The Survivors of the Clotilda: The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade
- Downloads：1445
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2024-02-16 07:21:56
- Update Date：2025-09-14
- Status：finish
- Author：Hannah Durkin
- ISBN：B0CHHZMVRP
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Dawn Michelle
，
I have already read one book about the Clotilda and have both Zora Neale Hurston's book "Barracoon" and Ben Raines' book "The Last Slave Ship" on deck to read; it still will probably not be enough to explain all that happened to the people who were snatched and sold from their lands and crammed into a ship and brought here to be treated as less-than-human at the whim of arrogant， privileged， racist white people [and it is these same people's ancestors that still strive to keep the people of Afri I have already read one book about the Clotilda and have both Zora Neale Hurston's book "Barracoon" and Ben Raines' book "The Last Slave Ship" on deck to read; it still will probably not be enough to explain all that happened to the people who were snatched and sold from their lands and crammed into a ship and brought here to be treated as less-than-human at the whim of arrogant， privileged， racist white people [and it is these same people's ancestors that still strive to keep the people of Africatown down as those people continue to strive for a place in this world and treatment that is both human AND humane， as the last chapters of the book shows over and over]。 I will never NOT be in awe of the spirit and strength and tenacity of ALL of the peoples brought here as slaves; they were [and their ancestors are] integral to the growth and expansion of this country， in the midst of racism， lynching， targeted prison-time and more， and we all need to continue to learn about all they went through and continue to go through in just trying to be "American"。 Well-written and deeply researched [I need to buy this book to do the deep dive into all the notes and footnotes etc， even though that will lead me down another rabbit-hole I am sure]， this is a MUST read， especially now。 We cannot move forward without continuing to look back and learn from the mistakes made and strive to NEVER make them again。 People forget this [no matter how they try， they will not be able to erase the parts of history that make them uncomfortable; there will ALWAYS be people who know and speak the truth and we will never be silent] and we are here to remind them until they realize the truth。 Hannah Durkin is a truth speaker and I am so glad she wrote this book and spoke more truth that needs to be heard/read。 Thank you to NetGalley， Hannah Durkin， and Amistad for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Sarah Grace
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DNFed @ 10%I’m not DNFing because of the material。 The only way to not repeat history is to read about it， and the true horrors of the slave trade are still brushed over to this day。 History textbooks and courses doesn’t even begin to touch on the depth of evil。 That being said， I don’t think this is well written。 There is a lot of jumping around， and no clear timeline。 We skip around to different perspectives and different facts that don’t come together in a cohesive narrative。 If y’all have an DNFed @ 10%I’m not DNFing because of the material。 The only way to not repeat history is to read about it， and the true horrors of the slave trade are still brushed over to this day。 History textbooks and courses doesn’t even begin to touch on the depth of evil。 That being said， I don’t think this is well written。 There is a lot of jumping around， and no clear timeline。 We skip around to different perspectives and different facts that don’t come together in a cohesive narrative。 If y’all have any non-fics recommendations， please let me know。 。。。more
Penny
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Great， informative text with tons of notes and annotations。
Virginia Henry
，
I had to abandon this book。 The cruelty was too raw。 There is too much in today’s news to horrify a person。 Ten years ago I could have read it through I think。 However it’s well written and a story that needs to be told。
Phyllis | Mocha Drop
，
Some readers may be familiar with the slave ship， Clotilda， and the African captives aboard her last journey due to the fairly recent reprinting of Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston。 In it， she chronicled an admirable attempt to capture the memories and experiences of Cudjo Lewis， an elderly man at the time， who had remained in the area; a respected member of the community。 He was notably the longest surviving of the documented 110 captives （notably native Africans） to arrive in Mobile， AL in 1860 Some readers may be familiar with the slave ship， Clotilda， and the African captives aboard her last journey due to the fairly recent reprinting of Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston。 In it， she chronicled an admirable attempt to capture the memories and experiences of Cudjo Lewis， an elderly man at the time， who had remained in the area; a respected member of the community。 He was notably the longest surviving of the documented 110 captives （notably native Africans） to arrive in Mobile， AL in 1860， illegally smuggled into the United States specifically for sale and use as chattel slaves decades after the slave trade was “officially” abolished in the USA。 This book is a historian’s dream。 It opens with place setting during the targeted era – detailing the West African landscape， their leaders， tribal wars， and the affects of European politics and expanding globalization that fueled the unquenchable greed and sustained the slave trade for centuries。 It tells of how a bet between slavers birthed the Clotilda’s infamous journey and eventual destruction。 It relays the lives of the kidnapped prior to capture – their existence in established villages within wholesome families thriving as healthy and happy people with rich history， culture， customs， spiritual beliefs， and self-governance。 It delves into their emotional， psychological， and physical suffering beset by the separation from family （knowing they would never see them again）， the horrors of the middle passage， the confusion and frustration caused by language barriers， their dehumanizing experiences， heartless exploitation and the horrific abuse/beatings bestowed upon them during their time in bondage。In addition to the captives' story; we get insight into the orchestrators， participants， and enablers that made it happen as well as some of the merchants who purchased them。 The laws and attitudes of the era are also folded into the book to add context and immerse the reader into the political landscape of the day – although， it is rather clear where Alabama fell on the position of slavery。Overall， a great addition to the canon – easy to digest and presented in an easily comprehensive， fact-filled format。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher， Amistad， for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Phyllis | Mocha Drop
，
Some readers may be familiar with the slave ship， Clotilda， and the African captives aboard her last journey due to the fairly recent reprinting of Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston。 In it， she chronicled an admirable attempt to capture the memories and experiences of Cudjo Lewis， an elderly man at the time， who had remained in the area; a respected member of the community。 He was notably the longest surviving of the documented 110 captives （notably native Africans） to arrive in Mobile， AL in 1860 Some readers may be familiar with the slave ship， Clotilda， and the African captives aboard her last journey due to the fairly recent reprinting of Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston。 In it， she chronicled an admirable attempt to capture the memories and experiences of Cudjo Lewis， an elderly man at the time， who had remained in the area; a respected member of the community。 He was notably the longest surviving of the documented 110 captives （notably native Africans） to arrive in Mobile， AL in 1860， illegally smuggled into the United States specifically for sale and use as chattel slaves decades after the slave trade was “officially” abolished in the USA。 This book is a historian’s dream。 It opens with place setting during the targeted era – detailing the West African landscape， their leaders， tribal wars， and the affects of European politics and expanding globalization that fueled the unquenchable greed and sustained the slave trade for centuries。 It tells of how a bet between slavers birthed the Clotilda’s infamous journey and eventual destruction。 It relays the lives of the kidnapped prior to capture – their existence in established villages within wholesome families thriving as healthy and happy people with rich history， culture， customs， spiritual beliefs， and self-governance。 It delves into their emotional， psychological， and physical suffering beset by the separation from family （knowing they would never see them again）， the horrors of the middle passage， the confusion and frustration caused by language barriers， their dehumanizing experiences， heartless exploitation and the horrific abuse/beatings bestowed upon them during their time in bondage。In addition to the captives' story; we get insight into the orchestrators， participants， and enablers that made it happen as well as some of the merchants who purchased them。 The laws and attitudes of the era are also folded into the book to add context and immerse the reader into the political landscape of the day – although， it is rather clear where Alabama fell on the position of slavery。Overall， a great addition to the canon – easy to digest and presented in an easily comprehensive， fact-filled format。Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher， Amistad， for the opportunity to read in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Book Club of One
，
Expanding on Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon， Hannah Durkin's The Survivors of the Clotilda documents the lives of the 110 individuals brought to America on the eve of the Civil War aboard the 'last' slave ship， the Clotilda。 Through their lives we're provided "a mere snapshot of African-born slavery survivors' experiences。 The [Clotilda's] journey was just one of around thirty-six thousand documented slave ship voyages。。。 of the more than 12。5 million people who were forced onto slave ships。 Expanding on Zora Neale Hurston’s Barracoon， Hannah Durkin's The Survivors of the Clotilda documents the lives of the 110 individuals brought to America on the eve of the Civil War aboard the 'last' slave ship， the Clotilda。 Through their lives we're provided "a mere snapshot of African-born slavery survivors' experiences。 The [Clotilda's] journey was just one of around thirty-six thousand documented slave ship voyages。。。 of the more than 12。5 million people who were forced onto slave ships。。。" （Pg。 268） To provide one of the key points， the Clotilda's journey occurred fifty years after the Atlantic Slave trade was outlawed and word did get out about the ships arrival and who had funded its travels。 The book opens with a listing of all 110 individuals， known and unknown， with their names and life span。 If some of those details were not known， there is still a space for each person with what information was available。 From there the narrative is presented chronologically。 We follow the lives of those 110 from their homes in Africa， capture by other Africans， journey to the coast， surviving the Middle Passage， life in servitude， post war 'freedom' and their struggles in the Jim Crow South。 As the last known survivor， Matilda McGrear， died in January 1940 it is a book whose focus ends before the widespread Civil Rights Movement。 The actions of several survivors defied white control of their lives， inspiring their descendants， as their art and folklore had some influence on the Harlem Renaissance。 In a excellent closing Epilogue， Durkin brings the narrative through to the present， relating how many of the children and grandchildren of the Clotilda survivors were early participants in the Civil Rights Movement and the ongoing struggle for equality in the United States。 Hannah Durkin's depth of research is readily apparent， as we constantly hear from the 110 in their own voices， at least as recorded from speeches， interviews， legal documents， newspaper articles or other sources。 Stories of survival and trauma。 The narrative is clear in showing all the horrors of slavery。 The forced migration and destruction of communities， the splitting of families or the physical and mentally demanding work and constant threat of punishment。 Almost all of the survivors wished to return to Africa， but the majority were never able to do so。 Once freed， some established Africatown where they were able to revive their Yoruba traditions through laws and customs， such as their African style quilt making。 A timely contribution to American History detailing lesser known aspects of postbellum America。 Recommended to historians， researchers or readers of American History。 I received a free digital version of this book via NetGalley thanks to the publisher。 。。。more
Dawn Thomas
，
The Survivors of the Clotilda The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade by Hannah Durkin432 PagesPublisher: AmistadRelease Date: January 30， 2024Nonfiction （Adult）， Nonfiction， History， Multicultural Interest， Slavery， Civil War， AlabamaThe Clotilda was the last slave ship bringing 110 kidnapped Africans to the United States。 The ship docked in Alabama and the bidding began。 Some of the occupants on the ship were as young as Matilda at age two。 The slave trade was already The Survivors of the Clotilda The Lost Stories of the Last Captives of the American Slave Trade by Hannah Durkin432 PagesPublisher: AmistadRelease Date: January 30， 2024Nonfiction （Adult）， Nonfiction， History， Multicultural Interest， Slavery， Civil War， AlabamaThe Clotilda was the last slave ship bringing 110 kidnapped Africans to the United States。 The ship docked in Alabama and the bidding began。 Some of the occupants on the ship were as young as Matilda at age two。 The slave trade was already banned and several of the local politicians hid the fact the Clotilda arrived with slaves。 The ship was destroyed at the docks to get rid of any evidence。The conditions the Africans endured continued throughout their lives。 Only one African every returned to his home country。 They all told their stories to their families and asked that it be repeated to future generations so they would not be forgotten。The author did an amazing job following the lives of the Africans after their arrival in the United States。 Her writing style is engaging and easy to follow。 It is well written and eye opening。 She tells their stories as if she was listening to them firsthand。 If you have an interest in American History， you should read this book。 。。。more
Morgan
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Deeply affecting， review tk
Sierra
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