Ottobah Cugoano

Ottobah Cugoano

human

Ein sex anaa gender	male
Name wey dem give am	Ottobah
Family name	Cugoano
Ein date of birth	1757
Place dem born am	Ajumako
Date wey edie	1791
Languages edey speak, rep anaa sign	English
Ein occupation	writer, domestic worker, abolitionist
Residence	Schomberg House
Social classification	slave
Notable work	Thoughts And Sentiments On The Evil & Wicked Traffic Of The Slavery & Commerce Of The Human Species
Member of	Sons of Africa
Copyright status as creator	copyrights on works have expired

Ottobah Cugoano (c. 1757 – c. 1791), dem sanso know am as John Stuart, na he be a British abolitionist den activist wey na dem born am insyd de Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). Na dem sell am into slavery at de age of thirteen wey na dem ship am to Grenada insyd de West Indies. Insyd 1772, na dem purchase am by a merchant wey take am to England, wer na Cugoano learn to read den write, wey na dem emancipate am. Eventually, na he start dey work give de artists Richard den Maria Cosway, wey cam be acquainted plus chaw prominent British political den cultural figures as a result. Na he join de Sons of Africa, a group of Black abolitionists insyd Britain, wey na he die at sam point after 1791.

Early life

Na dem born Quobna Ottobah Cugoano insyd 1757 insyd Agimaque (Ajumako) insyd de Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana). Na dem born am into a Fante family wey na ein family be close to de local chief.

At de age of 13, na dem kidnap Cugoano plus a group of kiddies, dem sell into slavery wey na dem transport dem from Cape Coast on a slave ship to Grenada. Na he work on a plantation insyd de Lesser Antilles til na dem purchase am insyd 1772 by Alexander Campbell, a Scottish plantation owner, wey take am into ein household. Late insyd 1772, na Campbell take am plus am on a visit to England wer na Cugoano be able make he secure ein freedom. On 20 August 1773, na dem baptise am at St James's Church, Piccadilly, as "John Stuart – a Black, aged 16 Years".

Abolitionist

Insyd 1784, na dem employ Cugoano as a servant by de artists Richard Cosway den ein wifey, Maria. Thru de Cosways, na he cam to de attention of leading British political den cultural figures of de time, wey dey include de poet William Blake den de Prince of Wales. Togeda plus Olaudah Equiano den oda educated Africans wey dey live insyd Britain, Cugoano cam be active insyd de Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group wey ein members frequently wrep to de newspapers of de day, wey dem dey condemn de practice of slavery.

Commemoration

Insyd November 2020, na dem unveil an English Heritage blue plaque wey dey honour Cugoano on Schomberg House insyd Pall Mall, London, wer na he live den work plus de Cosways from 1784 to 1791.

External links

• Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, London: printed in the year 1787. Online text at Eighteenth Century Collections Online Text Creation Project, University of Michigan.
• Narrative of the Enslavement of Ottobah Cugoano, a Native of Africa, London: Printed for the Author and Sold by Hatchard and Co., 1825, online text at Documenting the American South, University of North Carolina.
• "The Unsung Hero of Abolition, Quobna Ottobah Cugoano | Cugoano250". Foundation for Global Solutions, 16 September 2023.