The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Rochester Studies in African History and the Diaspora)

The history of Ghana attracts popular interest out of proportion to its small size and marginal importance to the global economy. Ghana is the land of Kwame Nkrumah and the Pan-Africanist movement of the 1960s; it has been a temporary home to famous African-Americans like W. E. B. DuBois and Maya Angelou; and its Asante kingdom and signature kente cloth-global symbols of African culture and pride-are well known. Ghana also attracts a continuous flow of international tourists because of two historical sites that are among the most notorious monuments of the trans-Atlantic slave trade: Cape Coast and Elmina Castles. These looming structures are a vivid reminder of the horrific trade that gave birth to the black population of the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade explores the fascinating history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on Ghana's coast between 1700 and 1807. Here author Rebecca Shumway brings to life the survival experiences of southern Ghanaians as they became both victims of continuous violence and successful brokers of enslaved human beings. The era of the slave trade gave birth to a new culture in this part of West Africa, just as it was giving birth to new cultures across the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade pushes Asante scholarship toward to the forefront of African diaspora and Atlantic world studies by showing the integral role of Fante middlemen and trans-Atlantic trade in the development of the Asante economy prior to 1807. Examines the history of the Fante people of southern Ghana during the transatlantic slave trade, 1700 to 1807.The history of Ghana attracts popular interest out of proportion to its small size and marginal importance to the global economy. Ghana is the land of Kwame Nkrumah and the Pan-Africanist movement of the 1960s; it has been a temporary home to famous African Americans like W. E. B. DuBois and Maya Angelou; and its Asante Kingdom and signature kente cloth-global symbols of African culture and pride-are well known. Ghana also attracts a continuous flow of international tourists because of two historical sites that are among the most notorious monuments of the transatlantic slave trade: Cape Coast and Elmina Castles. These looming structures are a vivid reminder of the horrific trade that gave birth to the black population of the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade explores the fascinating history of the transatlantic slave trade on Ghana's coast between 1700 and 1807. Here authorRebecca Shumway brings to life the survival experiences of southern Ghanaians as they became both victims of continuous violence and successful brokers of enslaved human beings. The era of the slave trade gave birth to a new culture in this part of West Africa, just as it was giving birth to new cultures across the Americas. The Fante and the Transatlantic Slave Trade pushes Asante scholarship to the forefront of African diaspora and Atlantic Worldstudies by showing the integral role of Fante middlemen and transatlantic trade in the development of the Asante economy prior to 1807. Rebecca Shumway is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh. CONTENTS ......Page 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS ......Page 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ......Page 10 CHRONOLOGY ......Page 12 INTRODUCTION ......Page 14 1 Selling Gold and Selling Captives......Page 38 2 Fanteland in the Atlantic World......Page 66 3 A New Form of Government......Page 101 4 Making Fante Culture......Page 145 CONCLUSION ......Page 167 NOTES ......Page 170 BIBLIOGRAPHY ......Page 216 INDEX ......Page 238 Selling Gold And Selling Captives -- Fanteland In The Atlantic World -- A New Form Of Government -- Making Fante Culture. Rebecca Shumway. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.