Pascoe Grenfell Hill

Fifty days on board a slave vessel (annotated) Pascoe Grenfell Hill

It's been almost 180 years since Reverend Pascoe Grenfell Hill wrote his memoirs of boarding a Brazilian slaver in southwest Africa. As he kept a private diary of the major events since joining the crew of H. M. S. Cleopatra at Rio de Janeiro, the reader is transported to a world that brings two kinds of surprises: the first kind, born of recognizing things that came before and can still be found, though much changed or as relics of the past. The second, due to the uncomfortable realization of how our world still denies its past; how Western civilization, supposedly more advanced than the rest of the world, still created the conditions for terrible crimes against fellow human beings. This edition, produced by Templo Books, brings over 130 notes seeking to help 21st century readers in knowing the details that Rev. Hill assumes everyone knows. Names, places, geographical features, literature references, and monetary values have been carefully researched, thus allowing a better understanding for those unfamiliar with Brazil, Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa. A major difference from previous editions is the organization of the entries in separate chapters, allowing for a more friendly experience. Small typos were rectified and translations were given to expressions in Latin, Greek, French, Portuguese and Spanish. The index for this version is: IndexA word from the editorRio de JaneiroMauritiusSt. Augustine's BayQuilimaneThe chaseMarch, 26thFriday, March 31stWednesday, April 12thSlave vesselThursday, April 13th (Holy Thursday) April, 14th (Good Friday) April, 15th (Easter Even.) April, 16th (Easter Day) Monday, April 17thTuesday, April 18thWednesday, April 19thThursday, April 20thSunday, April 23rdTuesday, April 25thWednesday, April 26thFriday, April 28thSaturday, April 29thSunday, April 30thMonday, May 1stWednesday, May 3rdThursday, May 4thFriday, May 5thSaturday, May 6thSunday, May 7thTuesday, May 9thThursday, May 11thFriday, May 12thMonday, May 15thTuesday, May 16thThursday, May 18thFriday, May 19thSaturday, May 20thSunday, May 21stWednesday, May 24thSaturday, May 27thSunday, May 28thWednesday, May 31stTuesday, June 1stFriday, June 2ndWynberg, near Cape Town, June 19thConcluding remark