| The African | |
| Author: | Harold Courlander |
| Publisher: | Crown Publishers |
| Published: | 1967 |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
The African is a 1967 novel by Harold Courlander. By 1978 14,000 hard-cover and 130,000 paperback copies of the book were sold.[1]
A twelve-year-old African boy, Hwesuhunu, is kidnapped from his homeland by French slave traders,[2] and endures the terrors of the Middle Passage and being sold into slavery. Hwesuhunu is brought to the island of Saint Lucia, and is later sold to a Georgia plantation for US$100.
He is assigned the new name of Wes Hunu, and spends years as a slave before escaping and living for a time with Native Americans. Hwesuhunu goes to Freedom Island, a refuge located in a swamp, that sheltered escaped slaves. But the refuge is governed by a cruel bully, so Hwesuhunu leaves in search of a better home.
The novel became the subject of controversy when it was revealed that author Alex Haley had plagiarized sections of The African for his 1976 novel Roots[3] which later was made into a 1977 television miniseries, a 1979 sequel miniseries, and a 2016 television miniseries remake.[4]
In 1978, Haley paid Harold Courlander and his publisher $650,000 (~$ in) as out-of-court settlement of the lawsuit.[5]