'SLAVES IN OUR FAMILY'

Another note on the Scandinavian front. I just heard about a documentary that I really want to see and wanted to pass on the recommendation:

'SLAVES IN OUR FAMILY' is a documentary series in four parts (50-57 minutes), describing mainly Scandinavian descendants of enslaved Africans, as they search their ancestral roots. Surprising as it may seem, thousands of Scandinavians– Danes in particular – have roots in Africa, many without knowing so.

With settlements on the Gold Coast (now Ghana) and a colony in the Caribbean (now US Virgin Islands), the small nation of Denmark was a major slave trading nation across the Atlantic, ranging No. 7 after USA as No. 6.But contrary to most other nations, Denmark had a meticulous control with the enslaved, leaving what is now considered the best slave archives in the world.

This has enabled a large number of modern Danish families to trace their roots, to come out with detailed stories of their ancestors, and to restore family ties that were severed centuries ago.

I was definitely surprised. I would never have considered Denmark a country with a past in slavery and am excited to check this one out.