Akan Pioneers: African Histories, Diasporic Experiences
ISBN: 9781937306663
$19.99
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Using diverse and new sources (archaeological, biomedical, climatological, linguistic, ethno-musical, oral historical, and documentary sources in Portuguese, German, Danish, French, and English), this groundbreaking study tells the story of West African peoples, the origins and character of their cultural forms and ideas, and how these Akan, or “pioneering peoples,” shaped the politics and societies of their homeland as well as those in the English, Danish, and Dutch colonies of the Americas, despite their relatively small numbers. The book demonstrates how this cultural group originating in West Africa, enslaved and transported to the Americas, engaged and yet went beyond the diasporic themes of maroonage, resistance, and freedom. Locating the Akan variable in the African diasporic equation allows scholars and students of Africa and the Americas to better understand how African histories and diasporic experiences cohere and how the diasporic quilt came to be and is still evolving.
“[A] path-breaking contribution to the study of African diasporas in the Americas… [with] interdisciplinary breadth, methodological rigor, bold and imaginative concepts, and historical depth.”
—New West Indian Guide
“[Konadu’s book] demonstrates that an Atlantic history that does not give equal weight to both sides of the ocean cannot have much credibility.”
—Slavery & Abolition
“There is much to appreciate in this impressively researched text.”
—Journal of African History
“[A] significant contribution to studies of the African diaspora in the New World…. This is an engaging and illuminating study.”
—James Miller, George Washington University
“[A] meaningful contribution to the dialogue about the nature of African culture and its transfer and transformation in the Americas.”
