CAPITEIN: A CRITICAL STUDY OF AN 18TH CENTURY AFRICAN
By: PRAH, KWESI KWAA
ISBN: 9780865433311
$29.95
Capitein's claim to fame or infamy derives from his thesis that slavery is not contrary to Christian principles. Slavery has long been banished from human social intercourse. Capitein continues to be remembered as the African who defended slavery.
The resurgence of interest in Capitein is also partly due to this current debate and its political undercurrent. Was Capitein such an irredeemable devil's advocate? "How could he betray his roots so thoroughly?" it is often asked. Lobengula in 19th century Southern Africa was tricked into a drunken stupor to "sign" away lands to colonialists. For Lobengula, it took alcohol to do the trick; for Capitein, was it not the over-kill of a dominant intellectual culture? Are the "black skin white masks" of today seriously different from Capitein?
The resurgence of interest in Capitein is also partly due to this current debate and its political undercurrent. Was Capitein such an irredeemable devil's advocate? "How could he betray his roots so thoroughly?" it is often asked. Lobengula in 19th century Southern Africa was tricked into a drunken stupor to "sign" away lands to colonialists. For Lobengula, it took alcohol to do the trick; for Capitein, was it not the over-kill of a dominant intellectual culture? Are the "black skin white masks" of today seriously different from Capitein?