The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade by Richards, Jake Subryan
The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade by Richards, Jake Subryan

The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade

The story of the long fight for freedom of African captives rescued from the illegal slave trade...
$67.86 USD
$113.99 USD
$67.86 USD
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Author: Jake Subryan Richards
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Subtotal: $67.86
The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade by Richards, Jake Subryan

The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade

$113.99 $67.86
The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade by Richards, Jake Subryan

The Bonds of Freedom: Liberated Africans and the End of the Slave Trade

$113.99 $67.86
Author: Jake Subryan Richards
Format: Hardcover
Language: English
Description

The story of the long fight for freedom of African captives rescued from the illegal slave trade only to be forced back into bondage

A Times Literary Supplement Book of the Year 2025

The Bonds of Freedom tells the forgotten story of people seized from slave ships by maritime patrols, "liberated," then forced into bonded labor between 1807 and 1880. Using extensive archival research from Sierra Leone, South Africa, Brazil, Cuba, the United Kingdom, and the United States, historian Jake Subryan Richards uncovers the contrasting ideas and practices of authoritarianism and freedom that empires and liberated Africans developed during the protracted end of the illegal slave trade.

Following the Africans' journeys from enslavement to liberation, Richards recounts their capture and embarkation on ships that participated in the vast slave trade to Brazil and Cuba, the maritime seizure of those ships, and the adjudication that assigned freed captives to bonded labor. The captives fought against their bondage as state agents limited their freedom of choice and movement. The liberated Africans' story shows that, far from following a straightforward path to freedom, these men and women navigated anti-slave-trade laws that both subjected them to authoritarian control and provided a domain for them to create their own visions of freedom. Through meticulous research and engaging narrative, Richards sheds light on their legal battles, community-building efforts, and ongoing quest for justice and autonomy in the face of enduring challenges.

Author: Jake Subryan Richards
Publisher: Yale University Press
Published: 09/02/2025
Pages: 336
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.40h x 6.30w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9780300263206


Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/15/2025

About the Author
Jake Subryan Richards is assistant professor of international history at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He lives in the UK.
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