Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua[1] was a formerslave, native ofZooggoo, West Africa, atributary kingdom of Bergoo kingdom. He worked inBrazil as a captive; however, he escaped and fled toNew York in 1847, assuring his freedom. He was literate inArabic at the time of his capture, and recited a prayer in Arabic before an audience atNew York Central College, where he studied from 1849 to 1853.[2] He wrote an autobiography (slave narrative), published by AmericanabolitionistSamuel Downing Moore in 1854. His report is the only known document about the slave trade written by a formerBrazilian slave.[3]
Baquaqua was born in Djougou (currently inBenin) between 1820 and 1830 in a prominent Muslim trader family. He learned theQuran, literature and mathematics in an Islamic school. Still as anadolescent, he and his brother took part in the succession wars inDaboya, where he was captured and then rescued.
Returning toDjougou, he became the servant of a local dignitary, perhaps the chief of Soubroukou, whom he called 'king'. The abuses he committed in that period made him target of an ambush in which he was imprisoned and transported toDahomey; he was embarked into aslave ship in 1845 and taken toPernambuco in Brazil.
Baquaqua was a slave inOlinda, Pernambuco for around two years. His master was a baker. He worked in the construction of houses, carrying stones, learnedPortuguese, and performed as an "escravo de tabuleiro" (peddling slave). The cruelty of his Brazilian masters made him resort to alcoholism and attempt suicide.
Taken toRio de Janeiro, Baquaqua was incorporated with the crew of the trade shipLembrança ("A Memory"), transporting goods to the southern provinces of Brazil. In 1847, a coffee shipment to the United States was his passport to freedom. The ship arrived inNew York Harbor in June, where it was approached by local abolitionists, who encouraged him to escape from the ship. After the escape, however, he was imprisoned in the local jail, and only the help of the abolitionists (who facilitated his escape from prison) prevented his return to the ship. He was then sent toHaiti, where he lived with the Reverend W. L. Judd, a Baptist missionary.
Converted to Christianity and baptized in 1848, Baquaqua returned to the US due to the political instability in Haiti. He studied at theNew York Central College inupstate New York for almost three years. In 1854, he moved to Canada; his autobiography was published the same year in Detroit by Samuel Downing Moore.
It is not known what happened to Baquaqua after 1857. He was then in England and had turned to theAmerican Baptist Free Mission Society to be sent as a missionary to Africa.[4]
Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua public domain audiobook atLibriVox| International | |
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