The Narrative of Robert Adams, A Barbary Captive: A Critical Edition

259 Pages·2005·1.92 MB·English

by  Robert Adams

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the narrative of robert adams,
a barbary captive
FirstpublishedinLondonin1816,TheNarrativeofRobertAdamsisanaccount
oftheadventuresofRobertAdams,anAfricanAmericanseamanwhosurvives
shipwreck,slavery,andbrutaleffortstoconverthimtoIslam,beforefinallybeing
ransomedtotheBritishconsul.InLondon,AdamsisdiscoveredbytheCompany
ofMerchantsTradingtoAfrica,whichpublisheshisstory,includingafantastical
accountofatriptoTimbuctoo.Adams’sstoryisaccompaniedbycontemporary
essaysandnotesthatplacehisexperienceinthecontextofEuropeanexploration
of Africa at the time, and weigh his credibility against other contemporary ac-
counts.ProfessorAdams’sPrefaceexaminesAdams’scredibilityinlightofmod-
ernknowledgeofAfricaanddiscussesthesignificanceofhisstoryinrelationto
the early-nineteenth-century interest in Timbuctoo and to the literary genres of
theslavenarrativeandtheBarbarycaptivitynarrative.
Charles Hansford Adams is Associate Professor of English at the University of
ArkansaswhereheactsasAssociateDeanforAcademicAffairsandInternational
ProgramsintheJ.WilliamFulbrightCollegeofArts&Sciences.Heistheauthorof
TheGuardianoftheLaw:AuthorityandIdentityinJamesFenimoreCooper(1991).
His essays have appeared in The Kenyon Review, Southern Quarterly, American
Studies,WesternAmericanLiterature,andnumerouscollections.
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THE NARRATIVE OF
ROBERT ADAMS,
A B A R B A RY CA P T I V E
A Critical Edition
Edited by
CHARLES HANSFORD ADAMS
UniversityofArkansas
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CAMBRIDGEUNIVERSITYPRESS
Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo
Cambridge University Press
The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB28RU, UK
Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York
www.cambridge.org
Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521842846
© Charles Hansford Adams 2005
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provision of
relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place
without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2006
ISBN-13 978-0-511-34455-8 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-10 0-511-34455-4 eBook (EBL)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-84284-6 hardback
ISBN-10 0-521-84284-0 hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-60373-7 paperback
ISBN-10 0-521-60373-0 paperback
Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of urls
for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication, and does not
guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.
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ForMyParents,Again
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contents
Preface pageix
Bibliography lvii
Acknowledgments lxv
THE NARRATIVE OF ROBERT ADAMS
Contents 4
IntroductoryDetailsRespectingAdams 8
AdvertisementtotheMap 22
Chapter 126
Chapter 235
Chapter 349
Chapter 459
NotesandIllustrations 68
Concluding Remarks 106
Appendix No. I 125
AppendixNo.II 136
CONTEMPORARY ESSAYS
“InteriourofAfrica”(NorthAmericanReview,May1817) 147
“ArticleIX.TheNarrativeofRobertAdams.”Areviewessay
byJaredSparks(NorthAmericanReview,July1817). 162
Index 183
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PORTUGAL
Lisbon SPAIN
Cadiz Algiers
Tangier
Fez B A R B ARY COAST
Meknes
Mogador Marakesh
30°N Santa Cruz
Wed-Noon
Aiata Mouessa Ali
Woled Adrialla
Woled Aboussabàh
Cape
Bojador A
El Kabla Woled D’leim R
A
Tudenny
H
A
Cap El Ghazie
Blanc S
20°N First Douar
Timbuctoo Nig
SenegalRiver A H E LerRiver
GambiaRiver Soudenny S OO UU DD AA NN
SS
10°N
S
I
E
RR Cape
ALEON GCasOtleCoLasDt C O A S T Calabar
E
B I G H T o f
B E N I N
map
inset Equator
AFRICA
10°W 0°
Figure1. WestAfrica.
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