Pioneers Of The Black Atlantic

Download or read book Pioneers Of The Black Atlantic written by Henry Louis Gates and published by . This book was released on 1998-04-01 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the 18th century, a small group of black men met the challenge of the Enlightenment by mastering the arts and sciences and writing themselves into history. Now known as the Black Atlantic writers, their autobiographies, published in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, not only defied the popular opinion of the time that blacks were unfit for letters, but inaugurated the Black American and Black British literary traditions. This is the first anthology to include the complete texts of the 5 most important influential narratives of the 18th century. Included here are the writings of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, John Marrant, Ottobah Cugoano, Olaudah Equiano, and John Jea. Their resonant stories are landmarks in the history of autobiography and human rights.