Tim Meaher Character Analysis in Barracoon

One of the brothers (the others being Jim and Burns) who financed the illegal slave-trading expedition in which Cudjo was forcibly brought to America. After the Civil War, Cudjo is sent by his fellow villagers to ask Tim Meaher for a piece of land, on which they can construct their own village. Meaher angrily rebuffs this legitimate request, saying that he doesn’t owe anything to people who were once his “property.” His response shows the strong sense of entitlement and white supremacy that characterizes America even after the Civil War is over.

Tim Meaher Quotes in Barracoon

The Barracoon quotes below are all either spoken by Tim Meaher or refer to Tim Meaher. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:

). Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Amistad edition of Barracoon published in 2018.

Cap’n jump on his feet and say, ‘Fool do you think I goin’ give you property on top of property? I tookee good keer my slaves in slavery and derefo’ I doan owe dem nothing? You doan belong to me now, why must I give you my lan’?’

Related Characters: (speaker),

Page Number and Citation: 67

Explanation and Analysis:

Tim Meaher Character Timeline in Barracoon

The timeline below shows where the character Tim Meaher appears in Barracoon. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

In 1859, three brothers—Jim, Tim, and Burns Meaher—and a captain named Bill Foster colluded to launch an illegal but profitable... (full context)

...detection. The ship hides in the Mobile Bay until word can be sent to the Meaher brothers, who arrive with a tugboat to tow the Clotilda to a safe location. When... (full context)

...the plantation for eleven days, after which they are given clothes and transported to Burns Meaher’s planation. In order to avoid detection, they have to spend every day hiding in the... (full context)

Cudjo is part of the group of slaves claimed by Jim Meaher. He travels to Meaher’s plantation, where he and the others live under Meaher’s house, which... (full context)

...example, they’ve never seen livestock used with plows. The work is grueling, and Burns and Tim Meaher are often cruel to their slaves, forcing them to work especially long hours under... (full context)

Jim Meaher is kinder towards his slaves than his brothers. For example, he sees that Cudjo’s shoes... (full context)

...the women have to work hard in the field. Cudjo himself usually works on Jim Meaher’s boat, which carries freight and lumber from Mobile to Montgomery. Every time the boat stops... (full context)

...so little coffee or foodstuffs reach the village. To keep his slaves from starving, Jim Meaher allows them to kill some of his hogs, saying that “de hogs dey his and... (full context)

At this time, Cudjo is working in a mill operated by Tim Meaher, and one day the man sits down next to a tree Cudjo is chopping.... (full context)

Jumping up, Tim Meaher explodes, calling Cudjo a “fool” and says that he’s not going to “give you... (full context)

Cudjo reports Meaher’s words to Gumpa and the others. They decide that now they must pool their money... (full context)