Quobna Cugoano's Thoughts And Sentiments

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In Quobna Cugoano’s Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery, Cugoano, a well-educated former slave, uses his powers of rationality to refute pro-slavery arguments and demonstrate how Africans are capable of the same intellectual feats as white people, setting them as equals. The mere creation of the work serves as evidence of the ability of Africans to employ reason and contradicts the principles that people adopt to justify slavery by stating “‘that an African is not entitled to any competent degree of knowledge’” (Cugoano 11). He makes his arguments through a process of analysis and mode of collecting “observations [that] may lead into a larger field of consideration,” portraying a sharpened, rational mind (11). The title itself, which …show more content…

In England, he discovers a strong desire to learn, and, because of his master, he pursues education. He recounts “what a treasure to have, and one of the greatest advantages to be able to read therein, and a divine blessing to understand” (18). He marks this as a blessing as the inability to read contributed to the perception of Africans as lesser. However, as he reads, he defies this belief. Recognizing this claim against his people, he contends that “Africans, though not so learned, are just as wise as Europeans” (118). By marking the important distinction between education and intelligence, Cugoano sets the two groups on an equal plane and dismantles a justification for …show more content…

Lawful servitude arises in cases when “the rules of civilization were broken through, and when the rights and properties of others were invaded” (124). In this case, it serves as punishment for violated the reasonable, set rules of society. Therefore, the characterization of the slaveholders and traffickers as robbers would lead them to be slaves under the principles of lawful servitude. Compulsive servitude exists when liberty and agreement between the two parties ceases. His ability to distinguish between these two types of servitude strengthens his argument as he identifies that servitude possesses a place for in society, but he establishes limits and boundaries that prevent slavery. His depth of scrutiny exhibits his logical

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