The Library of Congress has acquired the Omar ibn Said Collection, including an exceptional artifact, the autobiography of Omar ibn Said, written in ancient Arabic by an African enslaved man. In this article, I analytically examine the role of literacy in Omar ibn Said's life as informed by African cultures, ethnicities, histories, languages, and…

This essay explores the vulnerability of enslaved African Canadian Black women by examining the death of Diana Bastian, an enslaved Black teenager who in 1792 was raped by George More, a member of the Governing Council of Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Though Bastian begged for assistance during the resultant pregnancy, More denied her such aid and…

Newspaper coverage of the Canudos War dehumanized the "sertanejos," portraying them in such a way that empathy or grief for their suffering was inaccessible to the Brazilian readership. Euclides da Cunha, a war correspondent for the newspaper "O Estado de São Paulo," was amongst those who contributed to the state's war…

History has been in the centre of political interest over the last two decades; claimed as a vehicle to strengthen social cohesion, especially among future citizens. At the same time an acknowledgement of episodes such as slavery and colonialism are asked for. This article investigates the tension that results with those two appeals to history in…