Abina and the Important Men

This book tells about a young West African woman prosecuted his second master to enslave her in 1876. Abina Mansah was a West African woman living in the British Gold Coast Colony. She cannot tolerate her master enslave her because it is in contravention of the “Gold Coast Slave-dealing Abolition Ordinance, 1874”. So she escaping to the town of Cape Coast, she accuses Quamina Eddoo who was her master of purchasing and holding her as a slave. At this time, she met William Melton who was British magistrate. The William Melton decided to take the case to trial. Also she met a rich man and the man sympathize her in that time. Although ultimately unsuccessful in her lawsuit, she was a very intrepid character as an African woman. She forced a group of important men to hear her for her story, and they will learn her perspective to be enslaved. Historians recover her story as many photos and they put into the novel. So the reader can fell more emotion and expression more at the photos when the reader read the book. The author Trevor R. Getz and illustrator Liz Clarke are combining educational storytelling and meticulous historical research in the novel.

So as the author created, it’s called graphic novel which is a graphic history. As I think of her story, although she is not win the case of the enslavement. She expresses her emotion and her experience for all the reader not only for me. She was a brave and mighty African woman, because in the year of 1874, the British law didn’t allow slave trade. The character presented her powerful psychological dynamics. So the Getz and Clarke include many of the graphic story and the prime documents for creative the rendition of facts. The author was using different parts to express the story. As the first part, they explained her experience and emotion. Also they told her background and the storyboard at the beginning part. The second part was the court part; it told reader what is the story going on? Although there are many conjecture, unfortunately she lost the lawsuit with her case. The third part offers general historical context and understanding the narrative. They talked about the early history of West Africa.