Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, the Enslaved Nobleman Who Won His Freedom Through Literacy

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, the Enslaved Nobleman Who Won His Freedom Through Literacy

Ayuba Suleiman Diallo, widely known as Job Ben Solomon in Europe, is one of the few survivors to escape captivity in North America and return to Africa. Involved in the slave trade himself, his fate took a dramatic turn in 1731 when he was captured and sent to Maryland, United States. Diallo’s noble background, education, and literacy in Arabic caught the attention of English elites. He was brought to England in 1733 and later returned to his ho…