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Journal article
'For King and Empire': The Changing Political, Economic, and Cultural Identities of Kru Mariners in Atlantic Africa, 1460-1945
Journal of African history, Vol.64(3), pp.437-448
11/2023
Web of Science ID: WOS:001193798400015
Abstract
This article traces histories of the Kru in West Africa from the fifteenth to nineteenth centuries, arguing that divergent identities of fifteenth- to eighteenth-century Kru canoers became unified when that unified identity was necessary for maintaining political, economic, and cultural autonomy during and after the slave trade. In conjunction with earlier multilingual work on the Kru mariners of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this article seeks to place the narrative of Kru identity and labor in a larger context of maritime history across the region at large. This article argues that the Kru relied on longstanding maritime traditions from localized groups to capitalize on the need for work and cash in a capitalist economy driven by growing European imperialism. The historical narrative of Kru maritime power shows how local and global identities in Atlantic Africa shifted in response to exploitation, blurring the lines between response and resistance.
Details
- Title
- 'For King and Empire'
- Publication Details
- Journal of African history, Vol.64(3), pp.437-448
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press
- Number of pages
- 12
- Copyright
- © The Author(s), 2023.
- Identifiers
- WOS:001193798400015; 99381852696906600
- Academic Unit
- History and Philosophy; College of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities
- Language
- English