Ottobah Cugoano | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Cugoano, 1784, by Richard Cosway | |
| Born | c.1757 |
| Died | c.1791 (aged 33–34) |
| Other names | John Stuart Quobna Ottobah Cugoano |
| Occupation(s) | Abolitionist and political activist |
| Notable work | Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species (1787) |
Ottobah Cugoano (c. 1757 – c. 1791), also known as John Stuart, was a British abolitionist and activist who was born in West Africa. Born into a Fante family in Ajumako, he was sold into slavery at the age of thirteen and shipped to Grenada in the West Indies. In 1772, he was purchased by a merchant who took him to England, where Cugoano learned to read and write, and was emancipated. Eventually, he started working for the artists Richard and Maria Cosway, becoming acquainted with several promiment British political and cultural figures as a result. He joined the Sons of Africa, a group of Black abolitionists in Britain, and died at some point after 1791.[1][2]
- ^ Bogues, Anthony (2003). Black Heretics, Black Prophets: Radical Political Intellectuals. New York: Routledge. pp. 25–46.
- ^ Dahl, Adam (21 November 2019). "Creolizing Natural Liberty: Transnational Obligation in the Thought of Ottobah Cugoano". The Journal of Politics. 82 (3): 908–920. doi:10.1086/707400. ISSN 0022-3816. S2CID 212865739.