Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History

This primary source includes Abina’s recounting of the events leading up to her time with Quamina Eddoo, and how she came to realize she was enslaved, since she was to be married off again. She heard about people going to Cape Coast to be free, so she ran away. Abina describes her duties while she lived with Eddoo’s sister Eccoah Coom, which included cleaning, shopping, gathering firewood, and getting water among other tasks—all of which she did without being paid. She says her enslavers even called her “Amerperlay,” which means “slave” (91). Eddoo’s lawyer, James Hutton Brew, questions Abina, using the same semantics described in Part 1. He asks how she could be an enslaved person if she was free. Abina insists she had to do as she was told because she was under threat of being beaten and was beaten on three occasions. When she was enslaved by a man named Eddoo Buffoe, she was beaten for disobedience. Brew circles back to Abina’s treatment by Eccoah and how she was given to be married. He asks if she ever saw the ceremonies or transactions associated with slave trading.