Essay On Abina And The Important Men

Kristen McNamara

HIS 108

Essay #2

4/13/18

Slavery in Abina and the Important Men

One of the most important parts in our history involves the influence of slavery throughout Africa. In the graphic novel, Abina and the Important Men, by Getz and Clarke, the true story of a young girl, Abina who was wrongly enslaved in the Gold Coast Protectorate, present day Ghana.(116) In 1875, slavery was abolished there, and Abina goes on trial, suing her previous “master”. This story is particularly significant due to the fact that it is a true story. One theme that is present throughout this remarkable graphic novel is - What does it mean to be a slave? Many characters had their own specific perspectives on slavery, specifically by the “important men”,

and though some of these perceptions were similar, many contradicted each other, along with Abina’s own perceptions.
Throughout the story, Abina’s experiences in the novel are shaped directly by the “important men” that she is consistently surrounded by.

As the novel progresses, the reader learns more about what an “important man” refers to - a man who has some sort of influence, whether it be at the local level or all the way up to the level with the British. (122) The most significant of these men include William Melton, James Davis, James Hutton Brew, and Quamina Eddo. Firstly, William Melton is the acting judicial assessor during Abina’s trial. (128) Throughout the story, Melton is torn between sympathy between sympathy for Abina and the morality of slavery. (137) He seems to be an overall good person with morals, though at the start he does express to Davis, Abina’s attorney, that he feels that he has been put into a tough situation due to the British relying on these ‘important men’, Abina’s former “owners” to produce palm oil for them. (14) He also told them that they “do not want to start a legal battle with them”. (14) His overall views on slavery are very straightforward. (139) When he is assessing the case, he asks questions such as: “Did any money change

hands, or were any rituals denoting enslavement carried out?, Was the witness physically abused?, Was the witness called a slave?, What sort of labor was the witness required to do, and was he or she paid for it?”. (89) This shows that he has very specific and formulaic ideals on what a slave is. (139) In the end, Melton finds Eddo not guilty strongly due to his belief that that Yaw Awoah, the man who left Abina with Quamina Eddo, only left Abina with Eddo while he was on a business trip, and did not sell her as a slave. (139) Additionally, he most likely ruled in favor of Eddo due to not wanting upsetting Abina’s former owners. (130) The next important man in the story is James Davis. James Davis was the prosecutor and interpreter for the colonial courts. (130) When Abina initially ran away, she shortly found Davis and he sheltered her and aided her when asked. (10) Davis was a strong advocate against slavery, and most likely represented the average African man in his colony. (127) He was very nice towards Abina and made sure that her former owners did not find her when they came looking for her. (130) While sheltering her, he says to her, “Well, it’s true that there is no legal slavery here in Cape Coast, or throughout the colony and protectorate. But look, the government doesn’t have the money or the ability to enforce the laws everywhere”. When she tells him that she wants to go to court against her former owners, he is initially taken aback, due to the fact that he doesn’t believe that it would be effective. (12) He eventually agreed to present Abina’s case, but he voiced his concerns of Quamina Eddoo’s power. (12) Often, he reminded Abina that though if he had owned her as a slave, he was still an important man, and the British did not like to alienate important men. (12) Throughout the graphic novel, Davis stands by Abina’s side and never treats her poorly, showing that he must have strong beliefs against slavery. (148) He also shows traits of being a Christian. (131) Another important man involved in Abina’s trial is James Hutton Brew. Brew was the defense attorney, prince, newspaper founder and lawyer. (130) Brew defends Quamina Eddoo during the trial. (130) He was an educated man and advises Eddoo on the best way to beat Abina in court. (130) Throughout the story, his actions seem very harsh and malicious towards Abina. (42) Undoubtedly, many lawyers do have to be firm to get their point across, but during scenes where he is alone and talking to Eddoo behind the scenes, he seems to strongly believe that Eddoo had not done anything wrong. (149) His actions show that Brew most likely either does not see anything wrong with slavery, or what Quamina Eddoo did was not truly slavery. (148) He argues that Abina never saw any exchange of money, so there is no proof that she was actually bought. (42) Also, she didn't do any traditional slave labor, she just worked in the house. (42) Additionally, he argues that though she was never paid with money, she was receiving food and clothing, and that these services could count as payment just as easily. (42) The final important man that is significant to the story is Quamina Eddoo. (131) Eddoo is the defendant who is a wealthy man from Saltpond. (131) He is Abina’s perceived ex-owner. (131) Throughout Abina’s time as his slave, she lived with his sister, Eccoah. (5) During her time there, she did mostly housework, but was threatened to beatings multiple times. Abina’s final straw was when Eddoo attempted to force Abina to marry Tando. (7) She even refused notwithstanding being whipped, and ran away rather than marrying him. (7) Quamina Eddoo stated that he did not believe that Abina was her slave and that she worked for him and his sister. (34) It is difficult to determine whether or not he truly believed this, or if he was lying to the court. (33) Although, when he interacted with Brew behind the scenes, he did seem slightly anxious. (32)
Throughout the graphic novel, many of the important men’s opinions on slavery was similar, but some did contradict each other in some aspects. Firstly, some of the important men’s perceptions of slavery have some similarities. The first similarity between these men’s perceptions is that they all seem to morally understand that slavery is wrong. Though this occurs on different levels, it is something that they all share. This is easily seen through the entire purpose of the trial - to prove Eddoo’s innocence, indicating that slavery is morally wrong. Additionally, on separate occasions each character has shown some type of morality on the topic of slavery, whether it be on the level of Davis or Brew. (128) Moreover, something that all of these people have in common is that they are a tool to the British - all of the important men have been influenced by them in some way, shape, or form. (128) The type of influence from the British, more than anything else, leads to slightly similar perceptions on slavery, as well as other aspects of life. Secondly, the important men all shared certain beliefs that were similar to the British. In Britain the “Civilizing Mission” began during the Industrial revolution and the rise of the middle class. (122) This resulted in the rise of Evangelism, encouraging many to live by a certain set of morals/values. Many of these values led to the liberal ideals of the abolition of slavery in England, as well as the rest of Europe. Eventually, many of these ideas were transferred over to Africa, as well. Though the ideas did make an appearance within Africa, many Africans were not seen as civil and were “unworthy of self rule”, due to the idea that they were not independent and could not look after themselves. (122) Consequently, the British took over to “protect” them, and enforced their own rules, one of which being the removal of slavery. (122) Though there were smilier themes among the men, there were additionally some contradictions among them. Overall, the biggest issue in interpreting each of the important men’s views on slavery is difficult due to the fact that there was a large communication barrier between all of the men, and the word “master” in each of their languages could signify different things. (139) There were several examples where this word seems to be misunderstood. One example from reading the transcripts, Melton asks Abina “When Eccoah said “Your master” what did she mean?” ( p 85) . Additionally, there is a hazy line between what is considered a “free person” and what is considered a “slave”. (139) This proved to be difficult due to the economic influence and thirst for palm oil by British consumers. Additionally, there were gendered differences throughout British society. (163) Namely, women typically did tend to do housework, which is what Abina typically did while she believed she was a slave, leading in the wavering ideals of if she was a slave or not. (145) Notwithstanding, this lead to questions being asked regarding to the type of labor that was expected from Abina, if she was forced to perform this labor, if physical abuse took place, and if there was a marriage ceremony. Additionally, Abina was asked if she understood what Eccoah meant when she said “your master”. Due to the communication barrier between the two, Abina was not able to answer. This was extremely damaging to her case due to the fact that the word “master” is commonly used in relationship to slavery, but she could not indicate that. Furthermore, Abina had a very different view on slavery than the important men involved in the trial. (151) When asked the difference between a free person and a slave, she states, “when a free person is sitting down at ease the slave is working that is what I know”., “I had been sold and I had no will of my own and I could not look after my body and health”. This indicates that Abina clearly did understand the difference between the two, but that there was an unfortunate language barrier between herself and the important men. Abina was a fairly strong willed woman, and ran away even though women were far less likely to run away and take their slave owners to court, most likely as a plea to be heard. (151) Though Abina viewed slavery through a fairly different lens than the important men in the graphic novel, there were a few similarities that were also present. The greatest example of this is through the ideals that slavery is morally wrong. (149) This is seen through the defending of Eddo on the behalf of many of the important men, and through Abina’s initial suing of her former master. (149) Throughout the whole process, there was an underlying understanding that slavery was wrong, and the issue of whether or not it was done in this specific instance. (149) Moreover, Abina’s story was extremely gendered. (163) Through this gendering, it shines a light on the ways in which slave owners attempted to hide their abundance of slaves through marrying them, or giving them to someone else to marry. (163)
In conclusion, throughout the graphic novel, Abina and the Important Men, by Getz and Clarke, Abina has seemingly steadfast beliefs about slavery.

These beliefs differ greatly from the “important men” in the novel, including Melton, Davis, Brew and Quamina Eddo. These men’s perceptions on slavery are similar, yet also slightly contradictory of each other. This can be seen through the important men’s influence with the British, and Abina’s own direct experiences with slavery. This story is tremendously important and hit upon some serious aspects that are extremely relevant within African

history.
Works Cited
Getz, Trevor R. and Liz Clarke. Abina and the Important Men, 2nd edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.