Chocolate Islands: Cocoa, Slavery, and Colonial Africa

Posted on 03 May 2018 by Catherine Higgs

In Chocolate Islands Cocoa, Slavery, and Colonial Africa, Catherine Higgs traces the early twentieth century journey of the Englishman Joseph Burtt to the Portuguese colony of S o Tom and Pr ncipe the chocolate islands through Angola and Mozambique, and finally to British Southern Africa Burtt had been hired by the chocolate firm Cadbury Brothers Limited to determine if the cocoa it was buying from the islands had been harvested by slave laborers forcibly recruited from Angola, an allegation that became one of the grand scandals of the early colonial era Burtt spent six months on S o Tom and Pr ncipe and a year in Angola His five month march across Angola in 1906 took him from innocence and credulity to outrage and activism and ultimately helped change labor recruiting practices in colonial Africa This beautifully written and engaging travel narrative draws on collections in Portugal, the United Kingdom, and Africa to explore British and Portuguese attitudes toward work, slavery, race, and imperialism In a story still familiar a century after Burtt s sojourn, Chocolate Islands reveals the idealism, naivety, and racism that shaped attitudes toward Africa, even among those who sought to improve the conditions of its workers. Read Chocolate Islands: Cocoa, Slavery, and Colonial Africa by Catherine Higgs – kino-fada.fr I felt frustrated the entire time I was reading this I never quite figured out if the problem was with me or the book Regardless, I can say with certainty that I do feel disappointed in the book on two counts 1 I read this book because it was selected as our group read for S o Tom and Principe at my Africa group unfortunately it did not convey very much about life there 2 this is a non fiction book but does that mean there shouldn t be character development I feel like the author I felt frustrated the entire time I was reading this I never quite figured out if the problem was with me or the book Regardless, I can say with certainty that I do feel disappointed in the book on two counts 1 I read this book because it was selected as our group read for S...The stars and planets lined up in perfect order to bring this amazing history book to me, an avid Africa reader, at exactly the right time The older I get theI love to read non fiction no time for the made up stuff I belong to book group Tour d Afrique that reads books about the countries in A Z order I was woefully ignorant of Principe begins with P and the Portuguese colonial possessions Sao Tome, Angola and Mozambique Although the book is an academic account of Cadbury Company s The stars and planets lined up in perfect order to bring this amazing history book to me, an avid Africa reader, at exactly the right time The older I get theI love to read non fiction no time for the made up stuff I belong to book group Tour d Afrique that reads books about the countries in A Z order I was woefully ignorant of Principe begins with P and the Portuguese colonial possessions Sao Tome, Angola and Mozambique Although the...Chocolate Islands traces the journey of Joseph Burtt, an Englishman, hired by the Cadbury brothers to determine if the cocoa plantations were using slaves to harvest and process the cocoa beans Burtt traveled to Sao Tome, Principe, Angola, with a short trip to Mozambique and South Africa ...well written and an easy read, but some how devoid of significant information how can you write a book on slavery in the cocoa plantations and not really say anything about the life of the slaves old fas...This is an excellent history of a complicated time It is a scholary but readable treatment I read a scholarly works on a regular basis, but this is not my specific field of expertise I learned all sorts of nuances about labor practices ...Well worth a read if you re going to Sao Tome, or very interested in colonial era chocolate production.S o Tom and Pr ncipe the chocolate islands through Angola and Mozambique, and finally to British Southern Africa Group read with Great African Reads.Thoughts coming shortlyIt s a compelling topic with an interesting conclusion, as evidence of slavery in the chocolate plantations used by Cadbury is presented and then buried and turned into a big political fight Certainly it s an important subject, with some good philosophical ...

English
03 May 2018

Catherine Higgs