There are gaps within American history that overlook histories of other cultures that are embedded and interwoven in this nation’s history. The voices of Natives and African- Americans have been drowned out by dominating Eurocentric views and documentation. This study will document and analyze the entangled histories of Natives and Africans in Virginia during the early colonial period. The purpose of my study is to examine more in depth the relationships and interactions between Native Americans and Africans through historic documents and material cultural studies. I want to find out why and how these peoples formed cross-cultural and created hybrid bonds and cultures through community development, marriage and kinship during the 18th century. This study will cross the boundaries of race, ethnicity, gender, class and nationalism and contribute to a deeper understanding of intersectional processes. It will also demonstrate that relationships between Africans and American Indians were prevalent in the Virginia colony and the Upper Southeastern region as a whole. / Introduction -- Theory and literature review -- Historical context -- Race and racism -- Contact of Natives and Africans -- Conclusion. / Department of Anthropology

In mid-November, 1775, Lord Dunmore last Royal Governor of Virginia attempted to enlist the support of rebel owned slaves to crush Patriot resistance to Great Britain. This study examines the slaveholders' response to Dunmore's actions. Virginia's slaveholders fought a counter-revolution in order to maintain traditional race relations in the colony. Patriot propaganda portrayed Dunmore as a race traitor, who became symbolically more "black" than white. Slaveholders characterized Dunmore as a rebel, a madman, and a sexual deviant - stereotypes normally given to slaves by their "masters." Since Dunmore threatened to destroy the defining institution of slavery, planters sought to salvage their identities by defending the paternalistic philosophy and racist assumptions upon which slave society was based. Planters overwhelmingly became Patriots to protect slavery. / Department of History