Introductory Post

Laurence Hill's #1 national bestseller "The Book of Negroes" is an inspiring, adventurous tale of an African woman that survived the harsh lifestyle that many Africans in the 17 and early 1800's  had to go through during the slave trade. The story begins with a young African girl named Aminata born in the village of Bayo in 1745 where she lived with her father a jeweler and her mother a midwife. When she was eleven years old, her parents were killed by slave traders and she was kidnapped and forced to walk for months bound with chains around her neck and wrists all the way to sea. During her long walk to sea, Aminata met her future husband Chekura who was sold to the slave traders by his uncle to work for them. Upon her arrival at "the big river", she boarded a slave ship in which she was able to stay alive using her skills as a midwife on the ship to aide injured and pregnant mothers, helping her to be desired by the ships medicine man. The ship arrived in America in 1757 where Aminata was sold to a malicious indigo farmer. Aminata quickly learned how to read, write and speak the english language, living at the indigo farm which not many "Negroes" at the time could do. In 1760, Chekura was able to find his way to the farm where Aminata served and the two got married and had a son. Unfortunately, the farm owner deceitfully sold the son out of rage and jealousy. After the selling of her son, Aminata refused to work forcing the farm owner to sell her in 1762, to a rich Indigo trader named Solomon Lindo in need of  a servant. Mr. Lindo treated Aminata kindly and unlike her last owner, he never put a hand on her. Solomon Lindo lived in Charles Town where Aminata stayed alive by doing odd jobs for Mr. Lindo and working as a midwife. In 1775, Mr. Lindo brought Aminata to New York with him on a business trip. Here, Aminata was able to escape Lindo and finally be free so she thought. In New York, Aminata worked at a bar and as a midwife and spent her free time teaching the blacks of New York how to read and write. Here, Chekura miraculously was able to track down Aminata getting her pregnant once again. In 1783, the British offered the blacks of New York a chance at a new, free life in Nova Scotia. Aminata arrived in Nova Scotia safely but Chekura did not as his ship was sunk on the way there in a storm. Here, Aminata finds work for a family as their servant. While working for the family, Aminata has her baby and the family she is working for couldn't be more happy. In 1785, whites of Nova Scotia began attacking and sabotaging the blacks which forced Aminata to go into hiding without her child for three days. After the fighting ended, Aminata returned to the families house that had been taking care of her daughter in her absence only to realize that the family had fled to Boston with her child. Recognizing life in Nova Scotia was too dangerous, Aminata fled to Freetown which was a British colony in Africa that was promised to offer the blacks of Nova Scotia freedom. Now the year 1800, the black loyalists began building their community in Freetown under the supervision of the British Military. Being in Africa reminded Aminata of her home village "Bayo" so naturally, Aminata requested that she is to be taken back to her village where she can tell her fellow villagers about the voyage she had been on. But on the way to her village, Aminata realized her guides were planning to sell her to slave traders so to save herself, she escapes to a small community where she becomes a story teller only to return back to Freetown some time later. A group of abolitionists trying to end the slave trade request the Aminata come with them to London to tell her story of being a slave. She tells her story to the government and the bill to end the slave trade in Africa was passed. In London, Aminata's daughter was able to track her down because of her mother's exposure. Finally, Aminata felt free and that she can finally end her life knowing how her story helped so many and how it will continue to help many more in years to come.