Michael Gomez’s Exchanging Our Country Marks weaves together various strands of the historical record to create a comprehensive history of American slavery. In this fusion of history, anthropology, and sociology, Gomez relies heavily on primary sources, such as newspaper ads for runaway slaves in colonial America.
This article provides a firsthand account of the African and African-American experiences during the eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth centuries, combining slave runaway accounts from newspapers with individual journals, church records, and previous slave narratives.
Gomez’s work discusses the cultural exchange between Africans and Europeans that took place in the early years of American slavery. He argues that the process of cultural exchange was a two-way street, with both Africans and Europeans learning from and adapting to each other’s cultures. This process of cultural exchange led to the development of a unique African-American culture.
Gomez also explores the idea of resistance among slaves. He argues that slaves resisted their condition in many ways, including fleeing their plantations, sabotaging their master’s property, and openly defying orders. Gomez contends that African Americans were able to preserve their African heritage despite the brutal conditions of slavery.
Overall, Exchanging Our Country Marks is a well-researched and insightful look at the history of American slavery. Gomez’s use of primary sources gives the reader a unique insight into the lives of slaves in America. The book is an important contribution to our understanding of the African-American experience.
In other words, Gomez does not simply accept the commonly-held beliefs about slavery, but he questions them and offers new theories backed by evidence. For example, one such assumption is that “the condition of slavery superseded all others.” He further posits that African Americans developed a collective identity based on race rather than ethnicity. This movement can only be properly understood when taking into account both the external and internal influences on social relations within this community.
In spite of the fact that Gomez’s methodology and use of sources are both exemplary, this book is not without its flaws. One major problem is that in his attempt to write a comprehensive history of African Americans, Gomez often loses focus and strays from his main argument. Another issue is the author’s use of jargon and highly technical language, which can be difficult to follow for readers who are not familiar with the field of African-American studies.
Despite these flaws, “Exchanging Our Country Marks” is an important and groundbreaking work that sheds new light on the formation of African-American identity. Gomez’s use of primary sources is particularly impressive, and his analysis provides valuable insights into the process by which slave cultures were transformed into a new African-American identity. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of slavery or the formation of African-American identity.
Gomez’s study revealed how African slaves created a unique identity in the New World, blending together various African cultures. He highlights how difficult the Middle Passage was for enslaved Africans, many of whom attempted or committed suicide. Gomez also explains that slaves did not accept their enslavement and often tried to escape. The millions of Africans brought to America did not see themselves as one homogeneous group; they were Asante, Yoruba, or Igbo first and foremost, their lives shaped by their village or nation of origin.
In the New World, these cultural differences were initially suppressed. Gomez argues that it was not until the early nineteenth century that African Americans began to reclaim their African heritage. This process of “re-Africanization” was slow and took place over many generations. It was only in the late twentieth century that a strong African American identity began to emerge.
Gomez’s book is important for understanding the development of African American culture. It provides a detailed account of the lives of enslaved Africans and how they maintained their cultural identities in spite of great adversity. It also sheds light on the little-known history of “re-Africanization” in America. Overall, “Exchanging Our Country Marks” is a valuable contribution to our understanding of the African American experience.
Gomez wrote a chapter on Muslims who had a religious identity connecting them to Arabia and Palestine rather than their native land. The Muslims brought with them a different idea about themselves and their world. As Gomez noted, the societies of West Africa also had their own histories.
The slave trade shaped these societies during the four centuries of its operation, but it’s important to remember that traders arrived at a particular moment in history. Their arrival certainly influenced what happened next, but it didn’t create West African history from scratch. Gomez provides an understanding of the events that took place before, during, and after the slave trade.
The slave trade did not just involve the transport of humans from one place to another. It also involved the exchange of cultural practices and ideas. For example, the Muslim slaves brought with them a different understanding of time, space, and religious practices. They also introduced new words into the language spoken in West Africa.
The slave trade was a period of great change for the societies of both West Africa and the Americas. The changes that took place during this time affected the cultures of both regions in lasting ways.
Gomez’s book begins with Denmark Vesey’s 1822 “experiment” of creating a community in Charleston, South Carolina that was unifying for all African Americans. Vesey gathered people who followed the Bible to try and create this community. Even though Vesey urged his followers to unify, they still organized themselves based on ethnicity with an Igbo column and Gullah column (3). Though unsuccessful, Vesy’s experiment did not go unnoticed.
What Vesey started continued in other ways, as Gomez goes on to show. Other attempts at forming a cohesive African American community based on shared religious beliefs also failed. But the fact that such attempts were made at all speaks to the strength of the desire for connection among African Americans. This desire was often frustrated by thereality of living in a racially divided society, where even within black communities, there were divisions based on skin color, hair texture, and other physical features that could be used to distinguish between groups.
In spite of these divisions, there was still a strong sense of solidarity among African Americans. This is evidenced by the fact that when one group was attacked, others would come to their aid, as happened when free blacks in Boston were attacked by white mobs in 1836. African Americans also came to the aid of fugitive slaves, helping them to escape to freedom.
The African American community was further strengthened by the establishment of black churches and other institutions. These provided a sense of stability and community for black people who were often living in uncertain and dangerous circumstances.
Gomez concludes his book with a discussion of the possible future of African American unity. He argues that while there may always be divisions within the community, there is also a strong sense of solidarity that can be used to build a more united future.