May 1803 will forever be remembered in history as one moment in time that showed the courage of the igbo race in the face of subjection.COMMEMORATING THE IGBOS WHO CHOSE FREEDOM OVER ENSLAVEMENT.May 1803 will forever be remembered in history as one moment in time that showed the courage of the igbo race in the face of subjection.
During the transatlantic slave trade from the Americas to the ports and states of Nigeria, the Igbos were revered because they were industrious, proud, independent and performed their duties with little or no supervision.
As such, John Couper and Thomas Spalding purchased Igbos for export to the US to work on plantations in Simons Island.
Each was to be sold for rate. Among those taken captives were 75 lgbo men.
When they came out from the ship, they were exposed to the harsh reality of the slavery they are about to be subjected to.
Size : 4ft by 8ft
Rather than head to the arrival port, one of the Igbo chiefs taken captive gives a directive and suddenly, they turn back to the Dunbar creek singing that THE WATER SPIRITS BROUGHT US, THE WATER SPIRIT WILL TAKE US HOME.
The song as accounted by Roswell King, an overseer of the Pierce Butler plantation is The Water Spirit brought us, the Water Spirit will take us home where they met their death.
Another account by a slave dealer William Mein notes that 10 to 12 of them drowned while some were salvaged by bounty hunters who got $10 per head. Some of those who were recovered were taken to Cannon’s Point on St. Simons Island and Sapelo Island.
Locals who stay around there claim that the place is being haunted by the Igbos who drowned.
Till date, the Igbo landing is seen as a historic and brave act in the African-American folklore.
@UGOOCHUKWUEMERIE
Model Wears – Igbo Landing : UGO FW 23
Written Filmed Produced by – Obuineke & Ugochukwuchimerie
Styling Assistant – Ogbuagu Somto / Ibeneme Chinaechere
Voices – Uchegbue Chinenye Uloma / Anyigbuo Chidimma / Obuineke / Ugochukwuchime
References
Roswell King to Pierce Butler, 13 May 1803 – Letter- https://igbolanding220.com
Mein Mackay & Co. to Pierce Butler, 24 May 1803 – Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Butler Family Papers 1447, Series II, Box 6, Folder 27, 24 May 1803 (ALS) from Savannah [NB: written in the hand of William Mein; Mein & Mackay were a merchant firm based in Savannah, Georgia]. True copy, Douglas B. Chambers (2013)
Images
Map of Saint Simons Island- Library of Congress
Location of Igbo Landing – Jud McCranie
https://www.nps.gov/fofr/learn/historyculture/igbo-landing.htm
