Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage

Set on a slave ship in 1830, Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage opposes the political model of Captain Ebenezer Falcon, who incarnates the conquering spirit and ruthless mercantile culture of the United States, to the political model of the Allmuseri, an African tribe of which forty members are shackl...

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Main Author: Raphaël Lambert
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association Française d'Etudes Américaines 2015-11-01
Series:Transatlantica
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7400
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author Raphaël Lambert
author_facet Raphaël Lambert
author_sort Raphaël Lambert
collection DOAJ
description Set on a slave ship in 1830, Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage opposes the political model of Captain Ebenezer Falcon, who incarnates the conquering spirit and ruthless mercantile culture of the United States, to the political model of the Allmuseri, an African tribe of which forty members are shackled in the hold. Presented as pacifist and egalitarian, the Allmuseri will prove as bellicose and self-serving as their oppressors once in control of the ship. This essay demonstrates that both political models are in fact similar in nature as they have Utopian foundations whose ideals their proponents could never live up to and yet still claim to live for.
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spelling doaj-art-b5bdb562abab4c838fcbca245e1cedea2025-01-30T10:44:23ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662015-11-01110.4000/transatlantica.7400Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle PassageRaphaël LambertSet on a slave ship in 1830, Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage opposes the political model of Captain Ebenezer Falcon, who incarnates the conquering spirit and ruthless mercantile culture of the United States, to the political model of the Allmuseri, an African tribe of which forty members are shackled in the hold. Presented as pacifist and egalitarian, the Allmuseri will prove as bellicose and self-serving as their oppressors once in control of the ship. This essay demonstrates that both political models are in fact similar in nature as they have Utopian foundations whose ideals their proponents could never live up to and yet still claim to live for.https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7400transatlantic slave trademanifest destinyPuritanismexceptionalismutopiaheterotopia
spellingShingle Raphaël Lambert
Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage
Transatlantica
transatlantic slave trade
manifest destiny
Puritanism
exceptionalism
utopia
heterotopia
title Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage
title_full Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage
title_fullStr Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage
title_full_unstemmed Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage
title_short Political Principles and Ideologies in Charles Johnson’s Middle Passage
title_sort political principles and ideologies in charles johnson s middle passage
topic transatlantic slave trade
manifest destiny
Puritanism
exceptionalism
utopia
heterotopia
url https://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7400
work_keys_str_mv AT raphaellambert politicalprinciplesandideologiesincharlesjohnsonsmiddlepassage