In the summer of 1627; Barbary corsairs raided Iceland; killing dozens of people and abducting close to four hundred to sell into slavery in Algiers. Among those taken was the Lutheran minister Reverend Olafur Egilsson. Reverend Olafur (born in the same year as William Shakespeare and Galileo Galilei) wrote The Travels to chronicle his experiences both as a captive and as a traveler across Europe (he journeyed alone from Algiers to Copenhagen in an attempt to raise funds to ransom the Icelandic captives that remained behind). He was a keen observer; and the narrative is filled with a wealth of detail―social; political; economic; religious―about both the Maghreb and Europe. It is also a moving story on the human level: we witness a man enduring great personal tragedy and struggling to reconcile such calamity with his understanding of God. The Travels is the first-ever English translation of the Icelandic text. Until now; the corsair raid on Iceland has remained largely unknown in the English speaking world. To give a clearer sense of the extraordinary events connected with that raid; this edition of The Travels includes not only Reverend Olafur's first-person narrative but also a collection of contemporary letters describing both the events of the raid itself and the conditions under which the enslaved Icelanders lived. The book has Appendices containing background information on the cities of Algiers and Salé in the seventeenth century; on Iceland in the seventeenth century; on the manuscripts accessed for the translation; and on the book's early modern European context. The combination of Reverend Olafur's narrative; the letters; and the material in the Appendices provides a first-hand; in-depth view of early seventeenth-century Europe and the Maghreb equaled by few other works dealing with the period. We are pleased to offer it to the wider audience that an English edition allows.
#688907 in Books The University Press of Kentucky 2011-03-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x .69 x 5.98l; 1.23 #File Name: 0813130018248 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Great look into Jim Crow historyBy J4y_3l3cTI really enjoyed reading this title as it provided a glimpse into history from WW1 up until then end of the civil rights movement of 1964. It gives you a look into race relations in the south and how a lot of southerners viewed and interacted with African Americans; how media manipulated the minds of Europeans and how through these mediums were able to maintain the ideology of white supremacy. In all it's a great read if you are looking for that missing link between emancipation and the civil rights generation.24 of 27 people found the following review helpful. A compelling look at the childhoods of white children in the Jim Crow SouthBy CustomerDurocher approaches the subject of racism in the Jim Crow South from an undeniably important angle - through the upbringing of white children. What she presents is difficult to swallow because it reveals a culture that permeates the sensitive minds of children in a profoundly harmful manner. It is a culture that glorified lynching as wholesome; family fun on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Children could even go home with a souvenir: a finger or ear; perhaps. When we learn about lynching; we often neglect to think about children in this regard. Yes; grown-ups were intolerant and violent; but it is not common to think that there were children tugging at their pants; curious to learn what it is that their parents were so excited about.Unfortunately; the pervasiveness of the racist culture ran deeper than Sunday afternoons in the park. Every aspect of a child's life was controlled by white grown-ups: at home; in schools; in advertising; etc. This system served to perpetuate racism through generations of white children. White southerners were excellent at controlling this system and used it to manipulate the minds of their youth in an effort to cling to a culture of white supremacy.Durocher delves into all of these topics and allows the reader to peer into a world where we are forced to consider the repercussions of such a society and the damage that it caused not only to white children; but to the nation as a whole. She has presented a thorough and evocative case study that will leave the reader surprised; repulsed; and; most importantly; reflective.11 of 13 people found the following review helpful. The Socialization of White ChildrenBy ANTIONEThis book showed how children were indoctrinated with the culture of White Supremacy and that the system had to be protected at all costs. Excellent in showing the effects of how such a way of life was very destructive.
