author
Paul Cuffe
b. 1795
A seafaring memoirist from a remarkable family, he told the story of decades spent at sea and traveling far from home. His 1839 narrative offers a rare first-person account of Native American life, work, and adventure in the early 19th century.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Westport, Massachusetts, in 1795 or 1796, Paul Cuffe was the son of the better-known merchant and abolitionist Paul Cuffe. In his own book, he identified himself as a descendant of the Pequot people and described going to sea as a boy, joining his father's voyages around 1808.
He is remembered for Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Paul Cuffe, a Pequot Indian, During Thirty Years Spent at Sea, and in Travelling in Foreign Lands, published in 1839. The memoir traces years of maritime work and travel and stands out as an uncommon first-person narrative connected to Native American and Black Atlantic history.
Because records about his life are limited, not every detail is certain. What is clear is that his narrative preserves a distinctive voice from 19th-century New England and gives modern readers a vivid glimpse of life at sea, movement across borders, and the personal experiences behind a larger historical world.