The Biography of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua: His Passage from Slavery to Freedom in Africa and America [Paperback]

Robin Law (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1558762485 | ISBN-13: 978-1558762480 | Publication Date: June 2001

This is the biography of an American slave who was born in Africa. His adventures brought him to Rio de Janeiro, New York, Boston, Canada, and Britain; he knew Arabic, Dendi, probably Hausa, Portuguese, English, and French. In recent times scholars raised the doubt that such biographies of slaves born in Africa were only partially true, the editors traveled to Diougou and Brazil and followed the traces of Baquaqua, collection, documents, oral hisrtory and written reports. They photographed the sites described by Baquaqua and included them in the book. They have also added several letters and other documents to the 1854 original edition. 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, who 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. Robin Law, University of Stirling, Scotland, is the author of The Slave Coast of West Africa. Paul E. Lovejoy, York University, is the editor of Transformations in Slavery: A History of Slavery in Africa.

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Markus Wiener Pub (June 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558762485
• ISBN-13: 978-1558762480
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,022,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Accurate, Fascinating Account of Slavery, December 29, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Biography of Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua: His Passage from Slavery to Freedom in Africa and America (Paperback)

Baquaqua has the distinction of being the first African-born slave to write a narrative that is credible, being heavily footnoted and very detailed. His biography makes for interesting and informative reading.