Summary Of ' Abina And The Important Men '

In a unique approach author David Galenson examines the transition of servants to slaves during the 17th and 18th century of British America. He successfully covers the importance of slavery and the reason for its high demand. Galenson takes into consideration the demographic conditions and its differences throughout the West Indies,

The graphic novel, Abina and the Important Men, signified the end of silence of the “working” class. During 1876, Britain have been implementing many actions to end slavery worldwide. The “Great Moral Surge” affected mainly the population in Africa for they were the ones that were taken away. Getz’s, the author, work exemplify the progress that British officials had made mentally and lawfully. Not only were the British trying to enforce the freedom of slaves, but some were balancing the power to do so. The Africans had as much to lose from the abolition of slavery for their financial needs. Their perception of slavery was similar to the British in 1817

Abina and The Important Men is about the 1876 trial of Abina Mansah, an African woman living on the Coast of Africa who fought for freedom from slavery. Though the British had proscribed slavery, Abina was sold to Quamina Eddoo by the man she was supposed to marry. However, Eddoo mistakenly mentioned that all of Cape Coast was free, including slaves, “They say that in the Cape Coast are free” (7). One night, Abina ran away from Eddo’s home and into the city where she met one of the important man. This man informed her that, if she wanted to stay free, she must get a job. “What is free? You can get a piece of paper saying you are free, and then, you can leave anytime you want. But the British do not want you if you do not have a job and a place to stay. You must find a place to belong” (9). Abina then meets James Davis, a court interpreter, and after seeing the

The Atlantic Slave Trade was a part of African history that had made one of it's biggest impact on Africa's relation with the world and more importantly on the inner workings of the country itself due to its large-scale involvement of many of the people in the continent. Although the slave trade was so long ago the impact can still be seen in Africa's social workings within the people, its economy in the local and global market, and within the political landscape of the countries.

Randy Sparks highlights a rare aspect of the history of slavery: the relentless effort of the enslaved to use their privilege to free themselves. Although it is not clear when the European and Africans first encountered each other in Old Calabar, it is evident that the constant trading between both parties built a concrete means of communication. As many individuals who have

The first chapter in Boahen’s book is titled “Eve of Colonial Conquest” and this section gives the readers a background of the colonialism in Africa through a look at the fundamental economic, political, and social changes that occurred just a few decades before colonialism took root. Boahen states that the trade of “natural products” is the most significant economic change in Africa by 1880. Just before the trading of “natural products” slave trades were abolished.

the discovery of gold and silver in America the extirpation, enslavement and entombment in the mines of the aboriginal population, the beginning of the conquest and looting of the East Indies, the turning of Africa into a warren for the commercial hunting of black-skins, signalizes the rosy dawn of capitalist production. (Keen 57)

Capitalism was the sole purpose for being the cause of an exponential use of slaves in all aspects of production. Notably, it involved an economic system whose basis originates from private ownership of all the means of production as well as the production of goods and services majorly meant for profit. With characteristics such as accumulation of capital, labor, private property ownership, and competitive market. Therefore, there was a great need for means of production hence slavery. However, there is a close relationship between free and slave labor as used in production. The paper uses “Capitalism and Slavery” (William, 1961) as a primary source material to compare the profitability of free labor and slave labor through an in-depth discussion of the role the African slavery played in the development of capitalism in the New World. Free labor and slave labor both have profits in the production process and would be applied differently at various places. For instance, slave labor was profitable in activities in which little skills and versatility in production process were required. It is worth noting that, the use of slave labor to cultivate a fresh soil is more profitable than the use of free men in the cultivation of an exhausted land. However, the use of slave labor was the option at the earlier stages of development of colonies, although slaved labor was unskillful, given reluctantly, and lacks versatility (Eltis, 2000). Moreover, use of slave labor were not moral but

Do you think besides literature have another ways to display history? Can historians show you the picture about the historic event instead of imagining them by yourselves? “Abina and the Important Men” is a graphic history book, so the authors not only gives readers literal record but also give images to illustrate the history. The story happened in west Africa in 1876. In story includes phenomenon of the society, and certain African cultures. Abina Mansah, Quamina Eddoo and William Meltonare most important characters in the story because they represent different hierarchies in the society and display different condition in these hierarchies.

The book Abina and The Important Men a graphic history written by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke examined the social issue of what was defined as a slave in these colonies that were supposed to be abolitionist territory. What makes this book so informative and interesting to study is the fact that Abina who was considered someone who was not important had her voice and standpoint recorded and gave us a perspective that is almost non-existent in current literature about how she believed she was a slave in a colony that made slavery illegal. After reading this graphic history I would argue that in the eyes of the British, who believed they were civilizing these local tribes, this was indeed slavery but it was not an issue important enough to

Abina and the Important Men is the tale of an west African woman from Ashantee who was abducted twice and sold multiple times as a slave. The book is about her trial at court and her prosecution against Quamina Eddoo. Quamina Eddoo is a wealthy man that farms palm oil that owns young slaves. Slavery in the Gold Coast at the time was illegal due to British colonization and their abolition of slavery. Enforcing British rule against slavery was difficult in the Gold Coast. British rule clearly dictates that slavery is illegal, however, slavery was what kept the Gold Coast economy going and was apart of their tradition. At the time, palm oil was one of the staples of their economy, in which the British profited from significantly, and child slaves did the field work. If the British enforce their slavery laws against all the rich landowners who produce this oil, it would destroy the economy and relations with the powerful locals. Abina’s case was one of horrible circumstance, but provides a unique approach of historical significance.

The changes in African life during the slave trade era form an important element in the economic and technological development of Africa. Although the Atlantic slave trade had a negative effect on both the economy and technology, it is important to understand that slavery was not a new concept to Africa. In fact, internal slavery existed in Africa for many years. Slaves included war captives, the kidnapped, adulterers, and other criminals and outcasts. However, the number of persons held in slavery in Africa, was very small, since no economic or social system had developed for exploiting them (Manning 97). The new system-Atlantic slave trade-became quite different from the early African slavery. The

Civilization is a group of societies that share the same territory, language, culture, architecture, religion, etc. A mission is a religious settlement where Natives were set to work and pray. The civilizing mission was when the Europeans arrived in Africa. It could be seen as European imperialism/colonialism (political and economic control over a dependent territory) by trying to impose their ideals. Conversely, also promoting equality. They brought Christianity, teachers, and medical help to people. The civilizing mission was about religion and the government played a major role.

Title of Primary Source: ACCOUNT OF THE SLAVE TRADE ON THE COAST OF AFRICA by ALEXANDER FALCONBRIDGE

What role did the “civilizing mission” play in the expansion of Britain’s empire in the 19th century?