William Wells Brown’s Transatlantic Abolitionism in Three Years in Europe
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This paper discusses how the nineteenth century American abolitionist William Wells Brown developed his transatlantic abolitionist rhetoric based on his travels in Europe. By closely examining Three Years in Europe (1852) and its American edition, The American Fugitive in Europe (1855), this paper explores how Brown’s travelogue served as his political platform to rally international support for the American abolitionist movement. The first half of the paper explores the contrasting rhetorical strategies in the original and revised editions of his travel writing. Represented in the two different versions of Three Years in Europe, Brown’s rhetorical shift reflects the author’s evolution from an exiled fugitive slave to a freed black abolitionist upon his return to America in 1854. The second half of this paper analyzes how the text transforms from a traditional travelogue into a strategic abolitionist tool by drawing on Paul Gilroy’s concept of the “Black Atlantic.” Brown’s Black Atlantic consciousness shaped his creative intertextuality, blending documentary materials with works by European antislavery writers and reformers. Ultimately, I argue that his transatlantic perspective challenged nation-centered models of abolitionism and thus envisioned a hybrid, dynamic form of African American identity in a global context.
Abstract
This paper discusses how the nineteenth century American abolitionist William Wells Brown developed his transatlantic abolitionist rhetoric based on his travels in Europe. By closely examining Three Years in Europe (1852) and its American edition, The American Fugitive in Europe (1855), this paper explores how Brown’s travelogue served as his political platform to rally international support for the American abolitionist movement. The first half of the paper explores the contrasting rhetorical strategies in the original and revised editions of his travel writing. Represented in the two different versions of Three Years in Europe, Brown’s rhetorical shift reflects the author’s evolution from an exiled fugitive slave to a freed black abolitionist upon his return to America in 1854. The second half of this paper analyzes how the text transforms from a traditional travelogue into a strategic abolitionist tool by drawing on Paul Gilroy’s concept of the “Black Atlantic.” Brown’s Black Atlantic consciousness shaped his creative intertextuality, blending documentary materials with works by European antislavery writers and reformers. Ultimately, I argue that his transatlantic perspective challenged nation-centered models of abolitionism and thus envisioned a hybrid, dynamic form of African American identity in a global context.