S5Ep7| EXPLORING PERSPECTIVES ON CHATTEL SLAVERY with historian Hermann von Hesse

AKADi Magazine

What was life like for the average woman, man, and child in 17th, 18th and 19th century Accra?
And what impact did the European presence have on the exchange of ideas, cultures, languages, traditions, trade and more?

Our aim with this and subsequent interviews with historians and academic experts is to dig deeper into our understanding of what life was like in Accra (primarily).

We explore this in a new series in our ‘Connecting Communities’ podcast called –Challenging perspectives: Accra, her people and the Danes.

In our first interview we speak to Hermann von Hesse, assistant professor of African Art History at the University of Illinois, in Urbana-Champaign in the USA.

Hermann gives us a brief overview of life in Accra prior to European settlement. He outlines how the Danes established themselves in and around Accra and, draws distinctions and similarities between the European trade in people and the indigenous practice in what we now call Ghana.

We call this series Challenging perspectives because we hope that these discussions will encourage us all to interrogate and challenge our perspectives, increase our knowledge and inspire us to keep asking those important questions.
The reading list for this episode:
· Two Views from Christiansborg Castle Vol I. A Brief and Truthful Description of a Journey to and from Guinea, by Johannes Rask (Author), Selena Axelrod Winsnes (Translator)
· Two Views from Christiansborg Castle Vol II. A Description of the Guinea Coast and its Inhabitants
A Description of the Guinea Coast and its Inhabitants, by H.C. Monrad edited by Selena Axelrod Winsnes
· A Danish Jew in West Africa. Wulf Joseph Wulff Biography And Letters 1836-1842 by Selena Axelrod Winsnes, Paperback | Indigo Chapters
· History of Indigenous Slavery In, a (P): from the 15th to the 19th Century Paperback – Illustrated, 29 Dec. 2004, by Akosua Adoma Perbi (Author)
· The Grand Slave Emporium: Cape Coast Castle and the British Slave Trade Paperback – 1 Mar. 2007by William St Clair (Author)
· Daughters of the Trade: Atlantic Slavers and Interracial Marriage on the Gold Coast (The Early Modern Americas) by Pernille Ipsen (Author)
· Slavery and its Legacy in Ghana and the Diaspora. Rebecca Shumway (Anthology Editor) ,

The music in this episode is made exclusively for AKADi Magazine by Kyekyeku and the Super Opong Stars and is called 'Life No Dey Easy'.
AKADi Magazine is a digital publication connecting Ghanaians in Ghana and the Diaspora, visit us at www.akadimagazine.com and www.msbwrites.co.uk for all your community news.