Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua

Book cover of Baquaqua's memoirs, published in 1854

Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua[1] was a former slave, native of Zooggoo, West Africa, a tributary kingdom of Bergoo kingdom. He worked in Brazil as a captive; however, he escaped and fled to New York in 1847, assuring his freedom. He was literate in Arabic at the time of his capture, and recited a prayer in Arabic before an audience at New York Central College, where he studied from 1849 to 1853.[2] He wrote an autobiography (slave narrative), published by American abolitionist Samuel Downing Moore in 1854. His report is the only known document about the slave trade written by a former Brazilian slave.[3]

  1. ^ Lovejoy, Paul E. (2002). "IDENTIDADE E A MIRAGEM DA ETNICIDADE A JORNADA DE MAHOMMAH GARDO BAQUAQUA PARA AS AMÉRICAS" (PDF). Afroasia. Federal University of Bahia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2015-11-30.
  2. ^ Parks, Marlene K. (2017). New York Central College 1849–1860 McGrawville, N.Y. The first college in the U.S. to employ black professors. Vol. 1. Part 2, arranged alphabetically.
  3. ^ "Historiadores traduzem única autobiografia escrita por ex-escravo que viveu no Brasil". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). 27 November 2014. Retrieved 2015-11-30.