African Narratives of Slavery and Abolition - by Richard Anderson (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This unique and rich collection of narratives, written or dictated by formerly enslaved Africans between 1820 and 1876, offers a rare snapshot of African voices in the history of slavery. Including narratives from the Atlantic and Indian Ocean trades, as well as testimonies from enslaved people who never left the African continent, it expands the chronological and geographical scope of known accounts of enslavement, highlights the few but important women's narratives and provides thoughtful analysis and context about internal enslavement, the slave trade and the process of liberation. Made up of 32 narratives, each carefully contextualized and introduced, this volume comprises some of the most substantial and previously unpublished accounts of the slave trade in the archives of the Church Missionary and Methodist Missionary Societies. Bringing new testimonies to light and enriching our understanding of enslaved voices, 'African Narratives of Slavery and Abolition' is an important and much-needed contribution to the 'biographical turn' and study of the slave trade."-- Back cover.

Book Synopsis

This unique and rich collection of narratives, written or dictated by formerly enslaved Africans between 1820 and 1876, offers a rare snapshot of African voices in the history of slavery. Including narratives from the Atlantic and Indian Ocean trades, as well as testimonies from enslaved people who never left the African continent, it expands the chronological and geographical scope of known accounts of enslavement, highlights the few but important women's narratives and provides thoughtful analysis and context about internal enslavement, the slave trade and the process of liberation.

Made up of 32 narratives, each carefully contextualised and introduced, this volume comprises some of the most substantial and previously unpublished accounts of the slave trade in the archives of the Church Missionary and Methodist Missionary Societies. Bringing new testimonies to light and enriching our understanding of enslaved voices, African Narratives of Slavery and Abolition is an important and much-needed contribution to the 'biographical turn' and study of the slave trade.

Review Quotes

This meticulously curated collection makes an important contribution to scholarship on the lives of enslaved and formerly enslaved people. Bringing together a diverse range of firsthand narrative accounts of slavery in Africa, this book centres African voices and experiences within the complex, interwoven histories of slavery, abolition, missions and empire. An indispensable resource for scholars and students alike.
Maeve Ryan, Reader in History & Foreign Policy, Dept. Of War Studies, King's College London, UK

About the Author

Richard Anderson is Lecturer in the History of Slavery at the University of Aberdeen, UK. His teaching and research encompasses African, Atlantic and Indian Ocean histories of enslaved and free Africans, the history of the slave trade and its abolition, and the history of bonded and unfree labour in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.