Skip to Main Content (Press Enter) Toggle side nav
Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery by Quobna Ottobah Cugoano

Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery

By Quobna Ottobah Cugoano
Introduction by Vincent Carretta

By Quobna Ottobah Cugoano
Introduction by Vincent Carretta

By Quobna Ottobah Cugoano
Introduction by Vincent Carretta

By Quobna Ottobah Cugoano
Introduction by Vincent Carretta

Best Seller
Paperback $16.00

Feb 01, 1999 | ISBN 9780140447507

Ebook $9.99

Feb 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781101177105

All Formats
+
    Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery by Quobna Ottobah Cugoano
    Paperback $16.00
    Feb 01, 1999 | ISBN 9780140447507

    Also available from:

    See All Formats (1) +

    Paperback
    –

    • Paperback $16.00

      Feb 01, 1999 | ISBN 9780140447507

      Also available from:

    Ebook
    +

    • Ebook

      Feb 01, 1999 | ISBN 9781101177105

      Available from:

    Buy the Ebook:

    About Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery

    A freed slave’s daring assertion of the evils of slavery

    Born in present-day Ghana, Quobna Ottobah Cugoano was kidnapped at the age of thirteen and sold into slavery by his fellow Africans in 1770; he worked in the brutal plantation chain gangs of the West Indies before being freed in England. His Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery is the most direct criticism of slavery by a writer of African descent. Cugoano refutes pro-slavery arguments of the day, including slavery’s supposed divine sanction; the belief that Africans gladly sold their own families into slavery; that Africans were especially suited to its rigors; and that West Indian slaves led better lives than European serfs. Exploiting his dual identity as both an African and a British citizen, Cugoano daringly asserted that all those under slavery’s yoke had a moral obligation to rebel, while at the same time he appealed to white England’s better self.

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    About Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery

    A freed slave’s daring assertion of the evils of slavery

    Born in present-day Ghana, Quobna Ottobah Cugoano was kidnapped at the age of thirteen and sold into slavery by his fellow Africans in 1770; he worked in the brutal plantation chain gangs of the West Indies before being freed in England. His Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery is the most direct criticism of slavery by a writer of African descent. Cugoano refutes pro-slavery arguments of the day, including slavery’s supposed divine sanction; the belief that Africans gladly sold their own families into slavery; that Africans were especially suited to its rigors; and that West Indian slaves led better lives than European serfs. Exploiting his dual identity as both an African and a British citizen, Cugoano daringly asserted that all those under slavery’s yoke had a moral obligation to rebel, while at the same time he appealed to white England’s better self.

    For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

    Product Details

    Category: Biography & Memoir | Philosophy | Nonfiction Classics

    Paperback | $16.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Feb 01, 1999 | 240 Pages | 5-1/16 x 7-3/4 | ISBN 9780140447507

    Category: Biography & Memoir | Philosophy | Nonfiction Classics

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Feb 01, 1999 | 240 Pages | ISBN 9781101177105

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Buy other books like Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery

    ‹ ›
    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Harriet Jacobs
    Ralph Ellison
    Ralph Ellison
    Arnold Rampersad
    Charles Dickens
    Charles Dickens
    Jane Smiley
    I Wonder as I Wander
    I Wonder as I Wander
    Langston Hughes and Arnold Rampersad
    Emily Dickinson
    Emily Dickinson
    Cynthia Griffin Wolff
    Classic American Autobiographies
    Classic American Autobiographies
    Denmark Vesey
    Denmark Vesey
    David M. Robertson
    Lives Like Loaded Guns
    Lives Like Loaded Guns
    Lyndall Gordon
    The Voice That Is Great Within Us
    The Voice That Is Great Within Us
    Hayden Carruth
    The African Americans
    The African Americans
    Yacovone and Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
    The Book Collectors
    The Book Collectors
    Delphine Minoui
    Behind the Scenes
    Behind the Scenes
    Elizabeth Keckley
    Thomas Jefferson: Writings (LOA #17)
    Thomas Jefferson: Writings (LOA #17)
    Thomas Jefferson
    The History of Mary Prince
    The History of Mary Prince
    Mary Prince
    Elegy for Mary Turner
    Elegy for Mary Turner
    Rachel Marie-Crane Williams
    Herman Melville
    Herman Melville
    Elizabeth Hardwick
    Slave Narratives (LOA #114)
    Slave Narratives (LOA #114)
    Interview with Anne Rice
    Interview with Anne Rice
    Anne Rice and Michael Riley
    The Autobiography and Other Writings
    The Autobiography and Other Writings
    Benjamin Franklin
    Iola Leroy
    Iola Leroy
    Frances Harper
    Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Harriet Jacobs and Frederick Douglass
    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Harriet Jacobs
    Child of the Dark
    Child of the Dark
    Carolina Maria de Jesus
    A Fortunate Man
    A Fortunate Man
    John Berger
    Effie
    Effie
    Merryn Williams
    The Autobiography and Other Writings
    The Autobiography and Other Writings
    Benjamin Franklin
    The Diary of Samuel Pepys
    The Diary of Samuel Pepys
    Samuel Pepys
    Oscar Wilde
    Oscar Wilde
    Richard Ellmann
    Twelve Years a Slave
    Twelve Years a Slave
    Solomon Northup
    Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle
    Teller of Tales: The Life of Arthur Conan Doyle
    Daniel Stashower
    Tolkien: a Biography
    Tolkien: a Biography
    Michael J. White
    Up From Slavery
    Up From Slavery
    Booker T. Washington

    Praise

    “Vincent Carretta singlehandedly has transformed our understanding of the origins of the Anglo-African literary tradition. He has breathed new life into texts long thought dead” —Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

    Table Of Contents

    Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Vincent Carretta

    Introduction by Vincent Carretta
    Acknowledgments
    A Note on the Text
    Illustrations
    Suggestions for Further Reading

    Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species, Humbly Submitted to The Inhabitants of Great-Britain, by Ottobah Cugoano, a Native of Africa.
    London: 1787

    Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery; or, the Nature of Servitude as Admitted by the Law of God, Compared to the Modern Slavery of the Africans in the West-Indies; In an Answer to the Advocates for Slavery and Oppression. Addressed to the Sons of Africa, by a Native.
    London: 1791

    Explanatory Notes to the 1787 Publication
    Explanatory Notes to the 1791 Publication
    Appendix: Correspondence of Quobna Ottobah Cugoano

    Be the first to know!
    More from Quobna Ottobah Cugoano and book picks sent right to your inbox
    More from Quobna Ottobah Cugoano and book picks sent right to your inbox
    By clicking SIGN UP, I acknowledge that I have read and agree to Penguin Random House’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
    Dismiss
    Thanks!
    Something awesome is on its way.
    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Raise kids who love to read

    Brightly

    Raise kids who love to read
    An online magazine for today’s home cook

    TASTE

    An online magazine for today’s home cook
    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices

    LitFlash

    The eBooks you want at the lowest prices
    Read it first. Pass it on!

    Read it Forward

    Read it first. Pass it on!