Write An Essay On Mahommah's History

By the year 1854, Atlantic trade routes had already seen thousands of voyages encompassing multiple centuries that brought millions of African slaves to the Americas. Among these many Africans was Mahommah, whose quick journey from freedom and an elite status in Africa to slavery and transit to the New World was recorded. Even though someone else likely edited and published Mahommah’s narrative, the source retains the context, tone, and implications of his history. Mahommah’s history may not have been unique to him, as millions of Africans were involved in the slave trade, but the fact that Mahommah’s story was one of the few to be published and preserved proves that his experience had extra significance. As Mahommah experienced, many African slaves were no longer viewed as humans, rather as mere goods and merchandise to be traded at their …show more content…
Instead, the tale of Mahommah’s journey was written by an unknown author (or group of authors, as they refer to themselves as “we” (2)). This unknown author was likely a Westerner, given that the source is written in English (though it may have been translated from another language) and that in the year 1854 it would likely have been difficult for a slave to self-publish their story in a medium that has survived over 150 years. However, this unknown author shies away from most Western bias, saying that “we will give the matter in nearly his own words” (2). While it is possible that, given the usage of the word “nearly,” the author could insert some potential biased phrases, this seems unlikely, as most of Mahommah’s story is rather factual in nature. This also implies that Mahommah knew the author, as he had to verbally relay his story to the author in order for it to be printed and published. Consequently, while Mahommah was not the one who recorded his history, that does not mean that the narrative in the source is no less