Slavery in Africa existed for hundreds of years before it was abolished in the late 19th century. Yet, we know little about how enslaved individuals, especially those who never left Africa, talked about their experiences. Collecting never before published or translated narratives of Africans from southeastern Ghana, Sandra E. Greene explores how these writings reveal the thoughts, emotions, and memories of those who experienced slavery and the slave trade. Greene considers how local norms and the circumstances behind the recording of the narratives influenced their content and impact. This unprecedented study affords unique insights into how ordinary West Africans understood and talked about their lives during a time of change and upheaval.

A Choice Outstanding Academic Book of 2011

About the Author

Sandra E. Greene is Professor of History at Cornell University. She is author of Sacred Sites and the Colonial Encounter (IUP, 2002).

Reviews

It is an important contribution to the expanding literature on African enslavement during the decline of trans-Atlantic transportation and its displacement by 'legitimate' commerce, and essential reading for those seeking to understand the lived experience of African slaves.

* Biography *

The book not only sheds light on a little understood but pervasive aspect of Ghanaian history and culture, it also invites and makes possible the comparative study of North American slave narratives with those that represent the experience of slavery for Africans who remained in Africa.

* African Studies Review *

What makes this book tremendously valuable, particularly for undergraduates, is how Greene examines the historical, literary, and cultural contexts in which each narrative was produced. ... A must have for academic libraries supporting an undergraduate curriculum in Africana studies. ...Essential.October 2011

* Choice *



Book Information
ISBN 9780253222947
Author Sandra E. Greene
Format Paperback
Page Count 300
Imprint Indiana University Press
Publisher Indiana University Press
Weight(grams) 454g