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Ukawsaw Gronniosaw
Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (c. 1705 – 28 September 1775), also known as James Albert, was an enslaved African man who is considered the first published African in Britain. Gronniosaw is known for his 1772 narrative autobiography A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, as Related by Himself, which was the first slave narrative published in England. His autobiography recounted his early life in present-day Nigeria, his enslavement, and his eventual emancipation.
Gronniosaw was born in Bornu (now north-eastern Nigeria) in 1705. His autobiography claims that Gronniosaw was the grandson of the king of Zaara, saying "because I was Grandson to the King of Bournou". At the age of 15, Gronniosaw was kidnapped from his family by a Gold Coast ivory merchant, and threatened with both death and enslavement. A king of the Gold Coast believed Gronniosaw was a spy because of his lineage and ordered his execution, but reversed that decision and sentenced him to slavery. He was sold to a Dutch captain for two yards of check cloth, and forced to cross the Atlantic as a slave. An American bought him in Barbados, took him to New York, and resold him for £50 to "Mr. Freelandhouse, a very gracious, good Minister." Freelandhouse is presumed to be the Dutch Reformed Church minister, Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who lived in New Jersey and pastored churches in Middlesex and Somerset counties in the Raritan Valley.
In New Jersey, Gronniosaw was taught to read and brought up as a Christian. Gronniosaw wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to return to his family in Africa, but Frelinghuysen denied this request and told him to focus on the Christian faith. During his time with Frelinghuysen, Gronniosaw attempted suicide, distressed by his perceived failings as a Christian. When the minister died, he freed Gronniosaw in his will. Gronniosaw worked for the minister's widow and, subsequently, their orphans, but all died within four years.
Planning to go to England, where he expected to meet other pious people like the Frelinghuysens, Gronniosaw travelled to the Caribbean, where he enlisted as a cook with a privateer, and later as a soldier in the 28th Regiment of Foot to earn money for the journey. He served in Martinique and Cuba, before obtaining his discharge and sailing to England.
At first, he settled in Portsmouth, but when his landlady swindled him out of most of his savings, he was forced to seek his fortune in London. There, he married a young English widow, Betty, a weaver. She already had a child and bore him at least two more. She lost her job because of the financial depression and industrial unrest and moved to Colchester. There, they were saved from starvation by Osgood Hanbury (a Quaker lawyer and grandfather of the abolitionist Fowell Buxton), who employed Gronniosaw in building work. Moving to Norwich, Gronniosaw and his family again fell on hard times, as the building trades were largely seasonal. Once again, they were saved by the kindness of a Quaker, Henry Gurney (coincidentally, the grandfather of Fowell Buxton's wife, Hannah Gurney), who paid their rent arrears. A daughter died and was refused burial by the local clergy because she was not baptised. One minister at last offered to allow her to be buried in the churchyard, but he would not read the burial service.
After pawning all their possessions, the family moved to Kidderminster, where Betty supported them by working again as a weaver. On Christmas Day 1771, Gronniosaw had their remaining children, Mary Albert (aged six), Edward Albert (aged four), and newborn Samuel Albert, baptised in the Old Independent Meeting House in Kidderminster by Benjamin Fawcett, a Dissenting minister and associate of Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon and a significant figure in Calvinistic Methodism. At around the same time, Gronniosaw received a letter and a charitable donation from Hastings herself. On 3 January 1772, he responded by thanking her for her "favour", which arrived "at a time of great necessity", and explained that he had just returned from "Mrs Marlowe's" in nearby Leominster, "were [sic] I was shewed kindness to from my Christian friends." On 25 June 1774, Gronniosaw's fifth child, James Albert junior, was baptised again by Fawcett.
Shortly after he arrived in Kidderminster, Gronniosaw began work on his autobiography with the help of an amanuensis from Leominster, possibly the "Mrs Marlowe" he had mentioned in his letter to Hastings. Gronniosaw's Narrative has been studied by scholars as a groundbreaking work by an African in English. It is the first known slave narrative published in England and received wide attention, with multiple printings and editions.
Gronniosaw's Narrative concludes with its author still living in Kidderminster, having "appear[ed] to be turn'd sixty"; for a long time, nothing was known of his later life. However, at some point during the late twentieth century, an obituary for Gronniosaw was discovered in the Chester Chronicle. The article, from 2 October 1775, reads:
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Ukawsaw Gronniosaw
Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (c. 1705 – 28 September 1775), also known as James Albert, was an enslaved African man who is considered the first published African in Britain. Gronniosaw is known for his 1772 narrative autobiography A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, as Related by Himself, which was the first slave narrative published in England. His autobiography recounted his early life in present-day Nigeria, his enslavement, and his eventual emancipation.
Gronniosaw was born in Bornu (now north-eastern Nigeria) in 1705. His autobiography claims that Gronniosaw was the grandson of the king of Zaara, saying "because I was Grandson to the King of Bournou". At the age of 15, Gronniosaw was kidnapped from his family by a Gold Coast ivory merchant, and threatened with both death and enslavement. A king of the Gold Coast believed Gronniosaw was a spy because of his lineage and ordered his execution, but reversed that decision and sentenced him to slavery. He was sold to a Dutch captain for two yards of check cloth, and forced to cross the Atlantic as a slave. An American bought him in Barbados, took him to New York, and resold him for £50 to "Mr. Freelandhouse, a very gracious, good Minister." Freelandhouse is presumed to be the Dutch Reformed Church minister, Theodorus Jacobus Frelinghuysen, who lived in New Jersey and pastored churches in Middlesex and Somerset counties in the Raritan Valley.
In New Jersey, Gronniosaw was taught to read and brought up as a Christian. Gronniosaw wrote in his autobiography that he wanted to return to his family in Africa, but Frelinghuysen denied this request and told him to focus on the Christian faith. During his time with Frelinghuysen, Gronniosaw attempted suicide, distressed by his perceived failings as a Christian. When the minister died, he freed Gronniosaw in his will. Gronniosaw worked for the minister's widow and, subsequently, their orphans, but all died within four years.
Planning to go to England, where he expected to meet other pious people like the Frelinghuysens, Gronniosaw travelled to the Caribbean, where he enlisted as a cook with a privateer, and later as a soldier in the 28th Regiment of Foot to earn money for the journey. He served in Martinique and Cuba, before obtaining his discharge and sailing to England.
At first, he settled in Portsmouth, but when his landlady swindled him out of most of his savings, he was forced to seek his fortune in London. There, he married a young English widow, Betty, a weaver. She already had a child and bore him at least two more. She lost her job because of the financial depression and industrial unrest and moved to Colchester. There, they were saved from starvation by Osgood Hanbury (a Quaker lawyer and grandfather of the abolitionist Fowell Buxton), who employed Gronniosaw in building work. Moving to Norwich, Gronniosaw and his family again fell on hard times, as the building trades were largely seasonal. Once again, they were saved by the kindness of a Quaker, Henry Gurney (coincidentally, the grandfather of Fowell Buxton's wife, Hannah Gurney), who paid their rent arrears. A daughter died and was refused burial by the local clergy because she was not baptised. One minister at last offered to allow her to be buried in the churchyard, but he would not read the burial service.
After pawning all their possessions, the family moved to Kidderminster, where Betty supported them by working again as a weaver. On Christmas Day 1771, Gronniosaw had their remaining children, Mary Albert (aged six), Edward Albert (aged four), and newborn Samuel Albert, baptised in the Old Independent Meeting House in Kidderminster by Benjamin Fawcett, a Dissenting minister and associate of Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon and a significant figure in Calvinistic Methodism. At around the same time, Gronniosaw received a letter and a charitable donation from Hastings herself. On 3 January 1772, he responded by thanking her for her "favour", which arrived "at a time of great necessity", and explained that he had just returned from "Mrs Marlowe's" in nearby Leominster, "were [sic] I was shewed kindness to from my Christian friends." On 25 June 1774, Gronniosaw's fifth child, James Albert junior, was baptised again by Fawcett.
Shortly after he arrived in Kidderminster, Gronniosaw began work on his autobiography with the help of an amanuensis from Leominster, possibly the "Mrs Marlowe" he had mentioned in his letter to Hastings. Gronniosaw's Narrative has been studied by scholars as a groundbreaking work by an African in English. It is the first known slave narrative published in England and received wide attention, with multiple printings and editions.
Gronniosaw's Narrative concludes with its author still living in Kidderminster, having "appear[ed] to be turn'd sixty"; for a long time, nothing was known of his later life. However, at some point during the late twentieth century, an obituary for Gronniosaw was discovered in the Chester Chronicle. The article, from 2 October 1775, reads: