Dele Ogun, a lawyer and historian in his recent book, curiously titled “A Slave Ship Called Jesus” traced the genesis of the British involvement in the Transatlantic slave trade and its implications for Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular. The story of the transatlantic slave trade features such colorful historical figures as Queen Elizabeth I, Sir John Hawkins and Francis Drake.
In 1563 Queen Elizabeth I, had chartered a ship, Jesus of Lubeck (previously owned by her father, Henry VIII) to a group of merchants to engage in the transatlantic slave trade and smuggling under John Hawkins (who later became one of the Royal Naval Commanders and Naval Treasurer during the Spanish Armada affair), who organized four slave voyages to West Africa and West Indies between 1562 and 1568.
The first voyage and trade was so prosperous that, on his return to England, the College of Arms granted Hawkins a coat of arms, which displays an enslaved male. The Queen and investors from her court recognized the economic potential of slaving and decided to sponsor the second voyage, allowing the Jesus of Lubeck to fly her flag. During her last voyage the Jesus encountered a Spanish fleet off the coast of Vera Cruz, Mexico, and was badly damaged and later sold to a local merchant for 601 ducat.
Hawkins is widely considered to be the first English merchant to profit from the Triangle Trade; trading English goods for enslaved people in Africa, then selling those people in the Americas and buying foreign goods to be sold in England after the return journey.
Hawkins’ son, Richard Hawkins, was captured by the Spanish. In response, along with his cousin Sir Francis Drake, he raised a fleet of ships to attack the Spanish in the West Indies. However, he died at sea during the expedition on 12 November 1595 (aged 62–63)
off Puerto Rico, Spanish Main.
In the 16th century slavery was often accepted without a judgment of moral values. The Victorian era saw and described Hawkins as the unscrupulous father of the English slave trade. In June 2006, Andrew Hawkins, a descendant, publicly apologised for John Hawkins’s actions in the slave trade. In 2023, Plymouth City Council announced that due to Hawkins’s links with the slave trade, it planned to rename Sir John Hawkins Square to Justice Square. John Hawkins was born in 1532 in Plymouth, England, to a ship building, seafaring family.
Dele Ogun in a recent interview with Olakunle Kasumu of the Channel’s Book Club pointed out, “In the process of solving problems, the learning exercise precedes solutions. If you skip the learning and presume to know the solution you are setting yourself up for failure. The genesis of Nigeria and her dire circumstances precede the amalgamation of 1914.
To understand Nigeria and her problems you will have to go back to its roots. Particularly in a country where we recently decided not to teach our children history in the classrooms.
In the context of history, we are like free-range chickens consuming whatever is offered up. As a result, there is a lot of propaganda, gossip, and beer parlour gist, rather than structured learning.”
2033 is the bi-centenary anniversary of the British Slavery Abolition Act , 1833 which abolished slavery within the British Empire (Commonwealth of nations). How prepared is the World for this historic memorial ? How prepared are Africans on the mother continent and abroad, scattered across the globe from Sao Paulo, Brazil to Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to ibo landing, Georgia. Slavery is a black box to many. What role did the Europeans and Africans play in the enterprise? What role did politics and economics play? What role did religion play? We cannot begin to understand and shape the contemporary and future history of humanity if we do not dispassionately and objectively learn the lessons of our common history as a species. This book seeks to nudge us all towards that path …
You can catch the interview via the link below:
Dele Ogun. [Historian, Lawyer, author, public speaker.]
The Book promises to be an interesting read not just for history lovers or the intellectually curious, but also general readers.
#knowledgeispower #knowyourhistory #africanexcellence
DrAlexanderGrey 