An Incredible Voyage

It strikes me that as a group we widely criticized John Thornton in The Kongolese Saint Anthony for having excessive historical context in his book that was not specifically tied to his main character, but yet in The Diligent, Robert Harms weaves in as much context as Thornton but the result is far more pleasing to the reader.  Perhaps this is because Harms has interesting characters (unrelated to the main character) that the reader wants to learn more about (I'm thinking of Bulfinch Lambe here!) than the tribal characters of Thornton's Kongo.  Perhaps it is because Harms is more skillful in weaving in portions of the Diligent's voyage alongside its historical context.  At any rate, one does not feel that the book ever leaves the story of the Diligent, whereas in Saint Anthony, one feels that the author is having trouble reaching the story. 

Harms certainly could have slimmed down his historical context, perhaps by eliminating or reducing time spent on such subjects as slavery in France or religious battles in Sao Tome.  On the other hand, those diversions expose certain hypocrisy which is one of the underlying themes of Harms' book.  But by never really abandoning the primary subject matter, the voyage of the Diligent, I think Harms shows us the key element of a microhistory:  looking at a larger history through the perspective of a smaller history.  And above all, the book is a triumph simply because it is fascinating history, with broad revelations such as the extent of the globalization of trade during this period, or interesting facts such as the risks of slaving voyages to the crews who undertook them as well as to the slaves.  Just an outstanding book!

Kongolese St. Anthony

As other people have said, this felt more like a straightforward consumable piece of history meant for the masses than a specialized book - which in my case is quite a good thing! I did find this a little bit more accessible than some of the things that we have been reading over the past few weeks.  I enjoyed the way that he used the history as contextualization for the person, rather than the person being contextualization for the history.

As always, I look at the women first, and I was interested in the possession of Dona Beatriz and how she sort of indirectly provided a catalyst for this particular movement. Something I've noticed about the books that we have read these past few weeks is that while women in history usually aren't as active (signing papers, waging wars, etc.) they are much the 'neck' of society - that is, they are the cause of many of the happenings in men's lives - whether they want to possess them, scorn them, worship them, it's all about the women. Or, maybe to walk a little further into this idea, it's about the IDEA of the woman in relation to the man - as some divine being, a daughter, a mother, a demon, etc.

So I find it interesting that we have so much focus on Dona Beatriz, who is somebody that history would ignore, and though it kind of puts her into that stereotypical position, she does have some sense of agency in that her story gets told.

Saintly Narratives, Devilish Protagonists

John K. Thornton sketches the power struggles at play in the Kingdom of Kongo during the troubled period of the late seventeenth century in order to show us the story of Dona Beatriz. In the wake of nearly several generations of civil war for control of the country, young noble woman Beatriz Kimpa Vita declrares that she was possessed by St. Anthony and used this to assert herself into the political arena at a critical moment. Following the suppression of her Kimpasi societies, a sort of Kongolese naturalistic/monastic order, by Capuchin missionaries she began on her own mission challenging both native customs and the official Christianity professed by the churchmen. Eventually her unorthodox beliefs lead to her being burned at the stake as a witch.

Thornton does a good job at establishing the social and political environment in the first half of the book. We certainly learn much more about the daily life and social structures of the Kongolese from this work than we learned of Peruvian or Iberian peoples from the Cooks. However this raises questions about what exactly this book is about? Dona Beatriz doesn't become the central figure of the narrative until the 5th chapter. I wonder if it might have fit the sources better if the narrative had been told more from the perspective of one of the Monks? But then this presents another problem. If you make someone the central figure of your narrative does that make them the protagonist, and thus also the 'good one' in the story? This seems pretty important from my perspective because of the reservations I had with the Cooks treatment of Francisco, who wasn't the most admirable of characters and yet was clearly the 'hero' of the story. This makes me question how historians should use their sources since these come with their own perspectives, and whether "protagonist creation" is a problem of historians who love too much or those who struggle with framing narratives with limited sources.

Is Kongolese Saint Anthony a Microhistory?

Kongolese Saint Anthony reads to me as much more of a traditional history (for lack of a better term) than a microhistory. While Thornton tells the story through primarily two diaries of Luca da Caltnisetta and Marcellino d’Atri, as well as the writings of Bernardo da Gallo and Lorenzo da Lucca, they tell a much broader story. Most importantly, however, is the way the evidence is used. The microhistories we have read this semester focus on a single subject to illuminate the broader social, political, or cultural realities of the time. Le Roy Ladurie discusses the every-day life of medieval Langudocien peasants through the small community of Montaillou. Ginzburg exposes a lost oral tradition of peasant communities from the cosmos of a sixteenth century miller. The Cooks describe the mentalité of the upper middle class and middling nobility as well as the complex legal system of transatlantic Spain through the story of Francesco Noguerol de Ulloa and his two wives.

Thornton’s book does the opposite. Rather than using a particular event or particular individual to illuminate the history of the period and place, he uses the history of the period and place to illuminate the story of Dona Beatriz and her actions after she was possessed by the spirit of Saint Anthony. For instance, half way into the book (until page 104), we read very little about Dona Beatriz, except for her acceptance and later rejection of the Kimpasi rituals and nganga identity and her unhappiness in married life. This strategy does much for his argument that the Antonian movement was about bringing an end to the political war and strife that fueled the slave trade rather than ending the slave trade per se. But how he uses his sources and the lens through which he tells the story seems very different from the microhistories we have read. 

In addition, Thornton engages his sources much less critically than other historians we have read. How Thornton chooses to use certain diarists over others is lost in the narrative. One might compare Thronton’s sources (although in greater quantity) to those of Davis since they are in many ways participant-observers of the events, but Thornton’s level of engagement is almost non-existent. For instance, when Thornton states that Dona Beatriz felt “shame for what she had come to perceive as her great sins” asked to be rebaptized does not discuss why he thinks that was her motivation (175). Is that the motivation that the priests applied to her? If so, might there be a reason to question such an explanation—such as the diminutive manner with which European men thought about both women and non-Europeans in the 18^th century?

I greatly enjoyed Thornton’s work, and I think he does a good job telling his story, but it reads much differently than the other works that we have read.

Kongo

I agree that much of the book lays out the historical context of the story. It has a long list of characters that can be hard to keep track of. What I appreciated was the opportunity to read a history of Africa during the early colonial, slave trading period. The book tells of a transitory time of language, religion, and culture. I especially enjoyed the etymology.

Did we decide that a micro history has to be about a person? I think everything we have read has had a biographical element to it, but is it necessary? Can micro histories be about events?

Religion and Ritual

This book does provide a lens into the idea of mysticism and the Catholic Church's was against heresy in the African provinces. The biggest misnomer of the imperial governments that carved up Africa was that the inhabitants of Africa were heathens lacking any knowledge because they did not subscribe to the same ideas of religion as the Europeans. What Thornton shows us is that prior to Catholic conversion the Kongolese people did in fact have their own religions, governments and laws. Thornton also gives the reader insight into how the Kongolese people took Catholicism and made it their own much as other Africans did when they were exposed to other forms of religion.

The one person that I was at odds with throughout the entire book was Father Marcellino, who had no respect for the rituals of the Kongolese people. He seemed to come form a place of superiority rather than the humility expected of a monk. His insistence on the King of the Kong removing his mpu stating that if he did not take it off he would be "a heretic, a Jew, and not a Catholic Christian if he does not submit and disobeys by keeping his head covered" (p.66). Much as this priest would not insist on the King of Spain removing his crown, he saw no issue with disrespecting this man. I believe that this is just a small incident but it is one inherent to the colonization of Africa and the disregard that Europeans had for the native people and their rituals.

The possession of Dona Beatriz by Saint Anthony which creates this religious movement was one in a series of possession narratives from this time period. Her illness, "death" and resurrection follows the path that Jesus took and is indicative to the idea that she had become Saint Anthony. The idea of possession either good or evil is a topic that has fascinated people for centuries, and Dona Beatriz's possession is just one of many. The thing I believe that makes her unique is that the movement Antonian movement that was created became quite large whereas in other procession stories the person possessed usually is an outcast with a very small following.

I enjoyed the book and its narrative style made it easy to read and follow even though the story line is not specifically about Dona Beatriz. Instead the main themes seem to be Catholicism and the government of the Kongo rather that Dona Beatriz possession by Saint Anthony and the Antonian movement. But I do believe that it provides the reader a lens to look though that gives a better understanding of late 16th century Kongo and its inhabitants.

Thornton, Trouillot, Hollywood, and Morality? (A Rambling)

The Kongolese Saint Anthony: Dona Beatriz Kimpa Vita and the Antonian Movement, 1684-1706 by John Thornton touches on many varying historical themes that has made it hard for me to focus this post on one thing in particular. As a result, this post may be a bit more of a ramble than I intend, however that’s because I find a lot can be said. In my opinion, his purpose was to render an interesting read while at the same time enlightening the reader as to the ‘other side’ of the slave trade. What were the conditions that led to the mass enslavement by Europeans and who were these people? Judging by Thornton’s introduction and conclusion, it would appear that slavery is central to the books narrative, however after reading it the theme seems to take a backseat. It’s also not really even about Dona Beatriz, for her life is only a small fraction of the topics covered. I suppose then we must ask ourselves, as we have with the other works, what is the purpose and importance of the work?

Perhaps this is where microhistories shine. Many, if not all, of the ones we have read focus on the ‘outliers’. Those who cannot speak for themselves and thus must be given voice through other means. Those, as Michel Trouillot would put it, have been silenced.  The peasants, women, Africans, unorthodox, Blacks, poor, and “inconsequential” shine through the microhistories we have read. These authors have draped a thematic vale over their work so thin that in some cases it’s easy to miss. Applying ‘larger’ historical questions to their minute narratives yet ever so slightly nudging the reader in that direction rather than leading them up to the alter. This has made me wonder, are microhistories simply the historically professionalization of Hollywood methodology? Beyond the simple narrative structure, Hollywood has a history of attempting to apply large themes to small stories, yet many times crossing over into ‘Great Man History’ or biography. The story of Dona Beatriz reminded me heavily of the 2009 film Agora with Rachel Weisz. Both tell this story of great transition, an outspoken women, the confrontation of Old World Paganism and rise of Christianity, class, and civil war. The main difference being the professional scholarly integrity of the works we have read, which is big enough of a difference in my opinion to warrant them differently, yet the methodology of conveying the ‘thesis’ is still very similar.

Thornton’s work heavily reminded me of Michel Trouillot and his work Silencing the Past: The Power and Production of History. Both are American historians who write about the silenced in history. Whereas Thornton’s specialization is in African History, Trouillot is Haitian. Both write for an American audience in trying to influence popular conception of their respective historical specialties. They are trying to instill a connection in the (Presumably American or European) reader so they have a better understanding of a specific time and place in history. Thornton’s assumed supplementary reading for the reader appears to me to be a general textbook understanding of Kongonese, and slave trade, history. He attempts to create a connection between the reader and the Kongonese common folk, including but not limited to Dona Beatriz. This is most palpable in his utilization of Christianity as sort of a ‘free play’ card. In the introduction he even states how surprised the reader may be that the Kongonese people were heavily Christian. In some ways it feels initially like low-hanging fruit in creating such a relationship, however as the story progresses its importance becomes immediately relevant. Religion was a huge factor in these events and further illustrates the spring of his sources. Again, the silenced speak to us through those who haven’t been, in this case the Europeans and Italian Capuchin.

  
With the religious overtones comes an interesting aspect of Thornton’s work that I haven’t really noticed in the other works we read. There seemed to be a sort of para-religious moral overtone to it. The themes of greed, corruption, humanism, and altruism seep deep into the work in ways our other authors have not. (Thornton, 53-54, 138) Part of this must come from the conclusions of Thornton’s religious sources. But if this is the case, he seems to lack or consciously ignore the historical filter perhaps in an attempt to tailor towards general audience’s interests. I feel as if it goes beyond this, I feel that if Thornton’s sources did introduce such moral overtones, he ultimately made them his own. At times, in regards to the moral overtones, it seemed as if I was reading a piece written by an ancient Greek historians rather than one of the 21^st century. Thornton’s personal standpoint is anything but opaque. Perhaps this is simply an instance of a ‘historian loving too much’? In any case, if we are to believe that microhistories attempt to provide a more intimate narrative of history, one that conveys the minute and the large simultaneously, Thornton’s work is a huge success. Coming from somebody who has next to no knowledge of Kongonese history or the opposite end of the triangle slave trade, Thornton helped immensely.