Someone Knows My Name

The Nova Scotians arrive in Sierra Leone in March 1792. Aminata spots the profile of the lion-shaped mountain from her childhood, finally believing it is the same place she left 36 years earlier. Thomas Peters questions the presence of the Sierra Leone Company and the group of African men who row Clarkson about the bay. The men are slaves who belong to the Temne King Jimmy. Clarkson reminds them that slavery operations occur at Bance Island, 18 miles away. When the people complain, Clarkson tells them that options were limited, and that slave trade occurs along the entire coast. Clarkson receives barrels of food from a slave ship, which the Nova Scotians recognize from the stench. Peters objects to Clarkson’s friendliness with the slave ship’s lieutenant. However, Clarkson states that it is best to remain cordial with the enemy, and Aminata grudgingly agrees.

After three days King Jimmy boards the ship to greet Clarkson. Though he mocks Aminata and tells her she will be his wife, he seems more of a buffoon than a threat. The same slaves who row slaves to Bance Island row them to the shore. For many months the settlers work for the Company to survive. The Nova Scotians are frustrated that the British govern them.