Winner of the Gordon K. Lewis Memorial Award for Caribbean Scholarship from the Caribbean Studies AssociationWinner of the J.I. Staley Prize for Excellence in Anthropology from the School of American ResearchWinner of the Albert J. Beveridge Award from the American Historical Association In the early 18th century, the Dutch colony of Suriname was the envy of all others in the Americas. There, seven hundred Europeans lived off the labor of over four thousand enslaved Africans. Owned by men hell-bent for quick prosperity, the ...
Read More
Winner of the Gordon K. Lewis Memorial Award for Caribbean Scholarship from the Caribbean Studies AssociationWinner of the J.I. Staley Prize for Excellence in Anthropology from the School of American ResearchWinner of the Albert J. Beveridge Award from the American Historical Association In the early 18th century, the Dutch colony of Suriname was the envy of all others in the Americas. There, seven hundred Europeans lived off the labor of over four thousand enslaved Africans. Owned by men hell-bent for quick prosperity, the rich plantations on the Suriname river became known for their heights of planter comfort and opulence-and for their depths of slave misery. Slaves who tried to escape were hunted by the planter militia. If found they were publicly tortured. (A common punishment was for the Achilles tendon to be removed for a first offense, the right leg amputated for a second.) Resisting this cruelty first in small numbers, then in an ever increasing torrent, slaves began to form outlaw communities until nearly one out of every ten Africans in Suriname was helping to build rebel villages in the jungle. Alabi's World relates the history of a nation founded by escaped slaves deep in the Latin American rain forest. It tells of the black men and women's bloody battles for independence, their uneasy truce with the colonial government, and the attempt of their great leader, Alabi, to reconcile his people with white law and a white God. In a unique historical experiment, Richard Price presents this history by weaving together four voices: the vivid historical accounts related by the slaves' descendants, largely those of Alabi's own villagers, the Saramaka; the reports of the often exasperated colonial officials sent to control the slave communities; the otherworldly diaries of the German Moravian missionaries determined to convert the heathen masses; and the historian's own, mediating voice. The Saramaka voices in these pages recall a world of powerful spirits-called obia's-and renowned heroes, great celebrations and fierce blood-feuds. They also recall, with unconcealed relish, successes in confounding the colonial officials and in bending the treaty to the benefit of their own people. From the opposite side of the negotiations, the colonial Postholders speak of the futility of trying to hold the village leaders to their vow to return any further runaway slaves. Equally frustrated, the Moravian missionaries describe the rigors of their proselytising efforts in the black villages-places of licentiousness and idol-worship that seemed to be "a foretaste of what hell must be like." Among their only zealous converts was Alabi, who stood nearly alone in his attempts to bridge the cultural gap between black and white-defiantly working to lead his people on the path toward harmony with their former enemies. From the confluence of these voices-set throughout the book in four different typefaces-Price creates a fully nuanced portrait of the collision of cultures. It is a confrontation, he suggests, that was enacted thousands of times across the slaveholding Americas as white men strained to suppress black culture and blacks resisted- determined to preserve their heritage and beliefs.
Read Less
Add this copy of Alabi's World to cart. $57.00, like new condition, Sold by Sutton Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Norwich, VT, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by Johns Hopkins Univ Press 1990.
Add this copy of Alabi's World (Johns Hopkins Studies in Atlantic to cart. $59.34, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by The Johns Hopkins University P.
Add this copy of Alabi's World (Johns Hopkins Studies in Atlantic to cart. $127.70, new condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 1990 by The Johns Hopkins University P.
Honestly, I chose to review this book because it was the first one I came across in the used book store. I am so glad that I was able to read it. There was so much strife in the slave world, but seeing the strong wills and drive in the African American people was so moving. The American?s were trying so hard to suppress the black culture and watching the Blacks resist and their strong determination was what preserved their beliefs and heritage. The book starts out describing the early 18th century Dutch colony of Suriname. It was apparently the envy of all the others in America because there were 700 Europeans greedily living off the labor of over 4000 African slaves. The men who lived there were unrelenting in becoming prosperous and treated their slaves horribly. If slaves tried to escape they would be hunted by the planter militia. Common punishments would be the Achilles tendon being removed for the first attempt at escape and a leg being amputated for a second offense. What was so great about this book was watching how the slaves started to stand up for themselves and actually formed outlaw communities. The book tells the story of a nation that was founded by the escaped slaves into the rain forest in Latin America. The book is brutally honest and depicts bloody battles between slaves fighting for independence and their ?owners? fighting for free labor. The book also talks about a treaty that was formed with the colonial government and all the uneasiness that it caused. The author Richard Price presents the book with four different angles. He uses reports of the colonial officials that were sent to control the slave communities. He also has interviewed the slaves? descendants and has woven their account into the story. He used the diaries of the German Moravian missionaries that were determined to convert the ?heathen masses?. Finally Price used his own voice to bring the whole story together. Alabi is the great leader that attempts to reconcile his people with the white law and a white God. The missionaries were appalled by the idol worship that was occurring and considered it ?a foretaste of what hell must be like.?(Price) The missionaries were actually able to convert Alabi, but he was almost completely alone in his new found beliefs.
