de esclavitud but a revised enriched version, containing a selection of additional study cases.
The original Spanish edition of this book received the following awards:
Willi Paul Adams Award, Organization of American Historians, Bloomington, Indiana, USA (2023)
Best Academic Themed Book, The 24th International Latino Book Awards, Gold medal, Los Angeles, USA (2022)
The Victor Villasenor Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book Award - Spanish or Bilingual, The 24th International Latino Book Awards, Silver medal, Los Angeles, USA (2022)
Best Biography - Spanish or Bilingual, The 24th International Latino Book Awards, Silver medal, Los Angeles, USA (2022)
26 Years a Slave is not just a translation of the critically acclaimed publication 26 anos de esclavitud but a revised enriched version, containing a selection of additional study cases.
The original Spanish edition of this book received the following awards:
Willi Paul Adams Award, Organization of American Historians, Bloomington, Indiana, USA (2023)
Best Academic Themed Book, The 24th International Latino Book Awards, Gold medal, Los Angeles, USA (2022)
The Victor Villasenor Best Latino Focused Nonfiction Book Award - Spanish or Bilingual, The 24th International Latino Book Awards, Silver medal, Los Angeles, USA (2022)
Best Biography - Spanish or Bilingual, The 24th International Latino Book Awards, Silver medal, Los Angeles, USA (2022)
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Leiden
Netherlands
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
Dimensions
Height: 238 mm
Width: 156 mm
Thickness: 26 mm
Weight
699 gr
ISBN-13
978-90-04-73376-3 (9789004733763)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Beatriz Carolina Pena, Ph.D. (2007), is Professor at Queens College (CUNY) and a specialist in colonial Latin-American studies. She has published one critical edition and six award-winning monographs, including Manuel Jala: un afrocampechano ataca la esclavitud en la Boston colonial (2024).
Content
List of Figures
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 On Board of the Maria Luisa
?1 From Cartagena, but a Passenger?
?2 Off to Sea, Boys!
?3 Coast Guard, Privateers, and a Little Mixed-Race Sailor at Sea
?4 Lurking in the Deep Waters of Coro
?5 Arriving in New York
2 Resilience, Hope and Prison
?1 The Breaking of the Body for the Breaking of the Spirit
?2 Nearing the End of Seven Years
?3 Manuel: the Arrest and the Evidence
3 The Crisis of 1741: Entangled in the "Great Negro Plot"
?1 The War of Jenkin's Ear
?2 A Robbery, a Great Fire, and Other Fires
?3 The Plot
?4 The Spanish Invasion
?5 Miranda and York
4 William Kempe and the "Spanish Negroes"
?1 James Parker, the Press, and the "Spanish Negroes"
?2 The Official Claims of Indians, Blacks, and Mulattoes
?3 The Capture of the Ave Maria and the Ana Maria
?4 "Several Blacks" and Forty-Five "Men of Color"
?5 As a Result of Privateering
5 Juan Miranda and Four Years of Struggle
?1 A "Black Face"
?2 Farewell to Sarah van Ranst
?3 Rebuttal and Other Witnesses
6 Juan Miranda, John Moranda and More Years of Struggle
?1 Juan Miranda in the Press
?2 The Civil Suit
?3 Another Lock-Up and the Continuation of the Lawsuit
?4 Latest Developments on Miranda
?5 John Moranda
Epilogue: From Cumana, Cartagena, Havana ... to New York
Appendix 1: Transcription of Juan Miranda's Case Documents(New York Historical)
Appendix 2: Transcription of Juan Miranda's Case Documents
Appendix 3: Transcript of Juan Miranda's Lawsuit against Cornelius van Ranst before the Supreme Court of Judicature of New York (New York State Archives)
Appendix 4: Transcription of Case Entries in the Minute Books of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature (New York State Archives)
Appendix 5: Transcript of Manuel de Cumana's Petition Presented to Governor James DeLancey (New York State Archives)
Appendix 6: William Kempe's Boat Stolen from Greenwich (1757)
Appendix 7: Articles about the Rebellion on Board the Sloop Polly
Appendix 8: Four "Spanish Negroes"
Appendix 9: James Parker about the "Spanish Negroes"
Appendix 10: Captures of Spanish Prizes
Appendix 11
Appendix 12
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 On Board of the Maria Luisa
?1 From Cartagena, but a Passenger?
?2 Off to Sea, Boys!
?3 Coast Guard, Privateers, and a Little Mixed-Race Sailor at Sea
?4 Lurking in the Deep Waters of Coro
?5 Arriving in New York
2 Resilience, Hope and Prison
?1 The Breaking of the Body for the Breaking of the Spirit
?2 Nearing the End of Seven Years
?3 Manuel: the Arrest and the Evidence
3 The Crisis of 1741: Entangled in the "Great Negro Plot"
?1 The War of Jenkin's Ear
?2 A Robbery, a Great Fire, and Other Fires
?3 The Plot
?4 The Spanish Invasion
?5 Miranda and York
4 William Kempe and the "Spanish Negroes"
?1 James Parker, the Press, and the "Spanish Negroes"
?2 The Official Claims of Indians, Blacks, and Mulattoes
?3 The Capture of the Ave Maria and the Ana Maria
?4 "Several Blacks" and Forty-Five "Men of Color"
?5 As a Result of Privateering
5 Juan Miranda and Four Years of Struggle
?1 A "Black Face"
?2 Farewell to Sarah van Ranst
?3 Rebuttal and Other Witnesses
6 Juan Miranda, John Moranda and More Years of Struggle
?1 Juan Miranda in the Press
?2 The Civil Suit
?3 Another Lock-Up and the Continuation of the Lawsuit
?4 Latest Developments on Miranda
?5 John Moranda
Epilogue: From Cumana, Cartagena, Havana ... to New York
Appendix 1: Transcription of Juan Miranda's Case Documents(New York Historical)
Appendix 2: Transcription of Juan Miranda's Case Documents
Appendix 3: Transcript of Juan Miranda's Lawsuit against Cornelius van Ranst before the Supreme Court of Judicature of New York (New York State Archives)
Appendix 4: Transcription of Case Entries in the Minute Books of the New York Supreme Court of Judicature (New York State Archives)
Appendix 5: Transcript of Manuel de Cumana's Petition Presented to Governor James DeLancey (New York State Archives)
Appendix 6: William Kempe's Boat Stolen from Greenwich (1757)
Appendix 7: Articles about the Rebellion on Board the Sloop Polly
Appendix 8: Four "Spanish Negroes"
Appendix 9: James Parker about the "Spanish Negroes"
Appendix 10: Captures of Spanish Prizes
Appendix 11
Appendix 12
Bibliography
Index