ISP #4 Postcolonial Criticism

Looking at The Book of Negroes with a postcolonial critisism made me more aware of the struggle between first world and third world groups. Throughout this book there is a war going on between the American Colonies and the British, for control of the United States. The power switches hands multiple times, but the British are losing more and more control all the time. Although the USA is not completely out of the control of European colonial powers, it is getting close. This constant battle in the book creates two sides and forces the citizens of America to choose who they support. The conflict between the Americans and the British provided a great opportunity for the slaves to seek freedom. One of the opportunities that arose was that slaves were given the option to become free if they fought for the British army. This benefited the British army and gave some hope of freedom to the slaves. "The British were promising us freedom if we fought for them."(302) Because of the upheaval of the war and the beginning of change in beliefs about slavery, some slaves could start to claim their freedom without such a large fear of punishment.  The Americans were so busy directing their anger and manpower towards fighting the British that the slaves, such as Aminata,  had a chance to escape. As Sam tells Aminata "War is inevitable, and the Brits are in for the surprise of their life. They have no idea how angry people are. If you flees now, Lindo won't have time to hunt you down."(285). This rise in conflict is exactly what Aminata needed to be able to escape to freedom.

The postcolonial criticism also focuses on the power difference and highlights Aminata's strength. African people were brought to America and enslaved. This book describes the brutality and racism that these people faced everyday (203). This shows how strong and determined Aminata truly was because even though all the odds were against her she learned to read, write, and speak eloquently. Having these skills was unusual for an African American slave, because most never had the opportunity. By developing these skills Aminata proved to other slaves that there is hope for them all.

It is also interesting how the author chose to have a black female as the protagonist. In history women were usually known to have less power then men, then when you add the fact that she is African it makes it even more likely that she won't have power. Historically you would assume that this character would have no power and would not be valued. This is not the case, Aminata ends up having a very powerful voice and aiding many of her friends to freedom. She is valued and appreciated by all that know her and has helped a lot of people. This is not what you expect this from that type of person in history, but Aminata defied the odd and proved the stereotypes wrong.  

Work Cited

 Hill, Lawrence. "The Book of Negroes." (2011): n. pag. Abstract. (n.d.): n. pag. Print.