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(SLAVERY AND ABOLIITON—NARRATIVES.) GRONNIOSAW,
JAMES ALBERT UKAWSAW.
A Narrative of the Most Remarkable
Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an
African Prince, as Related by Himself.
[viii], [i]-39 pages. 12mo, contempo-
rary full sheep, spine with four bands; faint circular stain, a few light smudges to
the title-page, with two contemporary ownership signatures (Sarah Pedder and
Deborah Morris).
BOUND IN A NONCE VOLUME
,
TOGETHER WITH
; John
Woolman’s
Serious Consideration on Various Subjects.
[1772] (first few pages nibbled
at the bottom edge, obscuring the imprint) *
Visions in Verse for the Entertainment
and Instruction of Younger Minds.
London: Dodsley, 1767 *
The Fighting Sailor
turned Peaceful Christian.
London: Hinds, [1767] * and
Some Memoirs of the Life of
John Roberts.
London: Hinds, [1767]. Tipped in at the end of the volume is a
1914 letter addressed to a descendant of one of the original owners of this book,
commenting on its contents.
Bath: W. Gye [1770?]
[8,000/12,000]
ONE OF THE EARLIEST PRINTED SLAVE NARRATIVES IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
,
AND THE FIRST PUBLISHED BOOK BY AN AFRICAN IN GREAT BRITAIN
. Prince James
Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (circa 1705-1775) was born in Bornu, Northeastern
Nigeria. His family was well-to-do and he received a relatively advanced education, which
served to stimulate what was already a lively imagination. So when some traders came with
stories of great ships and white skinned people, the youngster decided to run off with them
to the Gold Coast. But they instead sold him to a Dutch captain who took him to
Barbados where he was sold twice again, the second time to Reverend Theodore
Frelinghuysen, an influential New York minister and friend of the evangelical preacher
George Whitefield. His mistress and her children introduced him to the religious works of
Richard Baxter and John Bunyan and he became quite religious. When his master passed
in 1747, automatically emancipating him, he instead chose to remain with the family but
they all died within four years. James Albert (his Christian name) decided to go to
England where his believed the people to all be good Christians, based on his contacts with
a few decent men including the Rev. George Whitfield who had been kind to him while
enslaved. After a complex series of events, including joining up with a privateer, he made
his way to Britain. There he married Betty, a white English widow with a child, and
started a family with her. Gronniosaw worked at odd jobs in Colchester, and Norwich, later
moving to Kidderminster to support the family. His autobiography ends with a description
of the poverty faced by many black people and the poor in general in Britain: “My wife, by
hard labor at the loom, does every thing that can be expected from her towards the mainte-
nance of our family; and God is pleased to incline the hearts of his People at times to yield
us their charitable assistance; being myself through age and infirmity able to contribute but
little to their support.” Gronniosaw did see some money from the sale of his Narrative
which went through several printings within his life time. The original cost of publishing,
printing and distribution of his Narrative was paid for by Selina Hastings, the Countess of
Huntingdon, who later paid for the publishing, printing and “book signing party” for
Phillis Wheatley’s “Poems on Various Subjects” in 1773. Some black scholars have been
hard on Gronniosaw in that he is not more critical of the Atlantic slave trade. But then, his
experience had been, in large part a fortunate one. On the other hand, his Narrative does
provides us with a first-hand account of the treatment of blacks and the poor in general in
18th century Britain. Gronniosaw throughout his story maintains an attitude of abiding
faith in some figure of divine providence that watches over and ultimately protects one’s
soul, if not their body.