| African Voices of the Atlantic Slave Trade: Beyond the Silence and the Shame Contributor(s): Bailey, Anne (Author) |
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ISBN: 0807055131 ISBN-13: 9780807055137 Publisher: Beacon Press OUR PRICE: $23.76 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 2006 Annotation: The story of the Atlantic slave trade has largely been filtered through the records of white Europeans, but in this watershed book, Anne C. Bailey focuses on memories of the trade from the African perspective. African chiefs and other elders in an area of southeastern Ghana once famously called "the Old Slave Coast" share stories that reveal that Africans were both traders and victims of the trade. Though Africans were not equal partners with Europeans, their involvement had devastating consequences on their history and sense of identity. Like trauma victims, many African societies experience a fragmented view of their past that partially explains the silence and shame around the slave trade. Capturing astonishing oral histories that were handed down through generations of storytellers, Bailey breaks this deafening silence and explores the delicate nature of historical memory in this rare, unprecedented book. "Bailey offers a noteworthy, carefully researched contribution to the study of the African slave trade . . . [and] brings unheard historical voices to the fore." --Publishers Weekly "A remarkable effort to present the slave trade from a perspective very different from what we are used to--not that of slavery's liberal opponents or even of the slaves themselves but of the Africans from whose midst the slaves were taken . . . Bailey is scrupulously objective in making her way through the resulting political minefield . . . People like Anne Bailey make us uncomfortable, which is all to the good." --Daniel Lazare, The Nation "A true work of retrieval and restoration . . . A remarkable gift." --Ato Quayson, director, African Studies Centre, University ofCambridge, UK |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | Africa - West - Social Science | Slavery - History | United States - General |
| Dewey: 306.362 |
| Physical Information: 0.67" H x 6.11" W x 8.75" (0.92 lbs) 304 pages |
| Themes: - Cultural Region - West Africa |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: It's an awful story. It's an awful story. Why do you want to bring this up now?--Chief Awusa of Atorkor For centuries, the story of the Atlantic slave trade has been filtered through the eyes and records of white Europeans. In this watershed book, historian Anne C. Bailey focuses on memories of the trade from the African perspective. African chiefs and other elders in an area of southeastern Ghana-once famously called the Old Slave Coast-share stories that reveal that Africans were traders as well as victims of the trade. Bailey argues that, like victims of trauma, many African societies now experience a fragmented view of their past that partially explains the blanket of silence and shame around the slave trade. Capturing scores of oral histories that were handed down through generations, Bailey finds that, although Africans were not equal partners with Europeans, even their partial involvement in the slave trade had devastating consequences on their history and identity. In this unprecedented and revelatory book, Bailey explores the delicate and fragmented nature of historical memory. |