Works of Solomon Northup - Twelve Years a Slave Ebook Tooltip Ebooks kunnen worden gelezen op uw computer en op daarvoor geschikte e-readers. ( Full edition ) illustrated - annotated

In 1841, Solomon Northup was a free man living with his wife and two children in Saratoga Springs, New York. He earned his living as a carpenter and violin player. One day, he is approached by two men, so-called artists, who drug him and chain him up before selling him into slavery.

Solomon was sent by boat to New Orleans, where he was called “Platt” before being bought by a plantation owner named William Ford. Although he was his slave, Solomon got along well with Ford, who turned out to be a relatively benevolent master. When Solomon proposed a new technique for transporting trees to Ford, saving him time and money, Ford willingly offered him his violin. But the carpenter employed by Ford, John Tibeats, was jealous of Solomon’s success and began to put obstacles in his way, threatening him verbally and then physically. The tensions between Tibeats and Solomon reach a climax when Tibeats hits him and defends himself. In revenge, Tibeats and two of his friends attempt to lynch him. To protect him from the wrath of his carpenter, Ford is finally forced to sell Solomon to Edwin Epps, a cruel and impulsive landlord who believes that his right to mistreat his slaves is authorized by the Bible.

At Epps’ plantation, Solomon collects cotton. Each slave must gather at least 200 pounds (90 kg) or be whipped. However, a young slave named Patsey harvests 500 pounds of cotton a day (about 220 kg). Her beauty and talent caught the attention of her master but made Epps’s wife jealous; she disfavoured her and beat her while her husband raped her regularly. When a disease strikes the cotton, which Epps attributes to a sign from God, the slaveholder rents out his slaves to a nearby plantation for the season while the crops recover. Again, Solomon wins the owner’s favor by asking him to play his violin on various occasions.

When Solomon returns to Epps’ plantation, he tries to use what little money he has been able to collect here and there to convince a former white foreman turned farm labourer to send a letter to his friends in New York. The man agrees and takes the money, before turning Solomon in to Epps. After barely convincing his master that the story was false, Solomon burns the letter that represented his only hope for freedom. At the same time, Patsey’s condition worsens as Epps continues to abuse her. She finally asks Northup for help to commit suicide, which Solomon refuses. One day after Patsey disappears from the plantation, Epps, furious, questions Solomon. When she reappears, explaining that she had just gone to get a piece of soap, Epps orders his men to strip her and tie her to a tree. Encouraged by his wife, he prepares to whip her, but he finally hands the whip to Solomon. Solomon reluctantly obeys, before Epps rips the whip from her hands and beats her violently until she faints from pain.

As Patsey’s back slowly heals, Solomon is assigned to build a pavilion on Epps’ property with a Canadian worker named Bass. He antagonizes Epps when he tells him about his opposition to slavery, but this encourages Solomon to confide in him. He tells him his story and convinces him to write to his friends in the North to inform them of his situation. Bass eventually accepts, although the prospect frightens him.