Former Church Army Evangelist Releases Slavery Book

As Britain marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, Chigor Chike, a former Church Army evangelist, has written about the true stories of four freed slaves in his new book, Voices from Slavery: The Life and Beliefs of African Slaves in Britain.

Drawing from several different sources including comprehensive biographies as well as collections of letters, Chike pieces together the attitude and beliefs of Sancho, Gronniosaw, Equiano and Cugoano, four African men who were sold into slavery.

Told through their own words, the stories present firsthand accounts of life as a slave and then as a free man during the 18th century. The former slaves give their personal views on a wide range of topics, including Christianity, God, humanity and the slave trade.

"(The book) looks at the human side of slavery and the slave trade," Chike says. "Unlike other books which focus on statistics or the large numbers of people sold or killed, this book focuses on four individuals, highlighting how they are made into slaves, how their enslavement affects them, how they struggle for survival, their beliefs and values."

Chike, a theologian, offers his personal commentary throughout to provide a more modern perspective on the issues explored within the book.

"The book reveals the black Africans as visionaries and highlights their often underestimated contribution toward the abolition of slavery," Chike says. "Their stories resonate with contemporary issues in our world, posing questions about identity and culture in multi-ethnic communities in Britain today, how Christian faith enlightens debates about the place of religion in national life and invites the exploration of similarities between slavery and modern racism."

Born in Nigeria, Chike has lived in Britain since 1992 and was commissioned as a Church Army evangelist in 1999. He holds theology degrees from the universities of Oxford and Gloucestershire. He currently resides in East London where he works as a Church of England minister.