The Logbooks: Connecticut's Slave Ships and Human Memory (The

The Logbooks: Connecticut's Slave Ships and Human Memory (The Driftless Connecticut Series & Garnet Books)

In 1757, a sailing ship owned by an affluent Connecticut merchant sailed from New London to the tiny island of Bence in Sierra Leone, West Africa, to take on fresh water and slaves. On board was the ownerâ€™s son, on a training voyage to learn the trade. The Logbooks explores that voyage, and two others documented by that young man, to unearth new realities of Connecticutâ€™s slave trade and question how we could have forgotten this part of our past so completely.

When writer Anne Farrow discovered the significance of the logbooks for the Africa and two other ships in 2004, her mother had been recently diagnosed with dementia. As Farrow bore witness to the impact of memory loss on her motherâ€™s sense of self, she also began a journey into the world of the logbooks and the Atlantic slave trade, eventually retracing part of the Africaâ€™s long-ago voyage to Sierra Leone. As the narrative unfolds in The Logbooks, Farrow explores the idea that if our history is incomplete, then collectively we have forgotten who we areâ€”a loss that is in some ways similar to what her mother experienced. Her meditations are well rounded with references to the work of writers, historians, and psychologists. Forthright, well researched, and warmly recounted, Farrowâ€™s writing is that of a novelistâ€™s, with an eye for detail. Using a wealth of primary sources, she paints a vivid picture of the eighteenth-century Connecticut slavers. The multiple narratives combine in surprising and effective ways to make this an intimate confrontation with the past, and a powerful meditation on how slavery still affects us.
Country USA
Brand Wesleyan University Press
Manufacturer Wesleyan University Press
Binding Hardcover
UnitCount 1
Format Illustrated
EANs 9780819573056
ReleaseDate 0000-00-00

Country	USA
Brand	Wesleyan University Press
Manufacturer	Wesleyan University Press
Binding	Hardcover
UnitCount	1
Format	Illustrated
EANs	9780819573056
ReleaseDate	0000-00-00

The Logbooks: Connecticut's Slave Ships and Human Memory (The Driftless Connecticut Series & Garnet Books)

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