{"product_id":"a-narrative-of-events-since-the-first-of-august-1834-by-james-williams-an-apprenticed-labourer-in-jamaica-hardcover-1","title":"A Narrative of Events, Since the First of August, 1834, by James Williams, an Apprenticed Labourer in Jamaica - Hardcover","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eJames Williams\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDiana Paton\u003c\/b\u003e (Editor)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book brings back into print, for the first time since the 1830s, a text that was central to the transatlantic campaign to fully abolish slavery in Britain's colonies. James Williams, an eighteen-year-old Jamaican \"apprentice\" (former slave), came to Britain in 1837 at the instigation of the abolitionist Joseph Sturge. The \u003ci\u003eNarrative\u003c\/i\u003e he produced there, one of very few autobiographical texts by Caribbean slaves or former slaves, became one of the most powerful abolitionist tools for effecting the immediate end to the system of apprenticeship that had replaced slavery.\u003cbr\u003e\tDescribing the hard working conditions on plantations and the harsh treatment of apprentices unjustly incarcerated, Williams argues that apprenticeship actually worsened the conditions of Jamaican ex-slaves: former owners, no longer legally permitted to directly punish their workers, used the Jamaican legal system as a punitive lever against them. Williams's story documents the collaboration of local magistrates in this practice, wherein apprentices were routinely jailed and beaten for both real and imaginary infractions of the apprenticeship regulations. \u003cbr\u003e\tIn addition to the complete text of Williams's original \u003ci\u003eNarrative, \u003c\/i\u003e this fully annotated edition includes nineteenth-century responses to the controversy from the British and Jamaican press, as well as extensive testimony from the Commission of Enquiry that heard evidence regarding the \u003ci\u003eNarrative's\u003c\/i\u003e claims. These fascinating and revealing documents constitute the largest extant body of direct testimony by Caribbean slaves or apprentices.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eBack Jacket\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is simply a fabulous compilation of materials. Paton carefully addresses an impressive range of historical and literary contexts that allow the contemporary reader to fully appreciate the importance of Williams's narrative.--Sandra Gunning, author of \"Race, Rape, and Lynching: The Red Record of American Literature, 1890-1912\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDiana Paton is a Lecturer in the Department of History at the University of Newcastle.\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 208\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.8 x 9.4 x 5.8 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIllustrated:\u003c\/strong\u003e Yes\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 23, 2001\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45775577678021,"sku":"9780822326588","price":161.93,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0757\/6718\/5605\/files\/kz3fgFIvl9780822326588_49b05e6d-4404-4c23-b064-69d909febe94.webp?v=1770534989","url":"https:\/\/selloorium.com\/products\/a-narrative-of-events-since-the-first-of-august-1834-by-james-williams-an-apprenticed-labourer-in-jamaica-hardcover-1","provider":"Selloorium","version":"1.0","type":"link"}