Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori: 40 Years a Slave (Encore)

Starting point is 00:00:00 The following is an encore presentation of Everything Everywhere Daily. In 1788, the son of the leader of the Confederation of Futa Jalan in West Africa was commanding his 2,000 troops against a neighboring military force when he was captured. He was sold into slavery and spent the next 40 years of his life living as a slave in Mississippi. That was until a chance meeting revealed his true identity, which eventually led to his freedom and the involvement of the President of the United States. Learn more about Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sari, the Prince,

Starting point is 00:00:33 who became a slave whose emancipation became an international issue on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily. What if your perceptions about the past were wrong? ThruLine is a podcast that takes you back in time to uncover the parts of the story that may have gone unnoticed. It effectively turned day into night. And how it shaped the world now. Time travel with us every week on the ThruLine podcast from NPR.

Starting point is 00:01:14 Over the 300-year history of the transatlantic slave trade, over 12.5 million people were forcibly taken from their homes in Africa and brought to the Americas. Of all of the people taken in the slave trade, almost none of them ever saw their freedom or returned home. Many of them never even made it across the ocean, as conditions and slave ships were so horrendous. To that extent, this episode's story is very much an aberration. It's the exception, not the rule. Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori was born in 1760. in the town of Timbo in what is today the nation of Guinea in West Africa.

Starting point is 00:01:52 He was born to one of the most noble and powerful families in all of West Africa at the time. His father was Emir Ibrahimsori, the leader of the Islamic State of Futa Jalan in the highlands of Central Guinea. He was a brilliant military leader who managed to build his kingdom after defeating several neighboring tribes. His firstborn son, Abdul Rahman, was the heir apparent to Futa Jalan. As such, he was well educated and trained. He attended the Islamic University in Timbuktu in what is today the nation of Mali. He studied philosophy and law and was reportedly fluent in four African languages as well as Arabic. He earned the title of Torodo, which was a 17th and 18th century term for West African Islamic clerics.

Starting point is 00:02:30 When he returned home at the age of 21, he was given charge of a regiment of 2,000 soldiers in his father's army. It would probably have been the equivalent of a modern-day rank of a colonel. While out on campaign, he and his men were ambushed, and Abdul Rahman was captured by a neighboring tribe. They then traded him to British slavers for muskets and rum, who sent him, along with so many other Africans, to the Americas. In 1788, at the age of 26, he wound up being purchased by a plantation owner in Natchez, Mississippi by the name of Thomas Foster. At the time, Mississippi was still technically a Spanish territory. Foster's plantation at that time grew tobacco, because cotton had not yet become the staple crop for that region. When Abdul Rahman arrived, he had his long haircut, which was a symbol of his nobility.

Starting point is 00:03:14 and was immediately put to doing hard labor. He did what you would expect. He escaped. I should note that in a later autobiography, he noted just how backwards and primitive he thought Natchez was when he first saw it, compared to what he had seen in places like Timbuktu. He survived four weeks on the run. However, he realized his predicament.

Starting point is 00:03:33 He was in a foreign country. He had no allies, no money. And even if he could get to a port, he wouldn't be allowed to be on a ship back to Africa. He accepted his position that he wasn't a prince anymore and returned to Foster's plantation. His plan to ensure his survival was to make himself indispensable. And he did just that. Abdul Rahman was far more educated and smarter than his owner who was uneducated and illiterate. He also had a particular set of knowledge that made him particularly valuable.

Starting point is 00:04:01 Abdul Rahman was familiar with growing cotton, which was commonly grown back where he came from. Cotton was just starting to be grown in Mississippi, and he told Foster how to grow it. The plantation soon became the largest cotton producer in the region, and Abdul Rahman soon found himself managing the entire operation. He was a natural leader, made his owner a lot of money, and as such was given certain liberties. He got married to a woman who worked on the plantation, who served as a doctor and midwife, and they had nine children. He was also allowed to keep a vegetable garden and to sell his produce in town and keep the money. In 1807, almost 20 years after he arrived in Mississippi, he was selling his vegetables at the market when he had a chance in counter which changed the course of his life. It was there, in Natchez, Mississippi,

Starting point is 00:04:46 Abdul Rahman unexpectedly met the Irish surgeon, Dr. John Cox. Who you might be asking is Dr. John Cox? It turns out that decades earlier, Cox was serving as the surgeon on a British ship which sank off the coast of West Africa. Cox washed up on shore and was taken in by none other than Abdul Rahman's father, Ibrahim Sori. Dr. Cox stayed with the family for six months as he regained his He was the first European to visit the town of Timbo and became acquainted with the young Abdul Rahman. Both men were astonished to see each other, and Dr. Cox was especially astonished to find that this young man, a prince and member of the royal family, was a slave in Mississippi. Dr. Cox set it as his mission to free Abdul Rahman, not only to end the injustice inflicted upon him,

Starting point is 00:05:32 but also to repay the debt to his family who helped him so many years ago. Cox offered Foster to buy Abdul Rahman's freedom, but he refused. He went as high as $1,000, which was a lot of money in 1807, but Foster still refused. Abdul Rahman's plan of making himself invaluable had worked almost too well. He was so invaluable that Foster didn't want to let him go, as his whole operation was dependent upon him. The other thing Cox did was to provide an independent verification of Abdul Rahman's story that he was in fact a prince, a story which, until that point, no one else really believed. The story of this chance encounter and of the prince who became a slave,

Starting point is 00:06:10 soon spread. A local newspaper reporter in Natchez named Andrew Marschalk interviewed Abdul Rahman and found out that he spoke Arabic. The fact that he could speak, read, and write Arabic made Marschalk think that Abdul Rahman must have been Moroccan. Abdulraman didn't bother to correct him because, in the racial hierarchy of the South at the time, Moroccans were considered above West Africans, and this confusion about his homeland could help him get his freedom. Dr. Cox continued to fight for the freedom of Abdul Rahman until his death in 1816, when the fight was picked up by his son. The fact that everyone thought he was Moroccan is an important point, because Morocco was the first country ever to sign a treaty with the young United States of America. That treaty guaranteed the protection of Moroccan subjects in the United States.

Starting point is 00:06:57 Abdul Rahman, being trained in law, became aware of the treaty and realized that this might be the loophole which could get him his freedom. The local newspaper man, Mars Chalk, helped Abdul Rahman send a letter to the Sultan of Morocco, saying how Abdul Rahman wanted his freedom and to be reunited with his family in Morocco. Here I should note that while Guinea was far from Morocco, the Sultan of Morocco claimed an ancient protection over the Muslims of West Africa, especially royalty. Along with the letter, several pages of the Quran written in Arabic, transcribed by Abdul Rahman, were also sent with the letter to establish his credentials. By chance, the letter got to the Sultan, who petitioned the President of the United States

Starting point is 00:07:36 John Quincy Adams for his release. The Sultan actually sent an emissary to Fuda Jalan to verify his claims and did in fact find out that he could be considered a Prince of the Moors. Secretary of State Henry Clay, not wanting to anger the United States' longest and first ally, and cause an international incident, petitioned the President to free him. So on February 22, 1828, by order of the President of the United States, Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori was freed after 40 years of slavery. However, his now former owner insisted that upon his manumission, he leave for Africa immediately as he didn't want him to enjoy the privileges of a free man in the United States. The story of Abdul Rahman spread throughout the country, and he took his time working his

Starting point is 00:08:21 way up to Washington. People and cities along the way were fascinated by the story of the man who was a Moorish prince, who became a slave. The reporter who helped arrange everything, purchased a Moorish costume for him which he could wear when he addressed crowds on his trip to Washington. Along the way, he earned enough money to free his wife, but not enough to free his children. When he got to Washington, D.C., he had a meeting with President Adams. From there, on March 18, 1829, he and his wife set sail to Liberia, which had become a colony of freed slaves who returned to Africa. Word was sent to Abdul Rahman's brother who had taken over for his father when he died.

Starting point is 00:08:55 He was overjoyed and sent a caravan to Liberia to meet his brother and to take him back home. He did make the journey to Africa, arriving in Liberia. However, on the journey back, he became ill, and four months after arriving, he died in Monrovia, Liberia in 1829 at the age of 67. In the end, he managed to raise enough funds to free two of his sons and their families, both of which moved to Liberia. There are two interesting footnotes to this story. One is that Thomas Gallaudet, the founder of the American School for the Deaf in Washington,

Starting point is 00:09:26 D.C., took an interest in Abdulraman's story. Galadette was part of the American Colonization Society, which had a mission of spreading Christianity in Africa. He met with Abdul Rahman and asked him to show his commitment to Christianity by writing the Lord's Prayer in Arabic. Abdul Rahman just wanted to make more contacts with influential Americans to help free his family, so he obliged by writing it down on a piece of paper. Years later, after Abdul Rahman had gone back to Africa and passed away, they discovered that he in fact had not written down the Lord's Prayer in Arabic, but instead had written the first chapter of the Quran. The second footnote to the story has to do with his children, which he was unable to free.

Starting point is 00:10:03 They obviously remained in America, but because they had what was now such a famous father, his legend and the story of his royal lineage was passed along from generation to generation. The descendants of Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori are still around today, and some of them have claimed royal status, consider themselves a royal family, and use royal titles. And some of them are still living around Natchez, Mississippi. Abdul Rahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori's case was used by abolitionist groups for decades to highlight the injustice of slavery. Long after slavery was abolished, his story has been remembered. He remains an inspiration as someone who kept his dignity and never lost hope, despite being denied his freedom, for over 40 years.

Starting point is 00:10:48 The executive producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The associate producers are Benji Long and Cameron Kiever. I want to give a big shout out to everyone who supports the show over on Patreon, including the show's producers. Your support helps me put out a show every single day. And also, Patreon is currently the only place where Everything Everywhere daily merchandise is available to the top tier of supporters. If you'd like to talk to other listeners of the show and members of the Completionist Club, you can join the Everything Everywhere Daily Facebook group or Discord server. Links to everything are in the show notes.

Everything Everywhere Daily: History, Science, Geography & More - Abdulrahman Ibrahim Ibn Sori: 40 Years a Slave (Encore)

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