Description
Baquaqua was enslaved in northern Benin in the early 1840s when he was about 20. At the time he was a bodyguard for the ruler of a subordinate town. He was abducted, taken south through Togo to Ouidah, a port in Dahomey, shipped to Pernambuco in Brazil, and sold to a merchant from Rio. This merchant then sold him to another Rio merchant, who took him by ship to New York City, where a little-known black group, the New York Vigilance Society, convinced him to jump ship. He escaped to Boston and traveled to Haiti, the only free Black state, where he was picked up by the Free Baptist Mission. Here Baquaqua converted to Christianity. He later returned to the U.S. and attended college, and traveled extensively.
About the Author
Paul E. Lovejoy, York University, is the author of Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa.
Reviews
Baquaqua, born in the town of Djougou (in northern Benin) in the 1820s and raised as a Muslim, lived a busy life as an ironsmith and palace servant. Then he was kidnapped and transported to Recife in about 1845. In 1847 he arrived in New York and there was able to gain his freedom. He then went to Haiti for two years, returned to New York, and in 1850 began studies at Central College. This exemplary volume is worthy of study and emulation.... Extensive detail and clear overview of the present edition contrast powerfully with the previous versions."" - International Journal of African Historical Studies
Book Information
ISBN 9781558764309
Author Robin Law
Format Paperback
Page Count 290
Imprint Markus Wiener Publishing Inc
Publisher Markus Wiener Publishing Inc
Weight(grams) 333g