Global InformationWilliam Ansah Sessarakoo information
William Ansah Sessarakoo | |
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| Born | c. 1736 Anomabo |
| Died | c. 1770 |
| Occupation(s) | Public figure, diplomat, slave trader |
| Known for | Traveling to England as the "Royal African" |
William Ansah Sessarakoo (c. 1736 – 1770), a prominent 18th-century Fante royal and diplomat, best known for his enslavement in the West Indies and diplomatic mission to England. He was both prominent among the Fante people and influential among Europeans concerned with the transatlantic slave trade.
After his father, John Corrente, sent Ansah's brother to France, he sent Ansah to England to gain an education, curry favour with the British, and serve as his eyes and ears in Europe. The ship captain entrusted with Ansah's transport, however, instead sold him into slavery in Barbados before reaching England.[1]
Years later, a free Fante trader discovered Ansah in Barbados and quickly alerted John Corrente of his son's fate. Corrente petitioned the British to free Ansah, and the British Royal African Company emancipated Ansah and transported him to England. In England on 1748, Ansah was received as a prince and gained the respect of London's high society. Most notably, he watched a live performance of Oroonoko, and, much to the audience's surprise, fled the theatre in tears. The play depicted a wrongly enslaved African prince who likely reminded Ansah much of himself.
Upon returning to Anomabo, Ansah took up work as a writer at Cape Coast Castle, the primary British fortification on the Gold Coast. After leaving Cape Coast on bad terms, Ansah worked as a slave trader. The details of his death are unknown.
- ^ Pestana, Carla Gardina (2009). Protestant Empire: Religion and the Making of the British Atlantic World. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.