Man Who Stole Himself: The Slave Odyssey of Hans Jonathan

Small, insular Iceland is generally thought to be the whitest place on earth. But in this accessible biography, Gisli Palsson reveals the improbable story behind the rumors that a free black man lived and raised a family there in the early nineteenth century. Palsson’s subject is the self-evidently unique Hans Jonathan: brought as a slave from St. Croix to Denmark, he fought for Denmark in the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen, declared himself free, went on trial, was found guilty, and ran away, never to be heard of in Denmark for nearly the next 200 years. Only recently did it come to light that he was the long-rumored black Icelander. Today, Hans Jonathan has become something of icon in Iceland, claimed as a proud and daring ancestor both there and among his descendants in America. Hans Jonathan’s story intertwines a portrait of the Danish slave trade, legal arguments over slavery, an adventure tale about his escape and travels, a social portrait of where he wound up, and meditations on the nature of biography and geneaology. His story weaves together themes of imperial dreams, colonialism, human rights, and globalization?all in a single eventful life.
The island nation of Iceland is known for many things—majestic landscapes, volcanic eruptions, distinctive seafood—but racial diversity is not one of them. So the little-known story of Hans Jonathan, a free black man who lived and raised a family in early-nineteenth century Iceland, is improbable and compelling, the stuff of novels.            In The Man Who Stole Himself, Gisli Palsson lays out Jonathan’s story in stunning detail. Born into slavery in St. Croix in 1784, Jonathan was brought as a slave to Denmark, where he eventually enlisted in the army and fought on behalf of the country at the 1801 Battle of Copenhagen. After the war, he declared himself a free man, believing not only was he due freedom for his patriotic service, but that while slavery remained legal in the colonies, it was outlawed in Denmark itself. Jonathan was the subject of one of the most notorious slavery cases in European history, which he lost. Then, he ran away—never to be heard from in Denmark again, his fate unknown for more than two hundred years. It’s now known that Jonathan fled to Iceland, where he became a merchant and peasant farmer, married, and raised two children. Today, he has become something of an Icelandic icon, claimed as a proud and daring ancestor both there and among his descendants in America.            The Man Who Stole Himself brilliantly intertwines Jonathan’s adventurous travels with a portrait of the Danish slave trade, legal arguments over slavery, and the state of nineteenth-century race relations in the Northern Atlantic world. Throughout the book, Palsson traces themes of imperial dreams, colonialism, human rights, and globalization, which all come together in the life of a single, remarkable man. Hans Jonathan literally led a life like no other. His is the story of a man who had the temerity—the courage—to steal himself.