Abina and the Important Men: A Graphic History

Abina describes life at Quamina Eddoo’s house where she and other girls had to work hard, gathering firewood and cleaning. They sometimes cried at night. James Hutton Brew questions if Abina was ever beaten at the house. Abina admits she was beaten and logged (placed or chained in a log) by her previous enslaver, but had only been threatened to be beaten at Eddoo’s house. One such instance was when Eddoo told her to marry Tando (only 10 days after her husband Yaw Awoah left), and she refused. Eddoo sent two men to beat her, and that’s when she decided to run away.

The court takes a recess, and Judge Melton calls the lawyers into his chambers where they discuss the tricky nature of the situation. The judge is trying to uphold British law without overturning Great Britain’s tenuous relationship with the countries they’ve invaded. He acknowledges that Abina’s case could lead to the freeing of more enslaved people, who are vital to the palm oil industry. The lawyers make their cases, but the judge doesn’t want to hear their arguments. They end their discussion for the night.