‘Black Douglas’: a not so dastardly bushranger?
HistoryExtra podcast
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The Myth of Black Douglas
William Douglas is one of the first African Americans to be born legally free from slavery and enforce labor after this very pioneering act. He's accused of murder, highway robbery as well as a slew of other serious offenses in his time. The Australian context means that these people aren't just criminals to Australians like me. We're brought up these are national heroes. So they're a part of our kind of national legend. There's almost like a Robin Hood element to their story. And sometimes there's even like a Shavaric element.
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