Chiefs of the Sea: The Accounts of Charles Lansing and Paul Cuffe, Jr.

The Narragansett Chief, or the Adventures of a Wanderer, a recently rediscovered autobiographical narrative now answers many questions about the experiences of American Indian mariners. Published anonymously in 1832, the account related by Charles Lansing parallels that of Paul Cuffe, Jr. (Wampanoag/Pequot) who published his own account in 1839. Together, recounting nearly 70 voyages to five continents and Pacific Islands, these texts illuminate the global travels of Native people, their experience of race and power, and their documentation of empire and the reshaping of world systems in the early nineteenth century.

Co-Sponsored by Tomaquag Museum