Edward Mair

Dr. Edward Mair is an Assistant Professor of Post-1800 US History at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Trinity Hall. His research focuses on the history of slavery in North America, particularly the relationship between Indigenous peoples and unfree labor, with a specialization in the Florida Seminoles during the early 19th century. He holds a PhD from the University of Hull and has been affiliated with the Wilberforce Institute for Slavery and Emancipation. Mair has held lecturing positions at Liverpool John Moores University and the University of York. His work has been supported by grants from the British Association for American Studies (BAAS) and British American Nineteenth Century Historians (BrANCH). He is currently finalizing a monograph, 'Seminoles, Settlers and Slavery in the Florida Borderlands, 1790-1837', and co-editing a four-volume documentary series on American imperialism for Routledge. Mair teaches courses on North American history and research methodology within the History and Politics Tripos program at Cambridge.

Research Interests: Mair’s scholarship examines the complexities of racial slavery among the Seminoles, emphasizing the role of Estelusti (enslaved individuals) and Black Maroons. His work challenges homogenized narratives of Black experiences in Indigenous societies and explores dynamics of coalescence, resistance, and cross-cultural mediation in borderland regions. He employs archival evidence and ethnohistorical methods to analyze Indigenous-settler interactions, treaty negotiations, and the socio-political structures of Florida’s multiethnic communities.

Grants & Awards: Mair has secured significant funding for his research, including a Huntington Library Fellowship (to commence in 2025). His publications include articles in American Nineteenth Century History and Ethnohistory, which analyze Seminole-Maroon alliances and the role of Black middlemen in Florida’s borderlands.