Dreams of Africa in Alabama: The Slave Ship Clotilda and the Story of the Last Africans Brought to America
This book reconstructs the lives of the people in West Africa, recounts their capture and passage in the slave pen in Ouidah, and describes their experience of slavery alongside American-born enslaved men and women. After emancipation, the group reunited from various plantations, bought land, and founded their own settlement, known as African Town. They ruled it according to customary African laws, spoke their own regional language and, when giving interviews, insisted that writers use their African names so that their families would know that they were still alive.
The last survivor of the Clotilda died in 1935, but African Town is still home to a community of Clotilda descendants. The publication of Dreams of Africa in Alabama marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Winner of the Wesley-Logan Prize of the American Historical Association (2007)
Reviews (54)
This is an important eye-opener for those of us who were never told the whole story about slavery.
It's hard to say I loved this book because it upset me terribly reading about these Africans' lives before they were kidnapped and after they were enslaved. It was fascinating learning about the different African sects and their ways of life. It was very distressing to read the truth about their lives in America. I was appalled to realize I'd never been taught this history decades ago in school. I was impressed by the way the freed Africans established their own town -- "Africatown" -- and lived in harmony though the odds of their success were hampered at every turn by Whites. IMHO this should be required reading for every high school student.
Excellent historical account and anthropological study
Impeccably researched, very well-written book exploring how it happened that the last slave ship came through the port of Mobile, Alabama in the summer of 1860. As it happened, a scofflaw businessman from Alabama decided to hedge his bets in covertly bringing in slaves from Africa on the slave ship Clotilda in defiance of laws outlawing international slave trade. This is a splendid account of the slave ship Clotilda and its 110 women, men and children who were delivered into an already existing slave community. The author covers how these slaves handled life after emancipation in 1860 and tried, but failed, to return to Africa and then started a settlement later called Africatown, which makes the book also one fit for anthropological study on how these last slaves held onto their customs and social systems and language into this century despite the fact that the final Clotilda survivor passed away in the 1930s.
Interesting book about a little-known aspect of slavery in America
While the book started out reading like a doctoral thesis, I ended up really appreciating the extensive, thorough research and the excellent writing. I read this for a nonfiction book club, and the main criterion for a thumbs-up from our group is whether or not we learned something. This book definitely fit the bill. "Dreams of Africa in Alabama" tells the story of the last slave ship that came to America and the stories of the Africans that settled in Alabama. They had a completely different experience than Africans that had been brought over earlier, and the book described these differences and how they interacted with each other, the "original" African Americans, and their owners. Interviews with members of this community highlighted many poignant stories about their capture, the passage to America, their initial experiences and their lives after emancipation. It was also well written, with extensive notes and bibliography.
Excellent book, very readable and highly informative of the ...
Excellent book, very readable and highly informative of the details of the slave trade 'supply chain' and conditions of the time. I was particularly interested, in part because I once lived in Liberia. I am grateful for the insights to the West African culture and the lives of the people who suffered through this miserable experience.
A Tough Read
I have to be honest, I struggled with this book in many ways. At times it was just too emotionally draining and at other times I felt it got bogged down in minutia. But even when I gave up on it, I'd eventually return and I'm glad I did. It's a story worth learning
Slavery and After Slavery: Lives of the last Africans as slaves and free Americans
Detailed information of the lives of Africans illegally brought to US just before the Civil War. It reports how they were captured, then what happened to this group after arriving in Alabama, and finally how they lived after freedom. It tells the stories of how these families and their descendants lived and survived into the twentieth century.
Not Just of Descendants of African Slaves
Fascinating account of the last slave ship to arrive in America. The discovery in January, 2018 of what is almost certainly the remains of the slave ship Clotilda near Mobile Bay will affirm the story of slaves brought in her hold. It would be the only ship besides the Amistead that has been discovered.
Well researched. This account not only chronicles historical fact ...
Well researched. This account not only chronicles historical fact, it gives concise insight into the culture of those who became brutally enslaved. This should be a staple for anyone interested in the body of literature on black history.
Most important piece of American History: Mobile, Alabama
Necessary reading for historians exploring slavery, namely Africatown, Plateau, Mobile, Alabama.
Well Written,Informative
The author presents a great deal of information with a fluid and sensitive writing style. This is a narrative with a lot of anthropological and historical information. The author discusses the nuances of the personalities and the possible motivations of many of the individuals. She succeeds in creating a sense of place.
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