ukawsaw gronniosaw, also known as james albert (ca. 1705 - 1775), was a freed slave and autobiographer. his autobiography is considered the first published by an african in britain. ==the autobiography==  gronniosaw's autobiography was produced in kidderminster in the late 1760s. it is entitled a narrative of the most remarkable particulars in the life of james albert ukawsaw gronniosaw, an african prince, as related by himself. the title page explains that it was: committed to paper by the elegant pen of a young lady of the town of leominster. it was the first slave narrative in the english language. published in bath, somerset, in 1772, it gives a vivid account of gronniosaw's life, from his capture in africa through slavery to a life of poverty in colchester and kidderminster. he was attracted to this last town because it was at one time the home of richard baxter, a seventeenth-century calvinist minister whom gronniosaw much admired. the preface was written by the reverend walter shirley, cousin to selina hastings, countess of huntingdon, who was the chief patron of the calvinist wing of methodism. he interprets gronniosaw's experience of enslavement and his journey from bornu to new york as an example of calvinist predestination and election. a reference to his white-skinned sister, his willingness to leave africa as his family believed in many deities instead of one almighty god, the fact that the closer to a white european he became â through clothing but mostly via language â the happier he was, his description of another black servant at his master's house as a "devil", have led critics to the conclusion that the narrative is devoid of the anti-slavery backlash ubiquitous in subsequent slave narratives.the signifying monkey, henry louis gates, jr, oxford university press, hardcover, pp. 133-40. until the recent discovery of an obituary, the narrative was the only significant source for the life of gronniosaw. ==life== gronniosaw was probably born in bornu (now north-eastern nigeria): he claims he was doted on as the grandson of the king of zaara. at the age of 15, he was taken by a gold coast ivory merchant and sold to a dutch captain for two yards of check cloth. he was bought by an american in barbados and resold to a calvinist minister in new york. there he was taught to read and brought up as a christian. when the minister died, he chose to stay with his widow, and subsequently their orphans, until he was left without support. gronniosaw then enlisted as a cook with a privateer, and later as a soldier in the british army. he served in martinique and cuba, before obtaining his discharge and crossing to england. at first he settled in portsmouth, but, when his landlady swindled him out of most of his savings, was forced to seek his fortune in
1710_births 1775_deaths American_slaves Black_British_history Black_British_writers Nigerian_writers People_who_wrote_slave_narratives Slaves