Across the black Atlantic, individual voices bear witness to the quest for salvation, social status and economic autonomy. The accounts of settlers in Sierra Leone, who came from London, Canada and Jamaica, record varied reactions and positive adjustments to displacement and cultural survival. The freedom and conversion narratives of 'recaptives' - those taken off slave ships in Sierra Leone, Cuba, Brazil and elsewhere - also attest to this voiced resistance and declaration of personal identity. Are these to be considered within the context of the 'slave narrative' trope or do they represent something that is far wider, that allows a reconstruction of Global Africa through sources that give voice?