Seeking Freedom
SynopsisPlot
Seeking a better life and more meaningful freedom, in 1792, over one thousand of them left Nova Scotia to resettle in West Africa, with the support of a company formed by British philanthropist. Freetown, the colony they founded, later became the capital of Sierra Leone. Told from the point of view of one of the settlers, Seeking Freedom is the stirring tale of their return to Africa and of their struggles to realise their hopes in a trying climate, amid sometimes hostile indigenes, unexpected dangers and conflicts with officials of the company that sponsored them.
Story
About this book
Seeking Freedom, originally published under the title Road to Freedom, follows a group of formerly enslaved Africans who were recruited to fight for the British side during the American War of Independence. After Britain's defeat, they were relocated to Nova Scotia, where they formed communities but continued to face harsh conditions and limited prospects. In 1792, more than a thousand of these settlers chose to leave Nova Scotia and cross the Atlantic to West Africa, supported by a company established by British philanthropists.
The novel is narrated from the perspective of one of these settlers and traces the founding of Freetown, the colony that would eventually become the capital of Sierra Leone. Life in West Africa brought its own difficulties. The settlers contended with an unfamiliar and demanding climate, tensions with local populations, and friction with officials of the sponsoring company. Yema Lucilda Hunter grounds the story in the gap between the promise of self-determination and the practical realities the settlers encountered on arrival. The book follows the community as it tries to build something durable while navigating pressures from multiple directions at once.
