\u3cem\u3eBaptiste v. de Volunbrun 5 H. & J. 86 (Md 1820)\u3c/em\u3e: the Events Surrounding an Early Nineteenth-Century Freedom Petition Before the Maryland Court of Appeals

BAPTISTE V. DE VOLUNBRUN 5 H. & J. 86 (Md. 1820): In Jean Baptiste’s 1820 freedom petition we have not only a slavery case typical of the region and period, but also a compelling and informative narrative from the beginning of the end of North America’s nearly two hundred and fifty year era of slavery. This epic has its roots in the some of the earliest African arrivals to the new world and was significantly influenced by the major trends in philosophy that immediately preceded its commencement, as well as a concurrent and burgeoning American abolitionist movement. It features questionable heroes and underhanded villains, mob riots and narrow escapes, suffering and injustice, journeys through the Caribbean, New England, Maryland and New Orleans, and ultimately, redemption