Abstract
Most of the African slaves of Eighteenth Century New Amsterdam (New York) lived and died as foreigners to Christianity. This narrative will encompass the evidence of the thousands of African slaves who maintained the religious practices and beliefs of their native lands despite conversion efforts by slave owners and the efforts of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, formed by the British Crown in the year 1701. In the form of a historical-fiction narrative, this project will utilize fictitious characters and events as a means of blending historical facts and fiction and allow the reader to do more than simply read history. The story is narrated by the main character, who is a second generational African slave born in New Amsterdam and who struggles with the dilemma of being baptized as a Christian by slave owners. This story will also highlight aspects of African indigenous religions as well as a focus on a Muslim slave with family ties to Islam and his refusal to convert to Christianity. This research project which includes character formation, will detail historical events and the responses of those involved. By using a narrative form as a research model, the project is formulated in the format of a short story.
How to Cite
Pagan, R., (2013) “Serving Chitterlins in the Upper Room: A Historical Fiction Narrative on the Religious Conversion of Slaves in Eighteenth Century New York”, Capstone, The UNC Asheville Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship 26(1).
2
Views
3
Downloads