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Pages:
5 pages/β‰ˆ1375 words
Sources:
6 Sources
Style:
MLA
Subject:
History
Type:
Research Paper
Language:
English (U.S.)
Document:
MS Word
Date:
Total cost:
$ 21.6
Topic:

The African and American Story and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Research Paper Instructions:

In Barracoon, Zora Neale about Cudjo Lewis, based upon conversations which took place in 1927-28. The manuscript wasn’t published until 2018, however. (If you are interested in the publication history of the book, see here (Links to an external site.) -not required!) Hurston went on to become a famous Harlem Renaissance writer, but she was also trained as an anthropologist.
Barracoon tells both an African and an American story through the eyes of one of the victims of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Cudjo Lewis’s life story reveals complicated set of responsibilities as well as tragic legacies of the Trans-Atlantic Trade on both continents.
Your assignment is to write a min. 5 page double spaced paper, based around Barracoon, but with an additional set of sources (see below.)
Start with an overview of the book, and then reflect on the following questions in your paper.
What insights into the history of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade did you gain from Cudjo Lewis’s life story? How does it (or does not) fit with what we have learned about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in the course?
Historical sources: What does the perspective of the book add compared to the information we can draw from different types of sources (database, archeology of ship, etc.)? What are the advantages and limitations of Barracoon as a historical source?
What are the long-term effects and legacies of the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade you can trace in the sources for this paper (think in terms of culture, economics, etc.) How does the legacy of the trade shape the present, in your opinion?
Use all of the following sources for your paper:
Zora Neale Hurston, Barracoon
Slave Voyages Database (research context Dahomey trade+ voyage of Cudjo’s ship)
On Clotilda: https://www(dot)smithsonianmag(dot)com/smithsonian-institution/clotilda-last-known-slave-ship-arrive-us-found-180972177/ (Links to an external site.)
On Africatown:https://www(dot)theguardian(dot)com/us-news/2018/jan/26/africatown-site-of-last-us-slave-ship-arrival-sues-over-factorys-pollution (Links to an external site.)
On Dahomey/Benin: https://www(dot)npr(dot)org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1833314 (Links to an external site.) (listen to podcast- 8 mins) and https://www(dot)washingtonpost(dot)com/world/africa/an-african-country-reckons-with-its-history-of-selling-slaves/2018/01/29/5234f5aa-ff9a-11e7-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html (Links to an external site.)
Course content (especially weeks on Slave-Trade, and coverage of Dahomey)
Not required, but for those who want more background information on the kingdom of Dahomey, look here (Links to an external site.).
You are free to structure te paper as you like (either as one continuous text or broken up into topics) as long as it is clear.
References: please clearly reference the sources of information in your paper. You are free to use either in-text bracketed references or footnotes, as long as you use the same system consistently, and clearly indicate the author, title, and page number of the information you are using. Please add a bibliography at the end of the paper.
Due date: June 8th (midnight)
I will submit the 6 sources documents only use those please. I will also submit the additional set of sources please don’t use others.
Grading rubric will contain the following categories:
How does the essay address the questions? (35 points)
How well does the essay summarize the book? (10 points)
How well does the essay combine and build upon the various sources of information? (35 points)
How well are the essay contents located and contextualized in the course content? (10 points)
Structure and clarity of essay and arguments (10 points)
Update======================
Podcast source 2
https://www(dot)npr(dot)org/2004/04/12/1833314/slaverys-bitter-legacy-in-w-africa

Research Paper Sample Content Preview:
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Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Research and Writing Assignment
The trans-Atlantic slave trade is recognized as the largest forced movement of individuals from Africa. Europeans and American slaveholders bought men, women, and children as property for skills and labor (Sieff para. 6). Studies estimate that many enslaved people died during transportation in the Atlantic due to hostile conditions on the ships (Eltis para. 1). A vivid study and deeper understanding of trans-Atlantic trade can be through the experienced of single enslaved individuals who endured catastrophic events. The focus of this paper is to reflect on the historical record in Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston, which tells the African and American story through the lens of slave victims.
Overview of the Book
Barracoon is a newly published work that illuminates the injustices of slavery through a narrated story by one of the Atlantic slave trade survivors. The book integrates the author's skills as both a writer and anthropologist into the life of Cudjo Lewis. The latter is the last slaver to have appeared in the Atlantic journey, illegally moved to the United States, and enslaved for over 50 years. Barracoon is a nonfiction biography of Cudjo Lewis, who by the year 1927 was a living survivor of the slave trade across the Atlantic known as the middle passage (Hurston 14). The book was composed based on an interview with the survivor and published in 2018, a few years after the author’s death.
The book is narrated primarily in Cudjo’s dialect, which Hurston preserved. The narration is an enclosure of how enslaved Black people were confined. Along with other enslaved people, Cudjo was brought to Alabama, and despite the restriction of slave importation from Africa, many traders flouted the 1808 restriction law (Keyes para. 6). Zora Neale’s book is an eye-opening, terrifying, and demonstrative of social issues such as immediacy and intimacy, which people lack according to interview-based narratives. The term baracoon in itself can loosely be translated as a temporary enclosure that used to hold slaves before they got ferried from their homes to other parts of the world.
Insights Into Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Cudjo Lewi’s life in the story depicts significant insights into transatlantic slave trade history. The narrative highlights the complexities inherent in the slavery period and the end of capture. For instance, the story depicts that the act of narration cannot be seen as isolated from the context since narratives are interpreted over years, decades, and even centuries. From the story, it can be noted that abolition can obscure some narrative elements. Lewis reveals that, after the abolition, freeing oneself became nearly impossible in a legal sense (Hurston 27). Consequently, the political act of freeing oneself was no longer available for communities of enslaved people but needed to be formed in artistic gesture.
Moreover, the politics of Lewis’ story illustrate the historical and cultural differences. The cultural divide was created by distance through the Atlantic Ocean and continued to complicate life in terms of space and time. The narration depicts that ...
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