Brazilian-African Diaspora in Ghana
The Tabom, Slavery, Dissonance of Memory, Identity, and Locating Home
Format:Paperback
Publisher:Michigan State University Press
Published:1st Oct '16
Should be back in stock very soon
Brazilian-African Diaspora in Ghana is a fresh approach, challenging both pre-existing and established notions of the African Diaspora by engaging new regions, conceptualizations, and articulations that move the field forward. This book examines the untold story of freed slaves from Brazil who thrived socially, culturally, and economically despite the challenges they encountered after they settled in Ghana. Kwame Essien goes beyond the one-dimensional approach that only focuses on British abolitionists’ funding of freed slaves’ resettlements in Africa. The new interpretation of reverse migrations examines the paradox of freedom in discussing how emancipated Brazilian-Africans came under threat from British colonial officials who introduced stringent land ordinances that deprived the freed Brazilian- Africans from owning land, particularly “Brazilian land.” Essien considers anew contention between the returnees and other entities that were simultaneously vying for control over social, political, commercial, and religious spaces in Accra and tackles the fluidity of memory and how it continues to shape Ghana’s history. The ongoing search for lost connections with the support of the Brazilian government—inspiring multiple generations of Tabom (offspring of the returnees) to travel across the Atlantic and back, especially in the last decade—illustrates the unending nature of the transatlantic diaspora journey and its impacts.
“Kwame Essien has written a valuable contribution to the historiography of Brazilian returnees in Africa. While analyzing the place of Brazilian returnees against the backdrop of Ghanaian society and British colonialism, his book also sheds important light on identity formation and the Tabom community’s memory of the historical ties between Brazil and Ghana.”
—Roquinaldo Ferreira, Vasco da Gama Associate Professor, Brown University
"This is a truly remarkable book. Kwame Essien casts refreshing light on the long, complicated phenomenon of diaspora-homeland relations. Impeccably researched and engagingly written, his text examines an understudied dimension of present-day Ghanaian-Brazilian relations: African perspectives on historical ties with the diaspora, and their place and significance in the conception of nationality. This is a significant contribution to the literature of Africana studies."
—Anani Dzidzienyo, Associate Professor, Africana Studies and Portuguese and Brazilian Studies, Brown University
"Kwame Essien has written a valuable contribution to the historiography of Brazilian returnees in Africa. While analyzing the place of Brazilian returnees against the backdrop of Ghanaian society and British colonialism, his book also sheds important light on identity formation and the Tabom community’s memory of the historical ties between Brazil and Ghana."
—Roquinaldo Ferreira, Vasco da Gama Associate Professor, Brown University
ISBN: 9781611862195
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
402 pages