Books and Arts; Book Review;Slavery in Africa；Gathered in the marketplace；
文艺；书评；非洲奴隶制；汇集于集市；

The Last Slave Market: Dr John Kirk and the Struggle to End the African Slave Trade. By Alastair Hazell.
《最后的奴隶市场：John Kirk博士和终结非洲奴隶贸易的斗争》作者：Alastair Hazell。

The standard line on Victorians is that they were bad for Africa. In a multitude of ways that was true. Yet the irony is that English-speaking Africa today (in its respect for elders, thirst for education, attitude to criminals, its piety and primness) is probably more Victorian than anywhere else in the world. The journey that African boys now make from village to heaving cities has a Dickensian feel; not David Copperfield but David Odhiambo. And why are Anglican and Presbyterian churches still the pillar of so many African communities? Weren’t these de facto assemblies of colonialism? Up to a point. As Alastair Hazell reminds the reader in this compelling new history, the Victorians were also responsible for ending the slave trade in Africa. For that, and for the evangelism that followed, their influence has outlasted that of the Marxists and pan-Africanists.

人们普遍的看法是，维多利亚时期的英国人对非洲起了消极的作用。从很多方面来看确实如此。而讽刺的是，今天，非洲英语使用地区的维多利亚时代特色也许比世界上其他任何地方都更为明显。这里的人们尊敬长者，渴求教育，严惩罪犯，虔诚拘谨。如今，非洲男孩从乡村到大都市的经历很有些狄更斯笔下人物的味道，相对于大卫·科波菲尔，他们的经历更似David Odhiambo（David Odhiambo: 肯尼亚裔作家，后移居加拿大）。为何英国国教和基督教长老会依然在众多非洲社区扮演着支柱的角色？它们实际上难道不是殖民主义的集会吗？也不完全如此。Alastair Hazell的这部吸引读者眼球的历史新作引起人们重新的思考，维多利亚时代也曾对终结非洲奴隶贸易做出贡献。由于这一点，加上紧随其后的福音传道，维多利亚时代英国人的影响比马克思主义者和泛非洲主义者更为深远。

...