Paul Cuffe Leads First Voluntary Black Return to Africa

Paul Cuffe, a free Black Quaker sea captain from Massachusetts, transported 38 free Black Americans to Sierra Leone at his own expense in 1815 — the first voluntary Black American repatriation to Africa. A successful merchant and shipowner, Cuffe had petitioned the Massachusetts legislature for Black voting rights (1780) and built a school for Black children in Westport. His voyage established a precedent for Black-led emigration debates.