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Two Princes of Calabar: An Atlantic Odyssey from Slavery to Freedom
Author(s): Randy J. Sparks

Source: The William and Mary Quarterly, Vol. 59, No. 3, Slaveries in the Atlantic World (Jul.,
2002), pp. 555-584
Published by: Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture
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Two Princesof Calabar: An Atlantic
OdysseyfromSlaveryto Freedom
Randy J. Sparks
N 1767, English traders captured and sold into slavery Little

EphraimRobin Johnand Ancona Robin Robin John,young mem-
bersof one of the rulingfamiliesof Old Calabar,a major slave trad-
ing portin the Bightof Biafra.Partsof theirremarkablestoryhave been
knownsince the eighteenthcenturyand have been mentionedbrieflyby
a fewscholarsin the field.What has been previouslyunknownto schol-
ars is the existenceof a series of letterswrittenby the young princes
themselves,tucked away in the papers of Charles Wesley.These rare
documents are among the earliestrecordsfromenslaved Africansin
theirown hand and make it possibleto documenttheirstoryin almost
everydetail. In manywaysthe youngmen and theirodysseyfromslav-
eryto freedomis so exceptionalthatit mightappear to have littlerele-
vance to the largerhistoryof the slave tradein the eighteenthcentury.
Were it not forthe lettersand thewealthof detailtheyprovide-details
that can be fullydocumentedthroughthe Trans-AtlanticSlave Trade
Database-the truthof theirpicaresquetale mightbe called into ques-
tion. Though clearlyunusual, the young men's strangeodysseyoffers
insight into a complex world that historians are only beginning to
understand,the transracialAtlanticcommunityof the eighteenthcen-
tury.As individuals they representa group that historianIra Berlin
identifiedas "Atlanticcreoles,"Africanswho lived in a West African
coastal communityand who had acquired European languagesand cul-
ture and a thoroughunderstandingof the commerciallinks between
RandySparksis associate
professorofhistoryat TulaneUniversity.
He wishes
to thankIraBerlin,
Seymour Drescher,Herbert Klein,IgorKopytoff,
JaneLanders,
RobinLaw,PaulLovejoy, Joseph Miller,RuthPaley,JaneH. PeaseandWilliamH.
Pease,andJamesWalvinfortheirassistance, and constructive
suggestions, criti-
cisms.Earlier
versionsofthisessaywerepresentedatthe"FromSlavery toFreedom:
Manumission in theAtlanticWorld"conference heldat theCollegeofCharleston,
as theGottschalkLecturein Historyat theUniversityofLouisville,
at theSeventh
AnnualConference oftheOmohundro Institute
ofEarlyAmerican Historyand
Culture,Glasgow,Scotland,andat a HoustonAreaSouthern Historians at
meeting
RiceUniversitywherecommentators andmembers oftheaudiences providedmuch
helpfulfeedback.
Williamand MaryQuarterly,
3d Series,VolumeLIX, Number3, July20zoo02
556 WILLIAM AND MARYQUARTERLY
theirhomelandand theslavetraders.'Morespecifically, theybelonged

to an important and under-studiedgroupofAtlanticcreoles;theywere
slavetradersand connected bylong-standing businessand personalties
to otherslavetradersinAfricaandEngland.
Throughtheireyes,oftenthrough theirownwords,theirunfamiliar
worldbeginsto reemerge. The mostinnovative workon theeighteenth-
centurytransatlantic community has focusedon thePortuguese slave
tradewherea longand extensive contactcreatedclosecommercial, cul-
tural,and intellectual
exchangebetweenthePortuguese andAfricans in
WestAfricaand Brazil.2The experience of theRobinJohnsoffers an
opportunity to explorethesenetworksas theyexistedbetweenthe
English and West Africans,
particularlyin Old Calabar,at a crucialstage
in thedevelopment and consolidationofpan-Atlantic trade.Theircase
alsoservesas a reminderthattheAtlantic community a longhistory,
has
thattheAfrican diasporahas been "created and re-created"overseveral
centuries,and thatthiscommunity hasa chronology and a particularity
thatscholarsare onlynow beginning In addition,their
to articulate.3
1 Ira Berlin,"From Creole to African:AtlanticCreoles and the Originsof

African-AmericanSociety in Mainland North America," Williamand Mary
Quarterly, 3d Ser.,53(1996), 251-88.On theimportance of theAtlanticcommunity
see also Robin Law and Paul E. Lovejoy,"The ChangingDimensionsof African
History:Reappropriating the Diaspora," in Simon A. McGrathand Christopher
Fyfe,eds., Rethinking AfricanHistory(Edinburgh,1997), 181-200, and Law and
KristinMann, "West Africain the AtlanticCommunity:The Case of the Slave
Coast," WMQ,3d Ser.,56 (1999),307-34. The namesare anglicizedversionsof Efik
names;as one Calabarhistorianexplained,"Anglification ofEfiknamesbecamethe
naturalconsequencesof the contacton the Calabar River.. . . Thus Orok was
changed into Duke; Efiom was anglicised as Ephraim; Akabom, Ekpenyong,
AsibongbecameCobham,Young,and Archibongrespectively." EfiongU. Aye,Old
Calabarthrough theCenturies (Calabar,1967), 87. Thereare othercases of illegally
enslavedAfricans who wereeventually repatriated,but none witha storyas richas
theRobinJohns.For examplesof suchcasessee Law and Mann,"WestAfricain the
AtlanticCommunity,"319-20; Wylie Sypher,"The AfricanPrincein London,"
Journalof theHistoryofIdeas, 2 (I940), 237-47; and Gretchen Gerzina, Black London:
Life BeforeEmancipation (New Brunswick, N. J., 1995), 11-14. Stories of enslaved
Africanprincesbecamea literary
tropein i8th-centuryBritishliterature.
See Sypher,
Guinea'sCaptiveKings:BritishAnti-SlaveryLiterature
oftheXVIIIth Century (New
York, 1969), 59, 166-67. A total of 9 lettersfromthe two princes to Charles Wesley
survive,and all are in his papers,withtheexceptionof one letterto SarahWesley
thatis in theWesleyFamilyPapers.LittleEphraimadded a noteto Charlesat the
bottomof a letterfromElizabethJohnson,also in the CharlesWesleyPapers.The
lettersvaryin lengthfroma fewlines to severalpages,writtenin the strongand
readablehand of the Robin Johns.The Wesley papers are housed in the John
RylandsLibrary, Manchester, England.
2 Law and Mann, "West Africa in the Atlantic
Community," 307-34; John
Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 14oo-i680
(Cambridge, 1992).
3 Law and Mann, "West Africain the Atlantic Community," 315.
TWO PRINCESOF CALABAR 557
experience highlightsan importantaspect of slavery: the effortsof

enslavedAfricansto freethemselves.The difficulties
and successesthe
Robin JohnsencounteredsuggestthatAtlanticcreoleswerein a farbet-
ter position to achieve freedomthan Africanswithouttheirskills and
cosmopolitanworldview.
The Robin Johns'experienceof slaveryand freedombegan in Old

Calabar, whichis located along the Lower Guinea Coast in the Bightof
Biafra,separatedfromthe Bight of Benin by the Niger River Delta.4
The area had a well-developed trade long before the arrival of
Europeans. Old Calabar was founded by the Efik, a branch of the
Ibibio-speakingpeople, who moved to the Cross River estuaryin the
earlysixteenthcenturyand lived primarilyas fishermen and traders(see
FigureI). We do not know when Europeans and Africans
firstencoun-
teredeach otherat Old Calabar. The Portuguesemay have tradedthere
as earlyas the mid-seventeenth century,and EnglishtradersvisitedOld
Calabar as earlyas 1668. Englishslave ships came moreregularlyby the
late seventeenthcentury,and the trade expanded rapidlyin the eigh-
teenthcenturywhen the numberof slaves exportedfromthe Bight of
Biafra virtually doubled every decade from 1700 to 1750, making the
regiona majorsourceof slavesin the transatlantic
market.The majority
of thoseslavescame fromBonny,anothermajorslavetradingportin the
Bightof Biafra,with Old Calabar as the second most importantcenter
of export. While the trade fluctuated from 1750 to 1770, the general
trendwas upwardas the Englishtradeincreasingly concentratedthere.
Slave exportsfromOld Calabar peaked in 1767, the yearof the Robin
Johns'capture,when at least 15,674slaveslefttheport.All told, approx-
imately1.2 million slaves were transportedfromthe Cross and Niger
Rivers in the eighteenthcentury.Merchantsin Bristoland Liverpool
dominatedthe tradefromOld Calabar,and approximately 85 percentof
theslavesexportedfromthearea lefton Englishships.5
On theAfricanside, theslave tradewas controlledby corresponding
Old Calabar merchantswho used theirprofitsand the firearmsthey
4 A bightis a largebay formedby a curvein the continentalshoreline.The

Bightof Biafrais on theeasternbayoftheGulfofGuinea.It extendsapproximately
fromthe NigerRiverDelta in southernNigeriato northernGabon. Old Calabar
shouldnot be confusedwithNew Calabar or Elem Kalabari,anotherslavingport
locatedup theAfricancoastin theNigerDelta.
5
Lovejoyand David Richardson, "Trust,Pawnship,and AtlanticHistory:The
InstitutionalFoundationsof the Old Calabar Slave Trade," AmericanHistorical
Review, 104 (1999), 337-38; A.J.H. Latham, Old Calabar, I6oo-18pi: The Impact of
theInternationalEconomyUpona Traditional Society(Oxford,1973),18-23; Herbert
S. Klein, TheAtlanticSlave Trade(Cambridge,1999), 62-64; David Eltis,Stephen
D. Behrendt,Richardson,and Klein, eds., The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade:A
Databaseon CD-ROM (Cambridge,1999).
558 WILLIAM AND MARY QUARTERLY
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FIGUREI
Old Calabar as it appeared in the eighteenthcentury,based on Hope
Masterson Waddell, Twenty-Nine Yearsin the WestIndies and Central
Africa, 2d ed. (London, 1970; orig. pub. 1863), opposite 242. Map drawn
by RebeccaWrenn.
acquired to expand theirpower in the region.From theirautonomous

towns,the Efikcarriedon an activecommerceexchangingcoastal prod-
fishand salt, foragriculturalproducts,especiallyyams
ucts, particularly
and palm oil, fromIbo people in the interior.Their urban settlements
had populationsas large as 2,000. The deep riverand numerouscreeks
providedeasy access forthe largecanoes the Efikused to transporttheir
goods. Efikcommunitieswere based on kinshipand lineage groupsand
were organized at the lowest level into family households (which
includedsmall numbersof domesticslaveseven beforethe arrivalof the
Europeans),then into largerunits knownas houses (ufok)consistingof
the male descendantsof an ancestor.Originally,the Efik were divided
into two lineagegroups,but as the slave tradeexpanded,the two subdi-
vided into seven wards or city states.Given theirskill as traders,their
tradenetworksto the interior,and theirfleetsof canoes capable of ferry-
ing largenumbersof people, the Efikwerewell positionedto capitalize
on thearrivalof Europeanmerchants.6
Efik communitiesgrewin size and numberin the seventeenthand
eighteenth centuries as the slave trade expanded, and this growth
accounted for the subdivisionsof lineage groups and other changes in
theirsociety.Successfulslave tradersrequiredmore and more canoes,
mannedby moreand moreslaves,and became the mastersof largenum-
bers of dependents.Beforethe expansionof the slave trade,the oldest
memberof the familywas head of the house, but as the tradegrewlead-
ershippassed to the wealthiestmemberof the house (Etubom,"fatherof
the canoe," as opposed to Ete Ufok,"fatherof the house"). The new title
Etubom highlightsthe importance canoes played in the lives of the
traders,who could sometimes send out large fleets of them. These
increasinglylargeand powerfultrading"houses"commandedthe laborof
hundredsof enslaved rowers,soldiers,relatives,domestics,agricultural
workers,and other dependents. Houses employedslave labor to raise
crops on plantationsand to man canoes. Along with those men came
theirfamiliesand the infrastructure necessaryto supportthem. Houses
that grew rich enough and large enough mightestablishthemselvesas
new lineage groups,thoughtheystill acknowledgedtheirdescentfrom
the originallineage founders.By the 176os, the most importantof these
wardswere Old Town, led by the Robin familyand which became the
6 For generaldiscussions ofOld Calabarhistory see Aye,Old Calabarthroughthe

Latham,Old Calabar;MondayEfiongNoah, Old Calabar: The CityStates
Centuries;
and theEuropeans, 18oo-I885 (Uyo, Nigeria,I980); DaryllForde,ed., EfikTradersof
Old Calabar (London,1956);LorenaS. Walsh,FromCalabarto Carter'sGrove:The
Historyof a VirginiaSlave Community (Charlottesville,1997), 67-80; and David
Northrup,Tradewithout Rulers:Pre-ColonialEconomic Developmentin South-Eastern
Nigeria(Oxford,1978),chaps.I-6.
most commerciallysuccessfultown up to the mid-eighteenth century,

and Duke Town (or New Town), led by the Duke family.The Dukes
built theirsettlementdownstreamfromOld Town to tryand wrestcon-
trolof the lucrativeslave tradeaway fromtheirupstreamrivals,and the
two houses became bitteradversaries.The establishment of new houses
and townswas accompanied by the introductionof a powerfulsecret
societyknownas "Ekpe" ("Egbo" to Europeans).Membershipwas open
to all men,includingslaves,thoughonlyfreemencould advancebeyond
the fifthof nine grades.Entryinto each gradehad to be bought,so that
membershipin the upper gradeswas confinedto wealthymerchants.
The societyservedseveralpurposes;it helpedto integratethe new wards
and promotedthe expansionof the slave tradeand relatedcommerceby
enforcingthe paymentof debts,levyingfines,impoundingproperty, and
imposing trade boycotts on individuals who violated its code. Over
time, Ekpe spread beyond Old Calabar to include those peoples with
whom theyhad close economicrelations.7
The commercialaspectsof Ekpe were centralto the efficientcon-
duct of the slave trade. Europeans had no factoryin Old Calabar and
were not allowed to residetherepermanently. When a ship arrived,it
stopped inside the river'smouthat ParrotIsland and fireda cannon to
signalits arrival.A responsewas firedfromshore,and a nativepilot was
sent to lead the ship upriver.European ships paid comeyor coomey,
essentiallya custom'sdutybased on theship'stonnage,to thekingof the
townwithwhich theyplanned to trade,hence the rivalrybetweenOld
Town and Duke Town forthe primarylocationon the river.Once comey
was paid, Old Calabar kingsand chiefsentertainedthe Europeans,and
the Europeansreturnedthe hospitalityon board theirships.Such festiv-
itieswereessentialbeforetradenegotiationscould begin.Englishtraders
and the Old Calabar elitecommunicatedwithone anotherin Englishor
in a tradelanguageconsistingpredominantly of Englishwordsbut using
an Africangrammaticalstructure.One English sailor who visitedOld
Calabar reportedthat "all of them [the Africantraders]speak English,
some of themverygood," and anotheragreedthat"theBlack Tradersof
... Calabar . . . are veryexpertat reckoningand talkingthe different
Languagesof theirown Countryand thoseof the Europeans."Many of
the leading merchantsof Old Calabar werealso literate;theykept their
own accounts,sometimesinspectedEnglishslavetraders'accountbooks,
correspondeddirectlywith English merchants,and even kept diaries.
That abilityto communicatedirectlywas especiallyimportantin a com-
7 Forde, ed.,
Efik Tradersof Old Calabar, vii, 13-14; Latham, Old Calabar, 2-13,
25-27, 31-41; Noah, Old Calabar, 1-15, 20-27; Lovejoy and Richardson, "Trust,
Pawnship, and Atlantic History," 346-49.
TWO PRINCESOF CALABAR 56I
mercialsystembasedon face-to-face negotiationand a personalunder-

standing of character.In some cases, theAfrican traders
arranged to send
theirsonsto Englandforfurther education,oftenat theencouragement
of the Englishtraders.A groupof Liverpooltradersreported:"It has
alwaysbeenthePracticeofMerchants and Commanders ofShipstrading
to Africa,to encourage theNativesto sendtheirChildrento England,as
it not onlyconciliates theirFriendship and softenstheirManners,but
adds greatly to theSecurity of theTrader, whichanswersthe Purposes
bothofInterest and Humanity." An Englisheducationalsobenefited the
African traders;as one Liverpooltradernoted,"The Motiveswhichprin-
cipallyinduce the Nativesof Africa. . . to send theirChildrento
England,are to receivesuchan Educationas willfitthemfortrading
withgreater Advantage, as theTradeis principally carriedon bytrusting
theGoods to different Hands, and sometimes to a verylargeAmount.
The Acquisitionof thatKnowledgegivesthema confessed Superiority
overtheirless informed Countrymen, whichby associatingwiththe
Whitesand followingtheirManners,theyare everafterstudiousto
retain."He observedthattheir"Examplehave diffusedamongthe
Nativesa Loveof Societyand a DesirefortheOrnaments of Dressand
Convenienies ofLife."8
The Africantradersof Old Calabar used theirknowledgeof the
Englishlanguage,theirabilityto keep in touchwithfavoredEnglish
merchants through correspondence, and a consciousadoptionofEnglish
customsand conventions to facilitatetrade.For instance,whenAntera
Duke and his companions wentto dinneron a slaveship,he recorded
that"we threedressedas whitemen."Similarly, whenhe entertained
8 Aye,Old Calabarthrough theCenturies,86-88, o108-o9; Latham,Old Calabar,
27-28; Lovejoyand Richardson,"Trust,Pawnship,and AtlanticHistory,"339-46.
On languageand literacysee esp. ibid., 341-42; Gomer Williams,Historyof the
Liverpool and Letters
Privateers ofMarquewithan AccountoftheLiverpool Slave Trade
(New York,1966), 543-53;and the remarkable diaryof AnteraDuke publishedin
ChiefUkorebiU. Asuquo,"The DiaryofAnteraDuke of Old Calabar(1785-1788),"
Calabar HistoricalJournal,5 (1978), 32-42, and in Forde,ed., Efik Tradersof Old
Calabar, 27-155; Sheila Lambert,ed., House of CommonsSessionalPapersof the
EighteenthCentury,145vols. (Wilmington, Del., 1975),72:255 (firstquotation),69:49
(second quotation), 84-86 (remainingquotations). Capt. JohnAdams, an i8th-
centuryEnglishmerchant, notedthatin Calabar"manyof thenativeswriteEnglish;
an artfirstacquiredbysomeofthetraders'sons,whohad visitedEngland,and which
theyhave had thesagacityto retainup to thepresentperiod.They haveestablished
schools and schoolmasters,forthe purposeof instructing in this art the youths
belongingto familiesof consequence,"in Adams,Remarks on theCountry Extending
fromCapePalmasto theRiverCongo(London,1823),144.The Efik'sreadymastery of
writtenEnglishmayhave been encouragedby theirpossessionof theirown indige-
nous formof ideographicwritingcalled nsibidi,whichwas closelyassociatedwith
Ekpe rituals.See RobertFarrisThompson,Flash of theSpirit:Africanand Afro-
American Artand Philosophy(New York,1983),227-68.
Englishmen on shore,he wrote:"Weworefinehatsandfineclothesand

handkerchiefs. All the Captainsand we gentlemen had dinner."Old
Calabartradersoftenclosedtheirlettersto Englandwithgreetings to
traders'wivesand otherfamilymembers, and if Englishtradershap-
penedto be in Old Calabaron Christmas or NewYear'sEve,Efikgen-
tlemenarranged partiesto celebratethe occasion. Amongtheitemsof
tradeOld Calabarmerchants requested were fashionable clothes,dinner
wareand eatingutensils, furniture,and ink and paper, somepromi-
and
nenttradersused joinersand carpenters offslaveshipsto help build
theirhousesin Englishstyles.The trappings of Englishculturehelped
confirm Calabartraders' statusas gentlemen worthy oftrustin financial
dealings.English traders advanced credit in the form of tradegoods,
which could amount to substantialsums. As security,theytook
hostages,called"pawns"or "pledges," who wereoftenthe sonsof the
Old Calabarelite,and heldthemon boardtheirshipsuntilthetransac-
tionswerecompleted. This system occasionally brokedown,and letters
fromOld Calabar'srulerssometimes complainedthattheirsons had
beentakenawaybymistake.9
The Old Calabar tradersdid not keep slaveson hand readyfor
trade,butrather acquiredthemaftera shiparrived and a dealhad been
struck.The traderstookthegoodsadvancedto themby the English
traders and setout upriver in theirwarcanoes.Fleetsmighthaveas few
as threeor as manyas a dozencanoes,eachofwhichcarriedup to I2o
peopleand measured up to 8o feetlong.The canoesweremannedbya
crewof fortyto fiftyenslaved"canoe-boys" who paddledthe craft,
twenty to thirty and otherarmedmen.In addition,eachcanoe
traders,
had a threeor fourpoundcannonlashedto thebowandanother on the
stern.Theseexpeditions lastedfromtendaysto threeweeks.Usingthe
extensive CrossRivernetwork as theirhighway, thetraders soughtout
slaves;theysometimes acquired slaveswho had been captured inwarbut
also launchedsurprise raidson villages.Evenwithfleets oftencanoes,it
mightrequiremanyexpeditions to filla slaveship,and shipssometimes
remainedin theCrossRiverforseveralmonths.The vastmajority of
slavesexportedfromOld Calabarthroughout its involvement in the
tradeweredrawnprimarily fromtheIgbo and Ibibiolanguagegroups
who livedin a denselypopulatedregionbetweentheNigerand Cross
9 Forde, ed., Efik Tradersof Old Calabar, 32 (firstquotation), 51 (second quota-

tion). English tradersalso referredto the Africantradersas gentlemenin correspon-
dence between themselves;see Williams, Historyof the LiverpoolPrivateers,533. On
holiday parties see Asuquo, "Diary of Antera Duke of Old Calabar," 49. On using
English joiners to build houses see Forde, ed., Efik Tradersof Old Calabar, 37, 41, 58.
Latham, Old Calabar, 27-28; and Lovejoy and Richardson, "Trust, Pawnship, and
Atlantic History," 343-44.
TWO PRINCES OF CALABAR 563
Rivers.Their smallvillagesystemleftthemvulnerableand made it pos-

sible for the Efik to relyon raidingas theirmajor source of slaves far
longerthanmostsuppliersalong the coast wereable to do. One English
sailor, William James, "heard from the Traders and Canoe Boys of
Bonny and Calabar, that some of the Slaves sold to the Europeans...
have become so in consequenceof Debt, and othersin consequenceof
Crimes.The greatBulk of them,however,. . . were . . . takenin pirati-
cal Excursions,or byTreacheryand Surprise."10
The canoes were loaded with slaves, generallytwentyor thirtyin
each canoe. Some slaves, particularlythe men, had their arms tied
behind theirbacks with twigsand grassropes,and a fewwerepinioned
above theirknees as well. They were throwninto the bottomsof the
canoes, oftenin pain and nearlycoveredwithwater,until theyreached
Old Calabar. Once landed, theyweretakento the traders'houses where
they were fed and their skin was oiled to make them appear more
healthy.The tradersthen summoned the Europeans to inspect them.
Generally,the captain and the doctor of the English slaversexamined
the slavesand made theirpurchases.The slaveswerethentransported to
the ships in groupsof fortyto fifty, sometimesin the traders'canoes,
sometimesin the ships' boats, where theywere housed below decks.
Some of the slaves,the men in particular,were put into irons for the
durationof theMiddle Passage."
Isaac Parker,a sailoron board an Englishslaverin Old Calabar,left
a remarkablefirst-handaccount of slave raids into the interior.Parker
sailed fromLiverpoolin 1765on board the LathamwithCaptain George
Colley. Colley was a harsh man who alienated many of his crewmen,
includingParker,duringthe long nine monthstheyspent at Calabar.
Parker'smajor cause of dissatisfactionwas the poor rations Colley
handed out to the crew.The complaintmay seem trivial,but under-
nourishmentcould cause seriousillnessesamong sailors.High mortality
ratesforslavesduringthe Middle Passageare well known,but thewhite
seamen sometimes sufferedextremelyhigh mortalityrates as well.
Captain JohnAshleyHall remarked:"I believe the AfricanSlave Trade
to be particularly destructiveto the seamenemployedin it, and beyond
everydegree comparisonwithany tradeI am acquaintedwith." Poor
of
diet resultedin "black scurvy."Hall describedthe horribledisease and
its symptoms:"The crewsof the Africanships,when theyarrivein the
10 Lambert, ed., House of CommonsSessionalPapers, 72:226-27, 237, 347, 69:49

(second quotation); Lovejoy and Jan S. Hogendorn,"Slave Marketingin West
Africa,"in HenryA. Gemeryand Hogendorn,eds., TheUncommon Market:Essaysin
the Economic History of the Atlantic Slave Trade (New York, 1979), 227; Klein,
AtlanticSlave Trade, 116-19 (quotation 119).
11Lambert, ed., House of CommonsSessionalPapers,69:47-50.
WestIndies,aregenerally in a sicklydebilitatedstate,andtheseamen...
are themostmiserable objects I ever met with. . . . I havefrequently
seenthemwiththeirtoesrottedoff,theirlegsswelledto thesizeoftheir
thighs,and in an ulcerated stateall over."Parkermaywellhavefeared
thatpoor rationson theAfricancoast,wheresupplieswereplentiful,
wereonlylikelyto getworseduringtheMiddlePassage,withpotentially
terrifying He wasfrequently
results. on shoreat thehouseofDick Ebro,
a "greattrader"at New Town,transporting slavesfromtheshoreto the
Latham.Whentheshiphad takenon its fullcargoof slavesand pre-
paredto sailforAmerica, Parkerdeserted theshipand appealedto Dick
Ebroforprotection. The African traderlockedhimin one ofhisrooms
forthreedaysuntiltheLathamsetsail.12
Afterward, ParkerlivedforfivemonthswithDick Ebroand spent
histimefishing, hunting parrots, and cleaningthelargesupplyofarms,
pistols,and blunderbusses ownedbythetrader. On one occasion,Ebro
asked,"Parker, willyougo to warwithme?"Parkeragreed.He watched
as thecanoeswerefittedout withammunition, cutlasses, pistols,pow-
der,and ballsand twothree-pound cannonsaffixed to blocksofwood,
one foreach canoe'sstern,anotherforthebow.The partypaddledup
theriverin thedaytime, butwhentheyapproached a village,theyhid
underthebrushalongtheriverbank untilnightfallwhentheypulledthe
canoesashore.Theylefttwoor threemenin eachcanoe,thenraidedthe
village,capturingeveryone theycouldsee,handcuffing them,and carry-
ing them to the canoes.They did the same farther upriver, untilthey
had capturedforty-five men,women,and children.The partythen
returned to NewTown,dispersed theslavesamongdifferent houses,and
sentwordto thecaptainsof themanyslaveshipsthatslaveswerenow
available.The tradersmadeno effort to keepfamilies together, so only
nursing childrenremained with theirmothers. The captains a cou-
sent
ple ofmen in boatsto collectthe slavesand transport themto theships.
Parker tookpartin another expedition about two weeks later,an expedi-
tionexactly likethefirst.Afterfivemonths, Parkerfounda positionon
12 Ibid.,
72:521 (second quotation), 522 (first quotation), 73:124-37. Colley
made several slave-tradingvoyages to Africabetween 1758 and 1769. He is known to
have purchased 2,059 slaves there,of whom 1,775 survivedthe Middle Passage to be
sold in America. The Latham, owned and commanded by Colley, leftLiverpool on
Apr. 20, 1766. Colley purchased 381 slaves on the African coast; 308 were sold in
Barbados and Grenada. He returnedto Calabar with the Latham in 1768 and barely
escaped when his ship was cut offfromshore by hostile tradersat Old Calabar, but
he recapturedit and completed the voyage to America. It was Colley's last recorded
voyage. Parker's adventuresat sea were not over either. He sailed around the world
with Capt. James Cook as a boatswain's mate on board the Endeavour. Information
about Colley's record can be found in Eltis et al., eds., Trans-AtlanticSlave Trade
(see records91292 and 91293 forthe Latham).
anotherslaverand made his way home to England; his storyillustrates

the manysortsof encountersbetweenEuropeansand Africansthattook
place duringthe historyof the trade.The Atlanticworld was a zone of
multipleinteractions, whereEuropeansand Africanssometimesbehaved
in waysthatan oversimplified viewsimplycannotexplain.13
The slave tradedepended on a complex marketingsystembased on
credit, governed,on the Africanside, by Ekpe and by long-standing
business ties and trustwhen it came to dealings betweenEnglish and
Africantraders.Althoughdesignedto promotepersonalties and harmo-
nious relationships,the systemdid not always functionas intended.
Ekpe may have been created in large part to facilitatecommerceand
bringgreaterunityto the towns,but it was moresuccessfulin governing
individualbehaviorthan in preventingthe increasingeconomic rivalry
betweenthe townsfrombreakingout into open conflict.Ekpe was ini-
tially associated with Old Town, and control over the secret society
became a part of the growingfrictionbetween Old Town and Duke
Town.
While the slave tradein all its aspectswas a brutalbusinessand vio-
lence was neverentirelyabsent, historianshave rightlyemphasizedthe
importanceof trustand close personal relationsbetween English and
Africantraders.In many respects,Africansdealt with European traders
as equals; they operated in their own market economy, successfully
resistedEuropean attemptsto monopolize or control their trade, and
maintainedcontrolover theirlocal tradingarrangements. Survivingcor-
respondence of Africantraders and theirEnglish counterpartsdemon-
stratesthatthe Englishmerchantsattemptedto meetthe demandsof the
local marketand even the individualtastesof theirAfricansuppliers.14
Africantradersused everymeans in theirpowerto controlthe trade,but
Englishtraderswere not completelyat theirmercy.Captains sometimes
agreedamong themselvesto keep the price of slaves down. Isaac Parker
recalledthata groupof captainsat Old Calabar placed themselvesunder
a ?5o bond if any of thempaid morethan the othersforslaveswhen the
Africantraderstriedto increasethe price. The Africantraderstried to
breakthe cabal by refusingto sell at the lowerprice set by the captains.
The captainsthen put patrolson the riverto preventthe Africansfrom
travelingupstreamto captureslaves,and theytook anyonetheycaptured
as a hostageuntilthe tradersagreedto sell slavesat the old, lowerprice.
Captains mightalso resortto violenceto compel the tradersto sell slaves.
ed.,House
13 Lambert,
ofCommons Sessional
Papers,73:124-37(quotationon 124).
14Forde,ed., EfikTraders Old Calabar,vii,13-14;Latham,Old Calabar,2-13,
of
25-27, 31-41; Noah, Old Calabar, 1-15,20-27; Lovejoy and Richardson,"Trust,
Pawnship,and AtlanticHistory,"346-49; Klein,AtlanticSlave Trade,Io6-II4.
Therewerereports of Englishcaptainsfiring theircannonseitherinto

or overthetownsin Old Calabarto forcetraders to thetable.15
As relationsbetweenOld Townand Duke Towndeteriorated, the
Englishtraders beganto suffer theconsequences. CaptainJamesBerry
of Liverpool,a long-timetrader,was outragedby the treatment he
received fromtherulersofOld Townin 1763.He wentupriver to meet
thetraders at Old Townand "according to customwentashoreto shake
theKingsand therestofthegetlemen Hands."The first signoftrouble
appeared when the tradersrefused to meet his terms, so Berrysimply
waitedon hisshipforfifteen daysuntil he wore them down to hisprice.
Tellingly,Robin John, one of the principal traders,refused to giveBerry
his son fora pledgeas was customary. A fewdayslater,theOld Town
traderssenttencanoesto captureBerry, underthecommandof "that
rougeEphm.[Ephraim] Robin JohnJoinedby Rn [Robin]JohnTom
Robin,Captn.JohnAmboand theRestofthatTown."TheyheldBerry
hostagefortwenty-nine daysuntilhe paidtheirransom, whichincluded
copper, arms, and clothing. Once freed, Berry carriedout successful
negotiations with the traders at Duke Town,who, reported,"I
he
believedid me justicein everything."He railedagainst"thevilanious
intentions oftheOld TownScoundrells" and vowedthathe "neverwill
the
forgive injuryEphm and therestof them did me tillI havesatisfac-
tion."Clearlythetraders at Old Townhadviolatedeveryrulethatgov-
ernedthetrade,andtheiractionssoonlostthemthetrustso essential to
maintaining successfulrelations.In 1767,anotherEnglishmerchant
wrote:"Therewasseldomeverknowna greater scarcityofslavesthanat
present.. . . The nativesare at variancewitheach other,and, in my
opinion,itwillneverbe endedbeforethedestruction ofall thepeopleat
Old Town,who havetakenthelivesof manya finefellow.. . . I now
flatter
myself, I shallbe an assistant
in revenging thejustcauseofevery
poorEnglishman thathaveinnocently suffered by them."The English
tradewasdominated bya small,tightly knitcircleofmenin Bristoland
Liverpool, and word of the duplicity of theOld Towntradersspread
quicklyamong them.16 Simmering hostility betweenOld Townand
Duke Town eruptedin 1767 withthe connivanceof Englishslave
traders.Englishmen mighttreattheAfricans as gentlemen so longas
they behaved likegentlemen, but what if theydid not? The veiled threat
in thetrader's letter
suggests theanswer to thatquestion.
15 Lambert,ed., House of CommonsSessionalPapers,72:132-33, 586.

16 Williams,
History of the Liverpool Privateers, 533-35, quotations on 534,
534-35, 535. The Cambridge database shows that Berrymade at least i6 voyages, all
of them to the Bight of Biafra,and carriedover 4,300 slaves on board his ships; Eltis
Slave Trade,Analysis,Summary(Any CAPTAIN = Berry).
et al., eds., Trans-Atlantic
In June1767, six Englishvesselslay in the riverat Old Calabar. All

of the captainswere seasoned veteransof the tradeto Old Calabar and
were no doubt aware of the festeringdispute betweenOld Town and
Duke Town. Given the actions of the Old Town traders,the captains'
sympathies-and their economic self-interest-clearlylay with the
tradersat Duke Town. The captainsconspiredwith the rulersof Duke
Town to ambush theircompetitorsfromOld Town. The Englishmen
invited the Old Town tradersto board theirships where theywould
meetwith the tradersfromDuke Town and attemptto settletheirdif-
ferences,with the captainsactingas mediators.Three to fourhundred
men fromOld Town, led by Amboe Robin John,LittleEphraimRobin
John,and Ancona Robin Robin John,brothersof EphraimRobin John,
a principal"grandee"and laterking of Old Town (who took the name
GrandyKing George),rowedto theEnglishshipsin ten canoes.17
The men went firstto the Indian Queen, where Amboe, Little
Ephraim, and Ancona Robin Robin John remained on the ship
overnight.On the followingmorning,Captain JamesBivins sent the
Africanswith a letterto Captain AmbroseLace. Meanwhile,the canoes
werebusycarryingmen to the otherships. FromtheEdgar,the brothers
took lettersto CaptainsJamesMaxwell,Nonus Parke,and Bivins.When
the brothersboarded the Duke of York,Bivins,apparentlyacting on a
signal fromLace, orderedarmedmen to trap the brothersin the cabin
while other men opened fireon the canoes alongside the ship. When
Amboe saw the men'spistolshe knockedthe captain and firstmate to
the floor but was quickly overcome by the others.Amboe, seriously
wounded in the struggle,asked, "O Capt. Bevan, what fashionis this,
for white men to kill black men fo?" Little Ephraim and Ancona
attemptedto escape throughthe cabin window, but sailors knocked
themdown and locked themin irons.Once firingbeganon the Duke of
York,all the other English ships (except the Edgar and the Concord)
opened fire,while the warriorsfromDuke Town attackedfromtheir
17 The shipsand theircaptainsweretheIndianQueen,JohnLewis,captain;the
Duke of York,JamesBivins, captain; the Nancy,JamesMaxwell, captain; the
Concord, WilliamBishop,captain;all of Bristol;the Edgar,of Liverpool,Ambrose
Lace, captain;and the Canterburyof London,Nonus Parke,captain.AnconaRobin
RobinJohnand LittleEphraimRobinJohnwereable to givethenamesofeitherthe
shipsor theircaptainsand portsof originin 1774.See Arminian Magazine,6 (Feb.
1783),98-99. Fromthatinformation, it was possibleto identify
all the shipsand
captainsthroughthe Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database and confirmthatthose
ships were in Old Calabar in 1767. A searchof the database by captains'names
revealsthatall wereveteransofthetradeto Old Calabar,and somehad beentrading
therefor20 years;Eltis et al., eds., Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade;Abstractof the
EvidenceDeliveredBeforea SelectCommittee oftheHouse of Commons in the Years
179o, and i79p; on thePart of thePetitionersfor theAbolitionof theSlave-Trade
(London,1791),27-30.
concealedpositionson shoreand senttheircanoesintotheriverto join

in whatcameto be knownas a "massacre." SomeoftheEnglishcaptains
orderedtheirown menintosmallboatsfromwhichtheycould more
effectivelykill the menswimming in thewater.Bivinsthenwenton
boardtheNancy, and afterconsulting withCaptainJamesMaxwellsent
ordersto hisfirstmate,a Mr. Green,to deliverAmboeto thepeopleof
Duke Town.Greenrefused, butBivinscamein a canoewitha groupof
Duke Townmen,including EyoWillyHonesty, thechiefofCreekTown
and a famedwarrior, who said to Bivins,"Captain,ifyouwillgiveme
thatmanto cutcuttyhead,I willgiveyouthebestmanin mycanoeand
youshallbe slavedthefirstship."Bivinspromptly orderedthetransfer.
Amboebeggedforhis life,butthemenfromNew Townhandedovera
slaveto Bivinsin exchange forAmboe.Once in theirhands,Amboewas
beheadedas LittleEphraimandAnconalookedon in horror.18
LittleEphraimand AnconaescapedAmboe'sfate,but like many
otherOld Townmenwho survived the"massacre," theywerecaptured
and sold intoslavery. They were among the 336 slaves thatBivinstook
on boardin Old Calabarand amongthe272 survivors of thegrueling
forty-five-dayMiddle Passage to be sold on the island of Dominica.
Ephraim Robin John("GrandyKingGeorge") wrote Thomas Jones,a
long-time Bristol slave trader, asking for his in
help locatingLittle
Ephraim and Ancona, but by the time those letters arrivedtheyoung
princeswere enslaved in the Caribbean.19 Unlike other slaveswhowere
kidnaped in the interior and whose language barriers preventedthem
fromfullyunderstanding theirpredicament, theRobinJohnswerefully
awareof theirsituation.That knowledgemusthaveenabledthemto
negotiatetheirenslavementin ways that otherslaves could not.
Dominica,likemanyof theislandsin theLesserAntilles, had bounced
fromthecontrolofone Europeannationto another as thecolonialpow-
18 Ancona Robin John to Charles Wesley, Aug. 17, 1774, in Charles Wesley
Papers,JohnRylandsLibrary,Manchester,England;ArminianMagazine,6 (Feb.
1783), 98-99; ibid. (Mar. 1783), 151; Thomas Clarkson, The History of the Rise,
oftheAbolitionoftheAfricanSlave-TradebytheBritish
and Accomplishment
Progress,
Parliament (18o8), 2 vols. (London, 1968), I:305-1o; Forde, Efik Traders of Old
Calabar,68-69 (finalquotation).
19At least3 letterssurvivethatmentionLittleEphraimand Ancona,two from
EphraimRobin Johnand one fromOrrockRobin John,all addressedto Thomas
Jonesof Bristol.See OrrockRobin Johnto "MarchantJones,"n. d. [1768-1769?];
EphraimRobin Johnto "MarchantJones,"June16, 1769; and "[Grandy]King
George"(EphraimRobinJohn)to "MarchantJones,"n. d. [1769?],in JamesRogers
Papers,PRO, C 1o7/1.The letterssuggestthatthe RobinJohnsin Old Calabardid
not know forsurewhichcaptainhad abductedthe youngmen. These lettersare
reproducedin Lovejoy and Richardson,eds., "Lettersof the Old Calabar Slave
Trade, 1760-1789,"in VincentCaretta,ed., AfricanSlave Voices(Louisville,Ky,
forthcoming).I thankPaul Lovejoyforsharingthisunpublished
work.
ers struggledforpower in the Caribbean. SituatedbetweenMartinique

and Guadeloupe, Dominica was one of the chain of islandsstretching in
a gracefularc fromPuerto Rico to the coast of South America (see
FigureII). For manyyearsa Frenchcolony,like its nearestneighbors,
the Frenchceded the island to Britainin 1763 as a partof the Treatyof
Paris. A Britishfreeport, Dominica thrivedon foreignshipping.The
port of Roseau attractedFrenchmenand Spaniards,who boughtslaves
and Britishmanufactured goods there,while Americansimportedlum-
ber, foodstuffs,cattle, and other goods needed to supply Caribbean
sugarplanters.The island also had a sugarand coffeeplantationsystem
of its own. The importationof slavesreflectedthe island'srapid expan-
sion; fewerthanone hundredwereimportedin 1765,whereasmorethan
3,500came threeyearslaterwhen the Robin Johnsarrived.20
The Robin Johns'enslavementwas atypicalin severalrespects.Not
only had theysurvived,theywere sold togetherto a Frenchphysician
who treated them relativelywell. Ancona later wrote that "we was
treated acording to what they could make of us upon ye whole not
badly." Even though the island had passed into British hands, the
Frenchstillmade up a majorityof its whitepopulation.The recordsdo
not say wherethe men lived,but it is likelythatthe doctorpracticedin
Roseau. The livelyport citymusthave been a more congenialplace for
the men than an isolatedplantationwould have been, and theirexperi-
ence as Atlanticcreolespresumablyservedthemwell in a cityteeming
with Englishmen,Frenchmen,Spaniards,Italians,Genoese, and island-
born creoles.Their abilityto communicatein English,theirknowledge
of trade,and theirfamiliarity withtradersand sailorsprovedto be great
advantages. Their experienceand relativegood treatmentexemplifies
Berlin'spoint that,"if slaverymeantabuse and degradation,the experi-
ence of Atlanticcreolesprovidedstrategiesfor limitingsuch maltreat-
ment."They mayalso have encounteredsome of theirown countrymen,
since most of the slaveswere fairlyrecentarrivalsand well overhalfof
the 37,873known to have been importedbetween1751and 1775 came
fromthe Bightof Biafra.21
20 Ancona Robin
Johnto Wesley,Aug. 17, 1774. See Eltis et al., eds., Trans-
AtlanticSlave Trade,fortherecordof Bivins'svoyagefromCalabarto Dominicaand
thevolumeof the tradeto Dominica;ThomasAtwood,TheHistory oftheIslandof
Dominica ... (1791) (London, 1971), 72-82, 104, 216; and Julius S. Scott,
"Crisscrossing Empires:Ships,Sailors,and Resistancein the LesserAntillesin the
EighteenthCentury,"in RobertL. Paquetteand StanleyL. Engerman,eds., The
Lesser
Antillesin theAgeofEuropean Expansion(Gainesville,Fla., 1996), 138-41.
21 Ancona Robin Johnto Wesley,Aug. 17, 1774 (firstquotation); Atwood,
HistoryoftheIslandofDominica,20o8,Scott,"Crisscrossing Empires,"139-41;Berlin,
"FromCreoleto African," 268 (secondquotation).
S Tortola
St.Thomas T
DANISH WEST INDIES
,
mile.
St. Croix St..BRITISH

Eustatius ----St. Kitts LEEWARDS
Nevis 0Antigua
Montserrat;ouadeloupe
FRENCH
eo Wesley
WINDWARDS Dominica
CA RIB BEA NMartinique
SEA BRITISH DIinCA

WINDWARDS St. Lucia
St. Vincent
0
Barbados M
DUTCH CARIBBEAN
?Grenada
Tobago
''
?'Trinidad
......... ........ ... . ..... ................
....
B
_ --..........-"....
FIGUREII
Dominica and the LesserAntilles,wherethe two princeswere taken in
1768. Map drawnby RebeccaWrenn.
Dominica's mountainousterrainand irregularand unguardedcoast-

line invitedsmuggling,as did its positionas a free-wheeling
port; smug-
gling was so common that it became "part of the accepted order of
things."Along with goods, people were also smuggledon and offthe
island. Afterseven monthson Dominica, the Robin Johns'plightsome-
how reachedthe ears of William Sharp,captainof the Peggy, a Liverpool
ship that made severalvoyages to the island carryingcargoes of slaves
fromtheWindwardCoast. The wilycaptainpromisedto returnthemto
Africaif theymade theirway on board his ship at night.Ancona later
wrote that he and Little Ephraim "were determinedto get home," so
determinedthattheyescaped to Sharp'ssloop in the darkness,no doubt
exhilaratedat the prospectof returningto Old Calabar. It is impossible
now to measurethe disappointmenttheymusthave feltwhen theyreal-
ized that theywere not bound forAfricabut forVirginia,whereSharp
re-soldtheminto slavery.22
22 Scott, "Crisscrossing Empires," 139 (first
quotation); Arminian Magazine, 6
(Mar. 1783), 152; Ancona Robin John to Wesley, Aug. 17, 1774 (second quotation).
The article in the Arminian Magazine, based on the testimonyof the Robin Johns,
Once again, the Robin Johnsused theircreoleskillsto theiradvan-

tage; theircommandof Englishand theirknowledgeof thesea and trad-
ing spared them the drudgeriesof plantation labor. They remained
togetherand were sold in Virginiato a Captain Thomson, who some-
timestook themto sea withhim. The brotherswerenot as fortunatein
theirtreatment, however,as theyhad been with the Dominican physi-
cian. Thomson was abusive,and Ancona recalledthat"he would tie me
up & whip me manytimesfornothingat al thensome timesbe Cause I
could not Dress his Diner forhim not understanding how to do it....
he was exceedingbadly man ever I saw." Afterfive yearsof abuse at
Thomson's hands, the enslaved Africanswere relievedbut frightened
when the captainsuddenlyfelldead on board ship. His deathapparently
gave theman opportunity to make theirescape.23
About threeweeks afterThomson's death, the Greyhound arrived
under the command of Captain Terence O'Neil. A Bristolslaver,the
ship had left England for Old Calabar in 1772, carried 132 slaves to
South Carolina, and then sailed to Virginia.In one of the remarkable
coincidencesin theirstory,two men on board the Greyhound werefrom
Old Calabar and knew the detailsof the Robin Johns'capture.O'Neil
sent for Little Ephraim and promisedto buy him and Ancona, but it
soon became evidentthathe did not have the moneyto do so. He then
offeredto returnthemto Old Calabar on his nextvoyageout of Bristol
if theywould run away at nightand come on board. Once again they
made a daring escape, and once again theirdream of returninghome
was dashed. When the Greyhoundarrivedin Bristol, O'Neil left the
youngmen on board and promisedto transfer themto an outboundves-
onlyidentified thecaptainas "Capt. S." who was masterof a sloop thatcarriedthe

men fromDominica to Virginia.The Cambridgedatabasemade his identification
possible.Capt. WilliamSharpleftLiverpoolin 1769,stoppedin Dominica (where
he sold 159slaves),thensailedon to Virginia.Not surprisingly, the recordsdo not
recordthesale of thestolenRobinJohns.See Eltiset al., eds., Trans-AtlanticSlave
Trade,Unique identitynumber91463. For his othervoyagesto Dominica see
Unique identity numbers91357and 91462.
23Ancona Robin Johnto Wesley,Aug. 17, 1774 (quotation). Their master
couldhavebeentheCharlesThomaswho appearsin theCambridgedatabaseas cap-
tain of a Virginiaship involvedin the slave tradein the early176os,thoughthe
RobinJohnsmakeno mentionof slavingvoyages.Thomasmayhavegivenup that
businessbeforehe acquiredthemin the late 176os; Eltiset al., eds., Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade,Unique identitynumbers25306and 25309.That menon boardtheship
werefromOld Calabar and recognizedtheRobinJohnsshouldnot be too surpris-
inggiventhatmoreslavescameintoVirginiain thisperiodfromtheBightofBiafra
thanfromany otherregionand thatthe RobinJohnswereso well knownin Old
Calabar. For a summaryof the tradesee ibid., 25-yearperiod= 1751-1775;Where
slavesdisembarked = Virginia;and Table 5.
sel forthetripto Old Calabar.He did havethemtransferred to another

ship, but it was bound for Virginia, not Africa. Theyquicklyrealized
thattheyhad been trickedagain by an unscrupulouscaptainwho
plannedto sell thembackintoslavery. LittleEphraimdescribedtheir
"greatsurprise & horror . . . when the[y]cameto puton theIrons[,]we
thenwithtearsand trembling beganto prayto God to helpeus in this
Deplorablecondition."24
The resourceful RobinJohnsquicklyralliedfromtheirshockand
began to search fora wayoutoftheirlatestdilemma. Afterthirteen days
in the "writched transport," Little Ephraim was inspired to writeto
ThomasJones,thesamepersonto whomtheirbrotherGrandyKing
Georgehad written immediately aftertheyoungmenwhereabducted.
Jones had been trading for slaves in Old Calabarfortwenty yearsby1773.
He beganas a crewmen on slaveshipsandby1773wastheownerofthem.
Jonesdid not respond,which"madeAnconasheartfill,"but Little
Ephraim wroteoncemore.Again,he hadno response, "buttheLordwas
good [and]stayedthewindwhichprevented our sailthenI writeaginto
Mr.Jones wchmovedhimto pity."On thesurface, itmayseemincongru-
ousthattheRobinJohns soughthelpfroma slavetrader to escapeslavery.
Here,again,theyreliedon thepractices theylearnedas members ofthe
elitetradingfamilies of Old Calabar.CaptainAmbroseLace,who had
participated in the1767 massacre, had evenbroughta memberof the
RobinJohnfamily, "youngEp[hrai]m" (RobinJohnOtto Ephraim),to
in
Liverpool 1767,perhaps as an effortto atoneforhispartin themas-
sacre.Lacesenttheboyto schoolin Englandfortwoyearsbefore return-
ing him to Old in
Calabar, hopes that "when his Fathersgone . .. theson
willbe a goodman."Lacecontinued a long-term, andprofitable, relation-
shipwithhisproteg6 after hisreturn to Old Calabar.JoneswroteLaceto
tryto determine iftheyoungmenwerewhotheyclaimedto be; perhaps
he had forgotten theletters he had received almosta decadebeforefrom
GrandyKingGeorgerequesting theirreturn. Lace brieflyreviewed the
genealogy of the Robin family, which revealedhis long-standing contacts
there,and concluded,"I haveseveraltimeshad thepedigreeof all the
familys fromAbashey [another prominent traderin Old Calabar]... but
24 Again, the Cambridge database makes it possible to verifythe ship, O'Neil,
and the 1773 voyage. See ibid., Unique identitynumber 17807. Boatmen were in an
unusually good position to make theirescape, and it was not unusual forshippersto
assist them. See Philip D. Morgan, Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the
Eighteenth-Century Chesapeakeand Lowcountry(Chapel Hill, 1998), 340-41. Virginia
Gazette (Purdie and Dixon), Sept. 30, 1773. Arminian Magazine, 6 (Mar. 1783),
152-53; Ancona Robin John to Wesley, Aug. 17, 1774 (quotation); Ephraim Robin
John to Wesley, Aug. 17, 1774-
to provethetwo men to be Epms. [Ephraim's]brothersI don'tknowhow

you willdo it,I assureyou I don'tthinktheyare."25
Lace's plea of ignorancemay have had more to do with his fearof
being implicatedin the massacre,whichhe also denied in the same let-
ter.Lace had also receiveda letterfromGrandyKing Georgehimself,in
which the king complained that two of his sons and the sons of
"Robbin"and "theKing of Qua" had been abducted-a list thatproba-
bly included Little Ephraim and Ancona. Jones was apparentlycon-
vinced of the men'sidentity,because he asked that LittleEphraimand
Ancona be allowed to come ashore, a request that the ship's captain
refusedto grant.26
The complexitiesraised by the Robin Johns'case are significantin
the legal historyof slaveryin England. In 1772, Chief JusticeLord
Mansfieldruled in the celebratedSomerset v. Stewartcase that a slave,
James Somerset, who had been brought England and then had run
to
away from his master, could not be returnedto Jamaica.The case had
some strikingparallelsto the Robin Johns'situation.27 Somersethad run
away from his master,been recaptured,and then imprisonedon a ship
outbound forJamaica.In responseto a writof habeascorpus,the chief
justice of the King's Bench ruled that "the state of slaveryis of such a
nature, that it is incapable of being . . . introduced . . . upon mere rea-
soning, . . . natural or political; it must take its rise from ... positive law
long afterall tracesof the occasions, reasons,authority,
and timeof its
introduction,are lost, and in a case so odious. . . . We cannot say, the
cause set forthby this returnis allowed or approvedby the laws of this
kingdom,and therefore the man mustbe discharged."28
The case has been interpreted as outlawingslaveryin England,but
Mansfield'srulingwas more ambiguous.That ambiguitywas deliberate
25 Ephraim Robin
John to Wesley, Aug. 17, 1774 (first,second, and third quo-
tations); Lovejoy and Richardson, "Trust, Pawnship, and Atlantic History," 342
(fourth and fifthquotations); Williams, Historyof the Liverpool Privateers,541-42
(sixth quotation). For other examples of Africanstravelingto or educated in Europe
with the help of traders see Law and Mann, "West Africa in the Atlantic
Community," 315-21;JamesWalvin, Black and White: The Negro and EnglishSociety,
1555-1945(London, 1973), 51; and "Letter from the Delegates from Liverpool, in
Answer to the Enquiry made by the Committee respectingthe Natives of Africawho
have been sent to England for Education," in Lambert, ed., House of Commons
SessionalPapers, 69(1):84.
26 "Grandy King George" to Ambrose Lace, n. d.
[I1767?], in Williams, History
oftheLiverpool
Privateers,
545-46.
27 J am extremely grateful to Ruth Paley for sharing her expertise and her
unpublished manuscript "After Somerset: Mansfield, Slavery, and the Law in
England, 1772-1830o"discussing the legal implications of the Robin Johns' case, and
I am indebted to her formy understandingof the topic.
28 Somerset
ruling quoted in F. O. Shyllon, Black Slaves in Britain (London,
1974), 109-1o.
on the partof the conservative justice,widelyregardedas the champion

of commerciallaw, who commentedthat "the setting[of] 14,ooo or
15,000 men [theestimatednumberof enslavedblacksin Englandat the
time] at once loose by a solemn opinion, is very disagreeablein the
effectsit threatens."Mansfieldhad no desireto issue a sweepingruling
that called slaveryinto question in the Britishempire and therefore
craftedas narrowa rulingas possible. He focusedon the question of
whethera master could forciblysend his slave outside the country
againstthe slave'swill. That constructionof the case allowedhim to rule
thatSomersetcould not be forcedto leave Englandbased on a 1679 law
that forbadethe deportationof subjectsand residentsof the kingdom
(aside fromthose deportedin criminalcases). The judgmentmay have
evidenceda brilliantlegal mind at work,but it did not settlethe larger
questionssurroundingthecontroversial case.29
The close parallels between the Somerset and Robin John cases
would suggestthat therecould be littledoubt about the statusof the
two men, even under the narrow ruling of Somerset,but Henry
Lippincott,ownerof the Brickdale,and WilliamJones,the agentforthe
Virginia heirs of Captain Thomson, who claimed the Robin Johnsas
theirproperty,refusedto release them unless theywere paid ?8o for
each of them. Thomas Jonesfollowedthe precedentestablishedin the
Somerset case and soughta writof habeascorpusto freethe increasingly
desperate brothers.Jones succeeded in gettinga writ and the Robin
Johnswereremovedfromtheship,but once releasedtheywerepromptly
arrestedand carriedfirstto a "Lock-up House and afterwardsto the
House of Correction."In a remarkableturnof events,O'Neil, the crafty
captain of the ship thathad broughtthemfromVirginia,had managed
to have them arrestedfor nonpaymentof theirtransportation costs to
England from Virginia!30
Little Ephraim again took mattersinto his own hands and wrote
Lord Mansfielddirectly.31 LittleEphraim'sliteracyand his clevermanip-
ulation of the Englishlegal systemexhibitthe Atlanticcreole'sremark-
able skillsand understanding of the widerAtlanticworld. His graspof
the significanceof Mansfield'srulingraisesthe possibilitythat he had
heardof it beforeleavingVirginia,forword of the case traveledquickly
29 Mansfield, quoted in Teresa Michals, "'That Sole and

Despotic Dominion':
Slaves, Wives, and Game in Blackstone's Commentaries," Studies,
Eighteenth-Century
27 (1993-1994), 2o5; Eric Williams, "The Golden Age of the Slave System in
Britain,"JournalofNegroHistory,25 (1940), 103.
30 PRO, KB 1/19/3,Mich. 1773, affidavitof Thomas Jones, Oct. 21,
Sept. 18,
1773; Paley, "AfterSomerset."
31 Ephraim Robin John to Wesley, Aug. 17, 1774.
among Americanslaves.JuliusScott has exploredthe extensivecommu-

nicationnetworksamong blacksin theAtlanticworldand the important
role "maritimemaroons"such as the Robin Johnsplayedin maintaining
"a trulyinternational,Afro-Atlanticperspective."No informationwas
more significantthan news that kept alive hopes of freedom,and such
news traveledwidely and quickly throughoutthe slave societiesof the
Atlanticworld.32
Little Ephraim'sgamble paid off,but the arrivalof his letteronce
again forced Mansfield to confrontthe issue of slaveryin England.
Despite the similaritiesof Somerset to the Robin Johns'case, therewere
significantdifferences.There was no questionthatSomersetwas a slave,
but the matterwas not so clear with regardto the youngAfricans.The
Robin Johnsclaimed that theywere freemen who had been illegally
enslaved. As membersof the slave tradingelite, theyhad a veryclear
understanding of the rulesof enslavementin theirown country.Here we
have the remarkablecase of Africansarguingthattheirenslavementvio-
lated the rulesgoverningthe Efikslavetradeas well as Englishlaw.As we
have alreadyseen, when Dick Ebro asked Isaac Parkerto go on a slave
raidingexpedition,he said, "Parker,will you go to war with me?" Efik
traderskeptup the pretensethateven theirmost blatantslave raidswere
actuallyengagementsin warfarethattheycarriedout againsttheirtradi-
tionalenemies.The massacreof 1767 was not a war,and the Robin Johns
rightlyarguedthattheyhad neverbeen conqueredin battleor takenpris-
oner by the men fromDuke Town. Recall thattheyhad been takenpris-
oner by Captain Bivins,who had no more rightto capturethem than
had the residentsof Duke Town. As princesof Old Town theyhad never
been sold by anyonewho could reasonablyclaim to be theirowner.It was
the same argumentthat GrandyKing George made to Thomas Jonesin
his 1767 letterwhen he identifiedthemas "freeMen," a statusthatwas
everybit as importantin Old Calabar as in any slaveholdingsociety.
Their reasoningcarriedadditionalweightbecause Europeansjustifiedthe
slave trade in part because of the legal status of slaveryand the trade
withinAfricansocieties,which legitimatedthe trafficin international
32 Williams, Historyof theLiverpoolPrivateers,545 (firstquotation); Little

EphraimRobin Johnto Wesley,Aug. 17, 1774;ArminianMagazine,6 (Apr. 1783),
211; Scott,"Afro-American Sailorsand the InternationalCommunicationNetwork:
The Case of NewportBowers,"in Colin Howell and RichardJ. Twomey,eds.,Jack
Tar in History:Essaysin theHistoryofMaritimeLifeand Labour(Fredericton, N. B.,
1991),38, 52. Southernplanterswatchedand discussedSomerset, whichmeantthat
slavesquicklylearnedof itsimplications RobertYoung,
too. See, forexample,Jeffrey
Domesticating Slavery:TheMasterClass in Georgiaand SouthCarolina,167o-z837
(Chapel Hill, 1999),71, and Morgan,SlaveCounterpoint, 246,461.
law.If theRobinJohnshad notbeenenslavedaccording to thelawsof

Old Calabar,thentheirstatuswas moreuncertain. In orderbetterto
understand the case, Mansfieldtook the unusualstepof havingthe
youthsbrought to Londonto examinethemin person.Whenit cameto
parsing law,the RobinJohnsprovedthemselves almostas expertas the
lordchiefjusticehimself, whoagreedthatthecase hingedon theissue
theypresented:had theybeen legitimately enslaved?Mansfieldalso
notedthat"thewholetransaction was beyondsea,"whichcomplicated
thematter ofjurisdictionin thecase.33
An additionalcomplication involvedthechainof ownership of the
Robin Johns.Even if theyhad been legallyenslavedand sold in
Dominica,theyhadrunaway,or rather theyhadbeenstolenbyCaptain
Sharp and sold illegallyto Captain Thomson in Virginia.While
Mansfieldnoted thatThomsonhad made "a fairpurchase,"it was
equallyclearthatSharpdid nothavelegaltitle.Mansfield had madean
earlierrulingthatboredirectlyon thisquestion.In 1771,he heardRexv.
Stapylton,in whichStapylton was triedforkidnapingThomasLewis,
whomhe claimedas hisslave.The truthofthatclaimwasin doubt,but
Mansfield foundthat,sinceLewishadbeencaptured bya Spanishpriva-
teerand removed fromStapylton'scontrol,the chain of ownership had
been brokenand Lewiscould not be re-enslaved.That case presented
anotherpossibleargument forfreeingtheRobinJohns.No moreeager
to makea clearrulingon thelegitimacy of slaveryin Englandthanhe
had beentheyearbefore, thechiefjusticeconfronted a realconundrum
andconfessed thathe "thoughtthecasewasnotwithout difficulty."34
Evenas Mansfield puzzledover thecomplexities of thecase,negoti-
ations were underwayin Bristol among the various parties. On
November 6, 1773,thedefendantsaskedfora ten-day delay,and a week
latertheyannounceda compromise.35 In a surprising turnof events,it
33Ephraimreportedthathe "wroteto Lord Mansfieldwho send to fetchus to

London w[h]ere we was examonedthan Discharged"; EphraimRobin Johnto
Wesley,Aug. 17,1774.Paleyto author,June8, 2zoo1,notedthatit wouldbe extraor-
dinaryforMansfieldto have the Robin Johnsbroughtbeforehim personallyand
thatsucha stepwouldindicatean unusualinterest in thecase on his part.Arminian
Magazine,6 (Apr.1783),2II; "GrandyKingGeorge"to ThomasJones,n. d. [1767?],
in Lovejoyand Richardson,"Lettersof the Old Calabar Slave Trade." Seymour
Drescher,"Capitalismand Abolition:Values and Forcesin Britain,1783-1814," in
FromSlaveryto Freedom:Comparative Studiesin theRiseand Fall ofAtlanticSlavery
(New York,1999), 21.
34Paley,"AfterSomerset."
35 Ibid. OrrockRobinJohnofferedThomasJonesthreeslavesif he returned
lost familymembers.See OrrockRobin Johnto Thomas Jones,n. d. [1767?],in
Lovejoyand Richardson, "LettersoftheOld CalabarSlaveTrade."
was Bivins,the captainwho had capturedthe men in Old Calabar,who

was forcedto pay ?i20 to the alleged owners in Virginia as "purchase
moneyor value of the said twoAfricans."In addition,O'Neil gave up his
transparent claim thatthe men should be held fordebt. The compromise
was not simplya privatematter;thedetailsof the agreementweresubmit-
ted to thecourtand formally accepted.36That outcomeraisesthepossibil-
itythat Mansfield may have had some partin thosenegotiations, whichin
turncould explainwhyBivinsagreedto pay aftersix years.Clearly,Bivins
was unwillingto facetheRobinJohnsin Mansfield'scourt,and Mansfield
was equallyeagerto avoid rulingon the case at all. It mayalso be thatthe
membersof the closelyknitslave-trading communityin Bristol,who had
their own reasons for not wanting to have the case heard-given the
actions of the captainsin that event-broughtpressureto bear on him.
These possibilitiesaside, LittleEphraimand Ancona walkedout of jail in
Bristolas thefreemen theyso adamantlyclaimedto be.
JonesbroughtAncona and LittleEphraimback to his home in Bristol

and arrangedforthemto attendschool.The youngmen cut quite a figure
in Bristol.Both were describedas about 5 feet9 inchesin height,"well
shaped, neitherfat nor lean, and exactlyproportioned."Their careful
groomingas membersof Old Calabar'seliteshowed; "theywereperfectly
well-bred;all theirmotionswereeasy,properand graceful,notwithstand-
ing theircolour, therewas somethingagreeablein theircountenance."
Despite theirsimilarities,"therewas a manifestdifference both in their
look and carriage.Anaconawas all Sweetness;Ephraimwas all a Prince.No
one would haveConceivedthathe knewwhatslaverymeant."37
Little Ephraim and Ancona asked Jones for religious instruction.
They had heardof CharlesWesley,the famedMethodisthymnodist,and
requestedspecificallyto be takento him "thatwe maysoon come to have
some knowledgeof God." Their interestin Christianity raisesintriguing
questions about theirmotivation. Their could
religiosity well have been a
mask that the men donned in order to facilitatetheir returnhome,
althoughtheirletterssuggestthattheirconversionsweremoregenuine.It
maybe thatthey,like manyotherslavesin England,mistakenly saw bap-
tism as a guaranteeof freedom.Their attractionto Methodism is also
striking.Bristol was a cradle of Methodism; both Charles and John
Wesleyresidedthereforlong periods,and theywere well known there.
The Methodistsreachedout to the poor and downtrodden,but perhaps
even more significantis the importanceof the language of slaveryand
36 Paley, "AfterSomerset."See PRO, KB 21/40,Mich. 1773.

37 EphraimRobinJohnto Wesley,Aug. I7, 1774; Arminian Magazine,6 (Apr.
1783), 211.
freedomforMethodistnotionsof sin and salvation.One of Charles

Wesley's
hymns thecentrality
highlights ofthosemetaphors:
Longmyimprisoned spiritlay/ Fastboundin sinand nature's

/
night; Thineeye a quickening
diffused ray--/I woke,thedun-
geonflamedwith /
light; My chainsfell
off,myheartwasfree.
One scholarofEnglishMethodism, W. F. Lofthouse,suggestedthat"the

centralfactforCharlesWesley, as forhisbrother,wasthathewasa slave
redeemed fromdeathandhell."38
It is likely,
givenevidencethattheirconversions weresincere,that
theRobinJohnswereattracted bythesefeatures ofMethodism and that
theyreconciledEnglishreligionto theirown beliefsystem.The Efik
worshiped one god,Abasi,thecreatorof all things,and theirreligion
wascloselytiedto place-trees,bodiesofwater,and otherphysical fea-
tureswereconsidered sacred.Everyhousehad itsown "godbasin,"an
outdoorshrinewhereprayers weremadeto ancestors. Earlymissionaries
foundtheEfikremarkably inclusivein theirworshipand reported that
theyquiteeasily shiftedtheirattendance between Christianand tradi-
tionalworship"without anypangsof conscience." Nineteenth-century
missionaries in Old Calabarreportedthatthe Efikbelievedthatthe
powersoftheirgod stoppedat ParrotIslandand "theGod ofthewhite
man"presided overthesea. If theRobinJohnssharedtheview,it could
explainwhytheylookedto theChristian godforassistance. Theybegan
to studyregularly withCharlesWesley, whomaywellhaveheardofthe
RobinJohnsfromhisfriend LordMansfield evenbeforemeeting them.
LittleEphraimreportedthatthey"feltBetterand Betterand to my
comfort I Dreamtof readingtwonightsthelastnightI DreamtI ...
readtheIoo Psalmand . . . foundgoodformyheart."Theirletters to
Wesley demonstrate how quicklythey advanced in theirstudies.Soon,
"theyreceived thetruthwithall gladness,appearedto be deeplypene-
tratedtherewith: and aftersometime,desiredto be baptized." Through
Charles,they JohnWesleyand tookeveryopportunity
met to meetwith
him and hear him preach.In August1774,AnconawroteCharles:
"Yesterday we hadthepleasure ofSeeingyourbrother he preached at the
and
Roombothmorning Evening Drank & Tea at Mrs.Johnson with
us." Theytookcommunion fromhimon thatoccasionand "feltvery
comfortable in our mind."Laterthatmonth,LittleEphraiminformed
Charlesthat"YourBrother has beenso kindto as to talkto us and has
38 Ancona Robin John to Wesley, Aug.
I7, 1774; Wesley's hymn, No. 371, and
Lofthouse both quoted in Roger Anstey, The Atlantic Slave Trade and British
Abolition,1760o-18o (Atlantic Heights, N. J., I975), 190.
given us the Sacramentthrice[.] I find him so good as the shew me

when I do wrong[.] I feel in my heart greattrouble & see greatdeal
more of my own faults& the faultsof my Countrymenwhich I hope
the Lord will permitme to tell themwhen I com home." Though Little
Ephraimdoes not specificallysay so, Wesleyverylikelycondemnedthe
Efik'sinvolvementin theslave tradeas theprincipalfaultof his country-
men. Charlescalled them"veryextraordinary Scholars& Catechumens"
and describedtheiremotionalbaptism:"This morningI baptizedthem.
They receivedboth the outwardand visiblesignsof the inward& spiri-
tual gracein a wonderfulmanner& measure."39
The Africansformeda close attachmentto Charles and his family
and with the Methodistsin Bristol.They closed lettersto Wesleywith
"kindlove to Mrs. Wesleyand too younggentlemen."They even carried
on a direct correspondence with his daughter Sarah, whom they
addressedas "My Dear Sarah." In one such letter,they"Receivedyour
Letterand am sorryyou are angrywith us fornot writingto you when
we did to your Brotherbut hopes you will forgive us forit and hopes
yourprayerwill all waysbe forus . .. our Love to yourfather,Mother
and Brotherand all our Brethren."They signedthe letter,"YourLoving
Brethren."Such warmand personalgreetingswerea partof the conven-
tionsof correspondencebetweenthe Old Calabar eliteand theirEnglish
traders,thoughthe personalrelationshipsreflectedin thismutualcorre-
spondencego well beyond the merelyformal.The Robin Johnslodged
with Methodists,regularlytook part in their meetings,and received
individual instructionfrom pious Methodist women like Elizabeth
Johnson.40
The Robin Johnshoped that theirlong-soughtreturnhome was
about to begin; in mid-AugusttheywroteCharlesthat"our good friend
Mr. Jonesis fitteda ship out forus[;] we suppose she will be readyin
about fiveweeks." LittleEphraimalso reportedthathe had heard from
his brotherGrandyKing George,via a captain recentlyback fromOld
Calabar who had passed on the good news that Little Ephraim and
Ancona werealive and on theirway home. By February1774, the vessel
Joneshad outfittedwas readyto sail, but "theWind being Contraryfor
We go home to Old Calabar." Six days laterthe ship remainedin port,
and Little Ephraimand Ancona wroteto thankCharles forhis giftof
39AnconaRobinJohnto Wesley,Aug. 5,1774; EphraimRobinJohnto Wesley,

Aug. 17, 1774; Wesley to William Perronet,Jan. 23, 1774 (final quotation). Noah,
Old Calabar,41-42 (secondquotation);Forde,EfikTradersof Old Calabar,69, 71;
Thompson,FlashoftheSpirit,230-44; CharlesWesleyFlint,CharlesWesley and His
D. C., 1957),159-60;Walvin,England,Slaves,and Freedom,
(Washington,
Colleagues
1776-1838(London, 1986), 39.
40EphraimRobinJohnand AnconaRobinJohnto SarahWesley,undated.
religiousbooksandforCharles's andhisfamily's prayersthattheywould

arrivesafely"in our DeservedCountry." Theysentlove to theentire
family and wishedthem"Knowledge ofGod Equallto yourself."They
signedthemselves "yourpoor and LovingBrethren Till Death." On
March12,1774,theMaria,withCaptainWilliamFloyd,finally setsail.
The shiphad notbeenfitted outespecially fortheRobinJohns.It wasa
slaveship,theveteranof severalvoyages, and on herpreviousvoyages
hadtakenon 525slavesinAfrica, 437ofwhomhadbeendelivered to the
Caribbean.In yetanothertwistto thestory, Floyd had been present at
the massacrewherethe RobinJohnswerecaptured, serving as second
captainon boardtheIndianQueen.41
Withhighhopes,LittleEphraim andAnconasetoutforhome,only
to face furthertrials.The Maria wreckedoffthe desertisland of
Boavista,an accidentthatEphraimandAnconablamedon thedrunken
incompetence of CaptainFloyd.Apparently, "thevesselwas dashedto
piecesagainstye rocks& sunk & all ye crew escapedonlywiththeyr
livesin a smallBoat afterwhichtheywerenearstarved." Rescuedbya
passingship,theAfricans returned to Bristol"drestin borrow'd rags."
Theyranto Charles'shouse,buthe was away,and theyhurriedto the
homeofElizabeth Johnson, oneofthepiouswomenin theWesleycircle
who had been theirreligiousconfidante. Eventhough"all was disap-
pointment," she took them in and found them"greatly distressed but
yetconfident," and "aboveall,"she reported, they "areat a lossto know
ye voice of God."42
Despitetheiroutwardconfidence, the enormoussetbackaffected
themen,especially Ephraim.Johnsonfound them"verygratefull[and]
desirousof doingeverythingtheycan to oblige."She noted,however,
that"Ephraim is greatly & humble.. . . I fre-
morethougtful
altered[,]
quentlysee greatheavings ofheartuponEphraim[.]I believehe sees&
fearsapproaching Ancona,by contrast,
difficulties." was "as easyas a
Birdwithoutcareor fear."Mrs.Johnson reportedthattheyspenttheir
timestudying scriptureand attendingpreachingwhere"someof our
felt
preachers great union withthem[,]talkedwiththem& prayedfor
41 EphraimRobin
Johnto Wesley,Aug. 17,1774(firstquotation);Ephraimand
Ancona RobinJohnto Wesley,Feb. 18,1774 (secondquotation).Eltis et al., eds.,
Trans-AtlanticSlave Trade, Unique identitynumbers17671, 17729, 17860.
42 Boavistais theeasternmostislandof theCape Verdearchipelagoand closest
to theAfricancontinent.Composedof sedimentary rock,the islandis almostflat
and covered in sand dunes. For a description see the Cape Verde website:
LittleEphraimand AnconaRobin
http://www.capeverdetravel.co.uk/boavista.html.
Johnto Wesley(undatedreportof shipwreck). The Cambridgedatabaseconfirms
thewreckof theship.See Eltiset al., eds., Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade,Unique iden-
titynumber17860.ElizabethJohnsonto Wesley,June16,1774.
them."Theyalso attempted to learnpractical skillsthatmightbe useful

and
at home;theystudiedgardening agriculture and learnedto make
butterandcheese.43
ThomasJonesposeda problem.Apparently his kindnesshad been
exhausted, or,morelikely, the Africans were provingmoreof an eco-
nomicliability than an asset. He complained thelargesumshe had
of
spenton theirupkeep and refused to haveanything moreto do with
them.Mrs.Johnson told Charles Wesley that the Robin Johnshadgiven
Charlesas much information as theycould about their circumstance,but
shebelievedthat "much has been concealed . .. [the]barbarity bypoor
Mr.Jones... hasincreased much[.]He will... seemto havepleasure in
yewreck ofyeShip." LittleEphraim, however, refused to seethat duplicity
and, likea trader-prince and Ekpe member, worriedaboutpayingthe
debthe had accumulated. He askedWesley, "howshallI payMy good
Mr.
friend Jones who has been so kind in Layingso muchmoneyto save
us[?]"Ephraim could see only one way repayJones-a chillingone
to
considering his own experience. wrote:"Ifwe mustnotsellslavesI
He
knownothowweshallpay[,]whichI havea greatdesireto doe."44
By September 1774,the RobinJohns'manyfriendshad arranged
anotherpassage,and theymadepreparation to depart.Theirlettersto
Wesley were even more affectionate than before. Castingasidethefor-
malsalutations thathad characterized theircorrespondence ("RevdSir"
or "Reverend father in God,"forexample),thefinalletters beforetheir
departure areaddressed to "MyDear Charles."LittleEphraimpromised
to
"never forget" hisfriend and added"ourkindest lovea waitsyoursis-
ter& Brother[,l accept the same for yourself." added"PS. I Desire
He
your sisterto write to me." Ancona's affectionate natureshinesthoughin
hisheartfelt farewellto Charles:"I fearthiswillbe thelastI shallbe able
to writeto you.. . . youhavebinso goodto us thatwe can neverthank
you enoughforyourloveto us but nowwe musttakeour Leavewith
Littingyou knowhowkindour Bristolfriends havebeento us." Even
JohnWesley came to say hisfarewells and give them hisblessing.Ancona
continued, "we had a very Blessed time last night with Mr.Wesleywho
offeredus up in a verysolemnmannerto God andwe Humblyhopehis
prayerwillbe heard[.]I mustconcludewithkindest loveto all."Ephraim
couldnotresistaddingone lastnoteto hisbrother's letter:"I hope...
we shallhearfromone anotheragain[.]I now bid you farewell Dear
Charles."On October14, 1774,Ephraimand AnconasailedforOld
Calabaron boardtheCato,a slaveshipownedbyJones.45
to Wesley,June16,1774; ArminianMagazine,6
43 Johnson (Apr.1783),2z1.
44Johnsonto Wesley,June16, Aug. 27, 1774; LittleEphraimRobinJohnto
Wesley, Aug. 27, 1774 (postscript)
45EphraimRobinJohnto Wesley,Sept. 26, 1774;AnconaRobin RobinJohn
Slave Trade,Unique
to Wesley,Oct. 1o, 1774. See Eltis et al., eds., Trans-Atlantic
Their Bristol friendsworried as the brothersembarkedon their

journey,and more than a year passed beforethe good news returned.
Charles wrote happily that "My 2 AfricanChildren got safe home."
Ancona wroteback that theywerewelcomed at Old Calabar, but their
newfound religious views caused some problems initially."Many of
theircountrymen. . . [who] wonderedand laughed at first,were now
glad to sit by and hear themread the Bible." They mayhave read from
one of the Bibles Charles sent with them. Evidence suggests that
Ephraim did engage in the slave trade afterhis return;he had little
choice, as he suggestedto Wesley,given the economic importanceof
the trade to Old Calabar. Oral tradition relates that Ephraim and
Ancona were responsibleforthe spread of Christianityin Old Calabar
aftertheir return."It is a well-knownfact among the Efiks of Old
Calabar that . . . two Efik graduatesof Ambo Otu [also Mbo Otu or
King Robin] descentfromObutong [Old Town] were carriedaway in
the 1767 'bombardment.'It was theywho came in the i9th century
back to Calabar to lead the Old Calabar 'nobles' to demand the coming
of the Presbyterian Mission."46
The Africanprinces'briefstayin England also had broaderimpli-
cations for the burgeoningopposition to slaveryand the slave trade.
While the Robin Johnsdid not speak out against the institutionof
identitynumber17851. The Cato (JohnLangdon,captain)was a ship of 80 tons.

AfterdeliveringtheRobinJohns,it tookon 336slavesin Calabar,272 ofwhomsur-
vivedtheMiddle Passageto be sold in Jamaica.Capt. JohnAshleyHall was in Old
Calabar on the slaveship NeptunewhenEphraimand Anconareturned.He heard
theirstoryfirsthand and readcopies of depositionstheygavebeforewinningtheir
freedom.See Lambert,ed., Houseof Commons SessionalPapers,72:227-29, 239-40.
The NeptuneleftLondon in Jan.1774 withHall as secondcaptainand tradedfor
slaveson the coast of West Africauntilit sailed forAmericalaterthatyear.The
same ship leftLondon foranothervoyageto Old Calabar in Dec. 1774,whichis
likelywhenHall encountered the RobinJohns.See Eltisat al., eds., Trans-Atlantic
Slave Trade,Unique identitynumbers91935and 77124.
46 One of theBristolgroupwroteCharles,"we remember themat ye Room &
doubtnot thatyou do stillmoreat London."Ann Chapmanto Wesley,Oct. 1774;
Wesley to the Rev. Perronet,Nov. I, 1775. See Ephraim Robin Johnto Capt.
AmbroseLace, Dec. 5, 1775,spellingout detailsof thetradein slavesbetweenthem.
Given the repetitionof names among the Robin Johns,attributionis difficult.
Williams,History oftheLiverpoolPrivateers,548-49;Asuquo,"DiaryofAnteraDuke
of Old Calabar,"34 (quotation);Aye,Old Calabarthrough theCenturies,84. Another
Calabarhistorian writes:"Traditionhas it thatOtu Mbo and AfiongMbo, children
of the ObutongChief,Mbo Otu who had died in the massacrein 1767,had been
educatedin England,and had on theirreturnrequestedthe King of theirday to
inviteMissionariesrightfrom1790." Ekei EssienOku, "Kingsof Old Calabar,"in
S. O. Jaja,E. O. Erim,and BasseyW. Andah,eds., Old CalabarRevisited (Enugu,
Nigeria,1990),39.
slaveryin England, theymay have contributedto the abolition cause

by theirassociationwith the Wesleys.JohnWesley'scontroversialanti-
slavery pamphlet Thoughtsupon Slaverywas published in 1774, the
same year the Robin Johns departed. It is likely that Wesley's close
association with them influenced his attack on the institution. He
made no specificreferenceto the Robin Johns,but his positiveremarks
on the lifestyleand characterof Africansin their native land could
have been drawn fromhis conversationswith them,as could his con-
demnations of the trade. That Wesley held such views helps explain
theirstrongattractionto him. But Wesley'sattack on slaverycut two
ways. Hints in the letters,particularlyEphraim'sfearthathe could not
repayJonesif he abandoned the slave trade, suggestthat Wesley lec-
tured them on this subject. In addition, theirstorywas published in
the MethodistArminianMagazine in the 178os,and it was employedby
later opponents of slaveryincluding Thomas Clarkson in the early
i8oos.47
The adventuresof Little Ephraim Robin Johnand Ancona Robin
Robin Johnmay be most importantas an illustrationof the complex
and remarkablehistoryof the eighteenth-century Atlanticworld (see
Figure III). As Paul Gilroywrites, the Atlanticwas "continuallycriss-
crossed by the movementsof black people-not only as commodities
but engagedin variousstrugglestowardsemancipation,autonomy,and
citizenship."The princelyEphraim and free-spirited Ancona defythe
tendencyto reduceAfricanswho sufferedthe horrorsof the slave trade
to commoditiesand numbers.Their experiencecannot be fullyunder-
stood without recognizing the distinctiveculture fromwhich they
came, a reminderof the importanceof ethnicdiversityamong enslaved
Africans.Old Calabar's strongeconomic,linguistic,and culturalties to
England,its creolizedmerchantelite,and theirunusual level of literacy
gave the Robin Johnsa set of skillsthat most enslavedAfricanslacked.
Most, but not all, fortheirexperiencecan be comparedto thatof cre-
olized Luso-Africans,for example, and to the other Atlantic creoles
whose stories are beginning to be told. The Robin Johns made the
most of theirskillsand accomplishedwhatveryfewAfricansdid in the
eighteenth century-they escaped slavery, freed themselves, and
returnedto their"DeservedCountry."48
47 JohnWesley, Thoughts uponSlavery(1774), (New York, n.d.); Clarkson,

HistoryoftheRise,Progress,
and Accomplishment
oftheAbolitionoftheAfricanSlave-
Trade, I:3O6-10; ArminianMagazine, 6 (Mar. and Apr. 1783).
48 Gilroy,TheBlackAtlantic:Modernity
and Double Consciousness
(Cambridge,
Mass., 1993), 16.
Banks of
of Bay
ewfoundland
Biscay;
ranean
Medite
Gult'of Bermuda
*.Mexic pBahamas
S........... .
WestIndies
''
~e /
FIGUREIII
Atlantictradewindsand ocean currents betweenAfricaand Northand South

Americathatslaversand traders followed.Basedon Hope MastersonWaddell,
Twenty-Nine Yearsin theWestIndiesand CentralAfrica,2d ed. (London,1970;
orig. pub. 1863), opposite 242, and JamesJohnstone,An Introduction to
Oceanography, withSpecial Reference to Geographyand Geophysics, 2d ed.
(London,1928).Map drawnbyRebeccaWrenn.

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Two Princes of Calabar: An Atlantic Odyssey from Slavery to Freedom

Author(s): Randy J. Sparks

You may need to log in to JSTOR to access the linked references.

N 1767, English traders captured and sold into slavery Little

theirhomelandand theslavetraders.'Morespecifically, theybelonged

1 Ira Berlin,"From Creole to African:AtlanticCreoles and the Originsof

experience highlightsan importantaspect of slavery: the effortsof

The Robin Johns'experienceof slaveryand freedombegan in Old

4 A bightis a largebay formedby a curvein the continentalshoreline.The

w ROM ni- -xs

acquired to expand theirpower in the region.From theirautonomous

6 For generaldiscussions ofOld Calabarhistory see Aye,Old Calabarthroughthe

most commerciallysuccessfultown up to the mid-eighteenth century,

mercialsystembasedon face-to-face negotiationand a personalunder-

Englishmen on shore,he wrote:"Weworefinehatsandfineclothesand

9 Forde, ed., Efik Tradersof Old Calabar, 32 (firstquotation), 51 (second quota-

Rivers.Their smallvillagesystemleftthemvulnerableand made it pos-

10 Lambert, ed., House of CommonsSessionalPapers, 72:226-27, 237, 347, 69:49

anotherslaverand made his way home to England; his storyillustrates

Therewerereports of Englishcaptainsfiring theircannonseitherinto

15 Lambert,ed., House of CommonsSessionalPapers,72:132-33, 586.

In June1767, six Englishvesselslay in the riverat Old Calabar. All

concealedpositionson shoreand senttheircanoesintotheriverto join

ers struggledforpower in the Caribbean. SituatedbetweenMartinique

St. Croix St..BRITISH

CA RIB BEA NMartinique

SEA BRITISH DIinCA

Dominica's mountainousterrainand irregularand unguardedcoast-

Once again, the Robin Johnsused theircreoleskillsto theiradvan-

onlyidentified thecaptainas "Capt. S." who was masterof a sloop thatcarriedthe

sel forthetripto Old Calabar.He did havethemtransferred to another

to provethetwo men to be Epms. [Ephraim's]brothersI don'tknowhow

on the partof the conservative justice,widelyregardedas the champion

29 Mansfield, quoted in Teresa Michals, "'That Sole and

among Americanslaves.JuliusScott has exploredthe extensivecommu-

32 Williams, Historyof theLiverpoolPrivateers,545 (firstquotation); Little

law.If theRobinJohnshad notbeenenslavedaccording to thelawsof

33Ephraimreportedthathe "wroteto Lord Mansfieldwho send to fetchus to

was Bivins,the captainwho had capturedthe men in Old Calabar,who

JonesbroughtAncona and LittleEphraimback to his home in Bristol

36 Paley, "AfterSomerset."See PRO, KB 21/40,Mich. 1773.

freedomforMethodistnotionsof sin and salvation.One of Charles

Longmyimprisoned spiritlay/ Fastboundin sinand nature's

One scholarofEnglishMethodism, W. F. Lofthouse,suggestedthat"the

given us the Sacramentthrice[.] I find him so good as the shew me

39AnconaRobinJohnto Wesley,Aug. 5,1774; EphraimRobinJohnto Wesley,

religiousbooksandforCharles's andhisfamily's prayersthattheywould

them."Theyalso attempted to learnpractical skillsthatmightbe useful

Their Bristol friendsworried as the brothersembarkedon their

identitynumber17851. The Cato (JohnLangdon,captain)was a ship of 80 tons.

slaveryin England, theymay have contributedto the abolition cause

47 JohnWesley, Thoughts uponSlavery(1774), (New York, n.d.); Clarkson,

Atlantictradewindsand ocean currents betweenAfricaand Northand South

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