The E half of the USA is dotted with places described as "tri-racial isolate communities".

One of the largest such groups is found in E KY, WV, E TN, and western parts of VA.

Widely known as "Melungeons", few Americans have been the subject of such intense curiosity.

Who are these people? 

In this 3rd and final installment of a 3-part episode, we complete our exploration of an American enigma.

Listen here:

https://beforewewerewhite.podbean.com/e/episode-12-no-safe-harbor-part-3/

#BeforeWeWereWhite #history #melungeons #genealogy

During the 11th and 12th centuries, in an age before gunpowder, the Normans were able to conquer England by constructing forts (motte-and-bailey “castles”) on newly occupied land.

The exact same method – colonisation by fort-building – was employed in Southern Appalachia by land-hungry Americans in the aftermath of the Revolutionary War...

Read more at:

https://beforewewerewhite.com/2022/11/06/the-mechanics-of-colonialism/

#BeforeWeWereWhite #AmericanHistory #Appalachia #AmericanFrontier @histodons

1870 "Map of Predominating Sex", is 150-year-old social analytics.

The darker the shaded area, the greater the disparity between reported male and female population of a given area. In other words, in 1870, many self-described male Americans were:

1) Going without sex

2) Having sex with other men

3) Sharing women (including sex workers)

4) Taking partners from unenumerated population groups (i.e. slaves and indigenous women)

#BeforeWeWereWhite #history #maps #HistoryOfSex #AmericanFrontier