From Enslaved, to American Revolution Warrior, to Founding Father of a Country
Thomas Peters was a Yoruba born in today’s Nigeria, circa 1732. He was captured by slavers and transported across the Atlantic, where he was sold in then-French Louisiana. After three escape attempts, he was sold to a North Carolinian, who took him to work in his flour mill near Wilmington, NC. In 1776, Peters fled his master, made it to British lines, and enlisted in the Black Pioneers. He distinguished himself in combat, was twice wounded in battle, and rose to the rank of sergeant. After the war, he was among the thousands of Black Loyalists transported by the Royal Navy to Nova Scotia. There, he settled with his family in Annapolis Royal. He became a recognized leader of Nova Scotia’s black communities, representing their concerns to provincial authorities.
Peters met and befriended abolitionist Granville Sharpe, who advocated the resettlement of freed blacks in Africa. In 1791, Peters travelled to London, where he lobbied the government and helped convince it to establish a colony for the resettlement of Black Loyalists in Sierra Leone. He then returned to Nova Scotia, where he convinced over a thousand blacks to sail across the Atlantic to what became Freetown, Sierra Leone. It was no easy task to adjust to the new settlement. Diseases and the climate took their toll on the settlers while they adapted to local conditions. Many felt duped, and blamed Peters, who lost much of his influence with the settlers. Soon thereafter, he was accused of theft, and a resentful black jury convicted him – an inglorious end to an eventful life. Today, he is honored in Sierra Leone as one of that country’s founding fathers.
