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Showing posts from October, 2015

Podcast: Exploring Tudor England's African connections with historian Onyeka

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Author Onyeka image © Narrative Eye Hello MisBeee Writes readers..I wanted you to be the first to know! I have recorded my first podcast! It is with author and historian Onyeka. Some of you will remember I reviewed his book: ' Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, Their Presence, Status and Origins'  earlier in the year. In his book he argues that Africans had a rich and diverse presence in Tudor England that transcends the familiar and singular slavery story. So make a cuppa, sit back and enjoy the first part on YouTube  here ! By Kirsty Osei-Bempong. For more blogs on history like this, check Belle - a new kind of English rose   Tudor England II: England's African connections Gold Coast: a lucid look into Denmark's colonial past All comments are welcome on this page. If you are having trouble posting on the Google+ page, please share your views via Facebook  here  or tweet @MisBeee Please be aware that you may not reproduce, re

Gold Coast: a lucid look into Denmark's colonial past

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Cape Coast Castle one of the locations for the film, image © Emmanuel Ackroh*  I had my reservations about watching Gold Coast – a film inspired by the Danes and set along Ghana’s idyllic coastlines.  The 2015 film, written and directed by Daniel Dencik, is a depiction of 19 th century life three years after the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade was officially but not totally banned in 1833. Slavery was finally abolished in Danish colonies in 1848, according details from the BBC. Undoubtedly my concern was how the film, which was co-produced by Ghanaian film-maker Kwame Boadi, would portray this sensitive and brutal practi s e of African subjugation for economic gain. And I was not sure I wanted to relive that sense of horror again.   I say 'again' because as a teenager, visiting one of the very castles that formed the backdrop to the film, left a lasting and palpable impression on me. I had walked those same steps the actors walked on the Elmina Castle