A King and his Judicial Court, Sierra Leone, 1764
In a chapter on the trade of West Africa, various regions are described, including Sierra Liona [sic]. Based on unidentified sources the author gives an overview of the people and customs of the area. For this image, titled Roy qui rend la justice (King who dispenses/administers justice), the text notes that the people in this area only enslave people who they capture in warfare and criminals or evil-doers. The king is the chief judge; he chooses several counselors to help him decide different cases among his subjects who plead their own causes/or defend themselves. . . but so that the judges cannot show favoritism, the litigants are required to wear masks over their faces (pp. 166-67; our translation).
Image Title
A King and his Judicial Court, Sierra Leone, 1764
RegID
SI-OB-569
Date
1764
Title
A King and his Judicial Court, Sierra Leone, 1764
Source
M. Chambon, Le commerce de l'Amerique par Marseille (Avignon, 1764), vol. 2, plate X, facing p. 166. (Copy in the John Carter Brown Library at Brown University)
Language
French
Item sets
Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture
Spatial Coverage
Africa--Rivers
Reproduced In
M. Chambon, Le commerce de l'Amerique par Marseille (Avignon, 1764), vol. 2, plate X, facing p. 166
Researchers
Handler, Jerome; Tuite, Michael; Randall Ericson; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Identifier
JCB_15102-4