Asa-Asa
a man sold into slavery · West Africa · London · 19th century
He grew up in an inland village of West Africa, where his father made charcoal. At about thirteen his village was burnt, he was seized and sold six times, and at last put on a French slave ship; the ship was driven by storm into Cornwall, and he was set free. He stayed on in London and told his story, which was printed in 1831 at the end of Mary Prince's book.
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1831 · Three passages from the first paragraph of his narrative. The editor says it is given as nearly as possible in his own words, corrected only enough to connect the story and make it grammatical.
My father's name was Clashoquin; mine is Asa-Asa. ⋯ We all lived together with my father and mother; he kept a horse, and was respectable, but not one of the great men. ⋯ I was too little to work; my eldest brother used to work on the land; and we were all very happy.
"Narrative of Louis Asa-Asa, a Captured African", printed at the end of The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave (1831)
1831 · The editor says that the closing passage alone is entirely his own, unaltered. This is from the middle of that passage.
I should like much to see my friends again, but I do not now wish to go back to them: for if I go back to my own country, I might be taken as a slave again. I would rather stay here, where I am free, than go back to my country to be sold.
"Narrative of Louis Asa-Asa, a Captured African", printed at the end of The History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave (1831)
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