ABSTRACT
Paul Cuffe was born of an African father and an Indian mother on the island of Cuttyhunk near Westport, Massachusetts. He had no formal schooling when, at the age of sixteen, he went to sea. On his third voyage he was captured by a British brig and held prisoner of war for several months. Cuffe spent his entire life as a sailor, captain, and shipbuilder. In the course of his business he owned at different times, besides smaller boats, the Ranger, a schooner of 60 or 70 tons, a half interest in a brig of 162 tons, the brig Traveller of 109 tons, the ship Alpha of 258 tons, and a three-fourths interest in a larger vessel.
