A review by misspalah
The Free Negress Elisabeth by Cynthia McLeod

challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

4.0

Mrs Reijdenius sometimes realises how bored I am and invites me downstairs to join her for tea. She is curious about everything! The conversation took a strange turn the other day. She thought that I was a slave and said: 'News reaches us here from time to time that slaves are mis-treated, but if you are anything to go by such rumours are untrue.' I didn't understand her and said: 'No, it's quite true, many slaves are subjected to dreadful abuse, lashed for little if any reason and sometimes killed.' But you seem to be prosperous, well dressed, able to read and write, travel to the Netherlands.' I answered indignantly: 'But I am not a slave!' No! she screeched. What are you then? You are black after all!' I was speechless. I looked at the woman and thought to myself: How can I explain such matters to an uninformed Dutch woman?

Mrs Reijdenius, the majority of black people in my country are indeed slaves, but I am not one of them. As circumstances would have it, my family was liberated from slavery and my mother had become a free woman before I was born,' I said 'Oh? Is that possible? I see. But you can't change the colour of your skin.

Don't people treat you like a slave?' No, I can't change the colour of my skin, and some people prefer to treat me like a slave for that reason. That is precisely why I'm here, I answered curtly, but the woman was unstoppable: 'Oh, so the majority of blacks are indeed slaves. But are the reports about mishandling and abuse genuine or mere gossip?' I lost my temper and barked: 'Slaves they may be, but do you know the reason why? Because white people, especially Hollanders, sail from Amsterdam to Africa where they buy negroes. They then transport them to the colonies where they set them to work on the plantations, like animals.'

• Elisabeth’s Diary : The Free Negress Elisabeth by Cynthia Mc Leod

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The story of Elisabeth Samson, The free negress in Suriname was researched and compiled accordingly by Cynthia MC Leod. She went through so many Office of Public Records (OPR) and Old Archive of Suriname to get many references and fact checking on this prominent figure in Surinamese History. While i wondered why the author did not just write non fiction book after she has concluded her research, i am okay that the book was in a historical fiction genre. The author claimed that all characters written in this book were derived from real people in the history and her imagination did not overpowered what she intended to write about Elisabeth. That being said, the book was divided into 4 parts : The Court Case , Elisabeth’s Diary, Elisabeth Samson and Carl Otto Creutz, and The Wedding. The first part narrated how Elisabeth reconciled her identity as a free woman but a Negress nonetheless in Suriname Society. She was raised a Christian, learned how to write and read, has a black slaves that served her and she was adored by her sister(s) and brother in law who was a white man that took up a role of her father as she’s growing up. BUT this alone caused it to get to her head as Elisabeth perceived herself free and equal to her white counterparts, not many would have thought the same. Elisabeth were forced to exile to Holland when Mr. Van Meel claimed Elisabeth of making an offensive remarks towards the governer. The decision that has been set without fair judgment and bias panels were used purposely to put an example that no black people in the society despite being free should criticised white people and must be aware of their status as a second class citizens. The second part, we followed Elisabeth Samson’s journey to Holland. I have to admit that this is my favorite part out of the 4 parts because she is so unapologetically blunt towards an ignorant remarks that she got from dutch people she encountered whether in the parties that she attended or when she went to meet her lawyers to get her exile orders cancelled so that she can return to Suriname. She was resourceful, take no-nonsense and is not ashamed when she knew she had to be opportunist to get what she wanted. The third part, it summarized the life that Elisabeth has with Carl Otto Creutz. She forgo her dream of getting married to Carl , simply because its not possible. Carl is a white man and already married at that point so she settled by being his mistress. She immersed herself in the plantation business, prided herself as one of the benevolent slave masters in Suriname (if you feed them well and provided comfortable shelter, they will not run away) and owned many properties that acquired from her own inheritance. Being a business savvy, she always try to build connection and find any chances to expand and build her establishment. The only thing she got denied of is having her own kids. She tried with Carl several times but it was not meant to be. Last but not least is the Wedding chapter but she was not married to Carl. Carl died before that even happened. Elisabeth tried again the marriage prospect with another white man 20 years younger than her , Christoph Polycarpus Braband. Attracted with the promise that his debt will be cleared and possibility of getting inherited Elisabeth’s property once she died, Braband agreed. Multiple objection by the colonist law and several petitions were sent to object the inter marriage but eventually it did fail to materialize  simply because Braband died. To add salt to her wounds, the councillors of the church looked directly at her and said Man proposes, God Disposes. Elisabeth then married legally to Hermanus Daniel Zobre with the hope that she will be invited to the palace and attending other functions as now she is a wife to a white man, she’s a wealthy business woman and she owned several plantations only to find out that she was still being excluded. They invited her husband but not her. The day, she got invited she suffered stomach pain which at the end of the day become the cause of her death. All her properties were divided according to her will which her husband and her sister is the biggest inheritors, but long after she’s gone - research indicated that her wealth’s was now in white hands. Honestly, this book has been an intimate revelation,  heart wrenching and eye opening story about Elisabeth Samson - The Free Negress that lived in Suriname during 18th centuries. She was born free , she was never enslaved yet the treatment and discrimination that she encountered were still the same. She was part of the system that justifies slavery in Suriname and be with a man that hunted runaway slaves as a job yet she still treated those who were property a bit better than other slave owners. She survived her ordeals of being undermined, overlooked and outcasted but deep down still longed for an acceptance and inclusion of an upper society in Suriname. Her skills as business owner was validated but it was no use when they could not see past of her skin color. If this is in your TBR, you might want to bump it up to your next read.