In Children of Hope, Sandra Rowoldt Shell traces the lives of sixty-four Oromo children who were enslaved in Ethiopia in the late nineteenth century, liberated by the British navy, and ultimately sent to Lovedale Institution, a Free Church of Scotland mission in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, for their safety. Because Scottish missionaries in Yemen interviewed each of the Oromo children shortly after their liberation, we have sixty-four structured life histories told by the children themselves.
In the historiography of slavery and the slave trade, first passage narratives are rare, groups of such narratives even more so. In this analytical group biography (or prosopography), Shell renders the experiences of the captives in detail and context that are all the more affecting for their dispassionate presentation. Comparing the children by gender, age, place of origin, method of capture, identity, and other characteristics, Shell enables new insights unlike anything in the existing literature for this region and period.
Children of Hope is supplemented by graphs, maps, and illustrations that carefully detail the demographic and geographic layers of the children's origins and lives after capture. In this way, Shell honors the individual stories of each child while also placing them into invaluable and multifaceted contexts.
Show moreIn Children of Hope, Sandra Rowoldt Shell traces the lives of sixty-four Oromo children who were enslaved in Ethiopia in the late nineteenth century, liberated by the British navy, and ultimately sent to Lovedale Institution, a Free Church of Scotland mission in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, for their safety. Because Scottish missionaries in Yemen interviewed each of the Oromo children shortly after their liberation, we have sixty-four structured life histories told by the children themselves.
In the historiography of slavery and the slave trade, first passage narratives are rare, groups of such narratives even more so. In this analytical group biography (or prosopography), Shell renders the experiences of the captives in detail and context that are all the more affecting for their dispassionate presentation. Comparing the children by gender, age, place of origin, method of capture, identity, and other characteristics, Shell enables new insights unlike anything in the existing literature for this region and period.
Children of Hope is supplemented by graphs, maps, and illustrations that carefully detail the demographic and geographic layers of the children's origins and lives after capture. In this way, Shell honors the individual stories of each child while also placing them into invaluable and multifaceted contexts.
Show moreIn Children of Hope, Sandra Rowoldt Shell details the life histories of sixty-four Oromo children who were enslaved in Ethiopia in the late nineteenth century, liberated by the British navy, and ultimately sent to a Free Church of Scotland mission in South Africa, where their stories were recorded through a series of interviews.
Sandra Rowoldt Shell was born in Zimbabwe and has worked as a professional academic research librarian in African studies for several decades. She has focused on the history of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, in her research. She received her doctoral degree in history from the University of Cape Town. She is presently Senior Research Associate (Cory Library), Rhodes University, South Africa.
“Shell offers intriguing range of insights into the patterns of
slaving in late-nineteenth-century Oromia. These shine a suggestive
light into the great void of the actual experiences of enslavement
in Africa, arguably the single most pervasive motivator of
historical changes in the continent for up to three centuries. She
tells a dramatic story with restraint, poise, and dignity.”
*Joseph C. Miller, author of The Problem of Slavery as History and
coeditor, Children in Slavery around the World*
“Children of Hope advances our knowledge of slavery and abolition
in Northeast Africa and the Indian Ocean World using a truly
remarkable set of sources and a novel approach. Shell makes
significant contributions to the scholarly literature by filling
gaps in our knowledge of children and slavery, the practice of
slave trading, and the lived experiences of liberated Africans in
the Red Sea region.”
*Matthew S. Hopper, author of Slaves of One Master: Globalization
and Slavery in Arabia in the Age of Empire*
“The data here is truly remarkable. For scholars of childhood, the
availability of first-hand accounts by children offers unparalleled
insights into their experiences.”
*H-Africa*
“This is an exceptional book that will add to children’s histories,
slave studies, and Indian Ocean history.”
*Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth*
“Sandra Rowoldt Shell meticulously weaves together the narratives
of the children with the detailed journals and documentation from
the Royal Navy, the Mission archives at Sheikh Othman and the
archives and journals from Lovedale….The historiography of slavery
in Ethiopia is still in an early stage, and many more
questions—concerning the economic, political, and social
implications of the trade in slaves and slavery itself—remain to be
answered. Shell’s book is an excellent and much-needed contribution
for understanding various relating dynamics.”
*Northeast African Studies*
“Those in the field of Oromo, Ethiopian and African studies are
indebted to Sandra Shell for bringing to life, the story of Oromo
slave children.”
*Journal of Oromo Studies*
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