Abina and the Important Men is the story of Abina Mansah, a woman who had labored at various Asante farms and is sold by her old master, Yaw Awoah, to Quamina Eddoo. She learns that all people are supposed to be free; however, she had been sold and had no will of her own (Abina, 37). Afterwards, she runs away to Cape Coast. With James Davis, a court interpreter, she confronts magistrate William Melton to hear her case. Abina tries to convince a slew of “important men” ---William Melton, James Davis, James Hutton Brew, Quamina Eddoo and the jury --- that her rights and her voice mattered. The jury consisted of some important men of the local area including Thomas Aminissah, Jonathan Dawson and Nana Ampofa as a few. Because of their authority,…show more content… In Abina and the Important Men, historians use historical context to fill in the gaps of Abina Mansah’s story. One example is utilizing the Protectorate---small and large states that had supported Britain in the 1873-1874 war---as a majority of the set for scenes. The annexation of the Gold Coast Colony and constitution of the Gold Coast Protectorate occurred in 1874 and ahenfo or essentially chiefs were influential powers. In 1874, an anti-slavery strategy was engineered to satisfy the abolitionist British public while not dislocating the political and economic interests of slave-owning elites of whom their ability to maintain their authority depended. Since the story is set after this event, it allows the historians to make sense of what types of characters would be in power or important (Abina, 103). Another example, is how slavery is not necessarily or primarily economic, but rather political and social allows for historians to make sense of Abina’s feelings toward being sold as a slave since she may have been fed and clothed but Abina had felt powerless over her body (Abina,
