The book tells of the abolition of slavery on St Helena, a tiny mid-Atlantic island, ruled for many years by the East India Company. Additional to a narrative of these events, the author delves into the lives of the slaves - their origins, how they lived, their occupations, their relationships, what they wore, ate & drank; even their humour.
Rezensionen / Stimmen
Foreword by Associate Professor Dan Yon of York University, Toronto. Pre-publication commendations from a number of senior academics:A Bitter Draught reveals the chilling history of slavery on St. Helena in the period before the island became a temporary destination for Liberated Africans during the British campaign to end the slave trade in the south Atlantic after 1840. Meticulously researched it is essential reading for those interested in the complexities of the Black Atlantic. Paul E. Lovejoy FRSC, Distinguished Research Professor, Editor, The Harriet Tubman Series on the African Diaspora, Africa World Press, Co-Editor, African Economic History; I have now had the opportunity to look at your fine book, focusing especially on the early years of the slave story, the period where my own interests lie. The book is thorough, a really good account of a complex, rather sad story, written in an engaging and accessible manner. Stephen A. Royle, MRIA, Emeritus Professor of Island Geography, Queen's University Belfast; The history of slavery, and of its abolition, in the South Atlantic world has been greatly enriched by Fox's masterly account of what happened in the St. Helena case. Christopher Saunders, Professor Emeritus, University of Cape Town; A welcome contribution to the history of St. Helena and our understanding of the East India Company's involvement with slavery and abolition during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.Professor Richard B. Allen, Framingham State University, author of European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500-1850.
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für Beruf und Forschung
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-0-9574918-2-3 (9780957491823)
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Schweitzer Klassifikation
Colin Fox was born in Birmingham and now lives in Oxfordshire. He was employed as a research scientist for a major oil company for 30 years and travelled extensively to many parts of the world. A lifetime's interest in history and scuba diving resulted in five seasons work as a volunteer diver on the Mary Rose project, where he met his wife, Debby, who was chief archaeological illustrator for the Trust.
His interest in St Helena came through his maternal grandmother Annie (Dolly) Bennett who was great granddaughter of Captain James Bennett of the East India Company. She recounted stories about the island, particularly one about a leaf from James' mahogany dining table being used for Napoleon's coffin. This sparked further research and led to the publication of his book The Bennett Letters. In 2011 he and his wife visited the island and greatly enjoyed exploring the island and meeting the people.
Colin is an active member of the Society of Friends of St Helena and since 2011 has been editor of their journal Wirebird. In 2014 he transcribed and edited (with Edward Baldwin) a report written by two Commissioners of Inquiry who came to the island in 1834 prior to its transfer from the East India Company to the Crown. This was published under the title A Precarious Livelihood.
This current book is the result of ten years' research.