1790-Nov.: Tom King, an enslaved man well-known in Kingston, Spanish Town, and Port Royal, escaped from the person

1790-Nov.: Tom King, an enslaved man well-known in Kingston, Spanish Town, and Port Royal, escaped from the person who claimed to own him. That enslaver issued a warning that King might attempt to pass for a free man because of his prior experience at sea. This incident highlights the close symbolic and practical connection between maritime skill and the pursuit of liberty. To many residents of the Caribbean, the sea represented a refuge for the disaffected and a path toward personal independence.