Mathias de Sousa

Mathias de Sousa was the first Black elected representative in North America. A free man, Sousa was of African and Portuguese descent. Some believe he was specifically of Portuguese-Jewish descent.[1]

Mathias de Sousa
Died
Province of Maryland
Occupation(s)Politician, fur trader, mariner, indentured servant

Life

It is believed that Sousa's father was born in Portugal. Within colonial Maryland society, Sousa was defined as a "mulatto", a person of mixed African and European descent. Sousa worked as an indentured servant for Fr Andrew White, a Catholic priest in the Jesuits; Sousa is also believed to have been Catholic.[2] Following his indentured servitude, which ended in 1638, Sousa worked as a fur trader and a mariner.[1] In March 1641, Sousa was elected as a Representative at a Maryland Assembly meeting.

Legacy

An historical marker has been erected in St. Mary's City in St. Mary's County, Maryland.[3]

The actor Denzel Washington spent the summer of 1976 in St. Mary's City, in summer stock theater performing Wings of the Morning,[4][5] the Maryland State play, which was written for him by incorporating an African-American character/narrator based loosely on de Sousa.[4]

See also

References
  1. "Mathias de Sousa". Maryland State Archives. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  2. Bogen, David (2001-01-01). "Mathias de Sousa: Maryland's First Colonist of African Descent". 96 Maryland Historical Magazine 68 (2001).
  3. "Mathias de Sousa". Historical Marker Database. Retrieved 2022-09-29.
  4. Falb, Susan Rosenfeld (December 1978). "Matthias da Sousa: Colonial Maryland's Black, Jewish Assemblyman" (PDF). Maryland Historical Magazine. Vol. 73, no. 4.
  5. Haugaard, Janet Butler; Wilkinson, Susan G.; King, Julia A. "St. Mary's: A When-Did Timeline" (PDF). St. Mary's Archives. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2014.
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