The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave

The “Narrative of Louis Asa-Asa, A Captured African” is a very brief narrative of enslavement sent to Pringle by George Stephen. In the Preface, Pringle explains that Asa-Asa is “under [Stephen’s] protection” (1). This narrative begins with a third-person narrator explaining that, as with The History of Mary Prince, the editor of Asa-Asa’s account made sure to remain faithful to his style of speech as much as possible. The difference between these two narratives, however, is that Asa-Asa’s story reflects on the violent impact of the transatlantic slave trade on the African continent. 

Asa-Asa and four other Africans were brought on a French ship to London five years prior to the publication of this text. Claiming habeas corpus, Stephen managed to challenge the ship’s captain and free them. Two of Asa-Asa’s companions died from measles in Hampstead, but the other two made the journey back home to Sierra Leone. However, Asa-Asa chose to stay in England with Stephen, as his parents were no longer alive. The narrator remarks that he is good-natured, exceptionally intelligent, and impressively literate in English. He quotes Asa-Asa’s comment that he is glad he came to England because he has God and the Bible there, which he did not have back home.