The article deals with an unpublished early eighteenth century French manuscript on the Ivory Coast anf Gold Coast, underlying its value as a source for the history of slavery and personal dependency. The manuscript by Jean Godot, a sailor and a workman, is a very rare example of a travel account written by a person of low social status. Thus, not only was Godot, the writer , a sailor and workman, but his two main sources were also individuals of low status: the personal servant of a French gentleman (Parisien) and an African who started his career as a bonded member of the household of a local high office-holder (Banga). All this accounts for the considerable interest in the book which was consciously written as a “vision from below” that makes it even more attractive for the historian of dependency and slavery.
African Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Manuscript of Jean Godot
VALSECCHI, PIERLUIGI
2013-01-01
Abstract
The article deals with an unpublished early eighteenth century French manuscript on the Ivory Coast anf Gold Coast, underlying its value as a source for the history of slavery and personal dependency. The manuscript by Jean Godot, a sailor and a workman, is a very rare example of a travel account written by a person of low social status. Thus, not only was Godot, the writer , a sailor and workman, but his two main sources were also individuals of low status: the personal servant of a French gentleman (Parisien) and an African who started his career as a bonded member of the household of a local high office-holder (Banga). All this accounts for the considerable interest in the book which was consciously written as a “vision from below” that makes it even more attractive for the historian of dependency and slavery.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
