Who is Abdul Rahman, the Prince Among Slaves
Rahman's Background:
Abdul Rahman was born in Futa Jallon, Africa in 1762. Rahman was born into royalty, his father being the king, so when Rahman reached a certain age he was given the task of head of the army. This was very important because in Futa Jallon they had strict laws, structure, and formed a sophisticated society. With this heavy task Rahman had control of two thousand men. Rahman's life was content as he lived in Futa Jallon with his wife and children on their acres and acres of land.
One day when Rahman and his men were on their way back from victory they were ambushed by an enemy tribe, and forced to walk one hundred miles barefoot while chained to the shore. Once they reached the shore they were sold to an English ship for objects such as gun powder, rum, tobacco, and muskets. While on board the ship they were cramped into the bottom of the boat with very little water and food. Many slaves died on board the ship because the conditions were extremely unsanitary.When the ship reached its destination in the Americas the slaves lined up on a doc and were auctioned off the white men. Rahman was sold to Thomas Foster a religious minded business man for $930 along with another slave.
Life Under Foster:
When Futa Jallon first arrived at the plantation he tried to explain to Mr. Foster how he was a prince but Foster mocked him so Rahman gave up. During his first couple weeks in slavery Rahman was stripped of everything that made him who he was as a person his hair which was a sign of power and nobility was cut off. Rahman felt worthless so he ran away, but only to realize after a couple of days that their is no way to return to his old life in Africa and went back to Mr. Foster. After his return Rahman devoted all his energy to the plantation leading it to success in the cotton industry. Mr. Foster heavily relied of Rahman to keep the other slaves in line while completing their work on the fields. Mr. Foster allowed Rahman to marry because he knew that if Rahman had a family on the plantation it would be harder for him to leave.
Fight for Freedom:
One day Rahman had heard news that Mr. Foster slept with one of his daughters and this made him put his whole future in perspective. He realized that this plantation was no place to grow a family, and that when Mr. Foster died his family would be split apart and he would be forced to never see his family again. With this knowledge Rahman took action and wrote to his family back in Futa Jallon to try to get help with freeing him and his family. After finding out that Mr. Foster agreed to his freedom as long as he left the country Rahman started sharing his story with people all over and took advantage of the publicity by starting a fund to buy the freedom of his children. Eventually time ran out and Rahman only reached half of his funding goals. He had to leave his children in America as he sailed to Africa with his wife in hopes of getting enough money there and buying the freedom of their children. Unfortunately Rahman died at the age of sixty- seven shorty after his ship landed. Rahman never returned to Futa Jallon or saw his children.
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