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A review by katebd
Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle Against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History by Rafe Blaufarb
2.0
Pros:
The graphic aspect is engaging, and the historical context and primary sources really round it out. The story itself is pretty interesting, I enjoyed learning about the Neirsee incident. I actually liked that Blaufarb placed himself within the narrative. I thought it was an interesting reflexivity that is often absent in history: as in, this is his perspective, not an authoritative work on ‘what really happened’.
Cons:
This plays into the trope of the white savior quite heavily. Blaufarb is definitely not critical enough of the European ‘characters’ he presents (maybe has to do with his background in French history?). Those that were “liberated” from slave ships from the British were still forcibly displaced from their families and homes and made to live in a British colony, under British rule...at one point it even seems like Blaufarb is trying to make us feel sorry for a British officer when the African colony he had “worked so hard to establish” (using African labor, even those that he supposedly liberated, without properly feeding them - literally he made them perform hard labor under a food shortage) is abandoned. There are a few similar ‘wtf’ movements throughout the book. I think it’s possible to accurately portray European actions and attitudes without necessarily condoning them or sympathizing with them.
Conclusion: Read this is if you’re interested in this particular historical event or time period, but be prepared to roll your eyes a bit.
The graphic aspect is engaging, and the historical context and primary sources really round it out. The story itself is pretty interesting, I enjoyed learning about the Neirsee incident. I actually liked that Blaufarb placed himself within the narrative. I thought it was an interesting reflexivity that is often absent in history: as in, this is his perspective, not an authoritative work on ‘what really happened’.
Cons:
This plays into the trope of the white savior quite heavily. Blaufarb is definitely not critical enough of the European ‘characters’ he presents (maybe has to do with his background in French history?). Those that were “liberated” from slave ships from the British were still forcibly displaced from their families and homes and made to live in a British colony, under British rule...at one point it even seems like Blaufarb is trying to make us feel sorry for a British officer when the African colony he had “worked so hard to establish” (using African labor, even those that he supposedly liberated, without properly feeding them - literally he made them perform hard labor under a food shortage) is abandoned. There are a few similar ‘wtf’ movements throughout the book. I think it’s possible to accurately portray European actions and attitudes without necessarily condoning them or sympathizing with them.
Conclusion: Read this is if you’re interested in this particular historical event or time period, but be prepared to roll your eyes a bit.