African Narratives of Slavery and Abolition

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. It 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each carefully contextualised and introduced, this volume comprises some of the most substantial and previously unpublished accounts of the slave trade in the archives of the Church Missionary and Methodist Missionary Societies.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.