"The Strange Career of William Ellis"

William Ellis navigated the multicultural caste system in Texas and the politicization of the border as training in international finance. One can question if he, like at Tlahualilo, concealed his African descent to penetrate American and Mexican societies; or if he penetrated both in doing so. Ellis perfected the art of "passing," and Jacoby found no-less competitive a figure for scholarship on the subject.

A review of The Strange Career of William Ellis: The Texas Slave Who Became a Mexican Millionaire (Karl Jacoby). 

Recommender/Reference: qbrbookreviews.com

Courtesy of W. W. Norton

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Related: "The History of Black Business in America, Vol. 1" (2020)
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​Related: "A Christmas in Calcutta"

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