For some time, D'Avezac convinced Osifekunde to remain in France and not return to Brazil, where he could be punished as a runaway slave. He promised to find him a new employer and arrange his return to Africa. It is significant that leaders of the British Niger Expedition set to depart Britain for the Nigerian Hinterland in 1841 refused to enlist Osifekunde as an interpreter. Probably they thought that he had spent too much in the diaspora to remember much about his homeland or because coming from a coastal state he would have no knowledge of the interior. Moreover, the expedition did not need him, having arranged to recruit African sailors (Kru men of Liberia) and translators in Sierra Leone. The recruits included two Yoruba speakers - Samuel Crowther and Thomas King — both of whom spoke English and were teachers, translators, and agents of the Church Missionary Society, the former described as "an intelligent and well-educated native." ${ }^{38}$ Finally, the expedition was still months away, if not a year, whereas Osifekunde needed urgent remedy. Also, it  
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[^0]:    37 See Margaret Crosby-Arnold, "Hidden Legacy of Mixed Relations: Marie Armand Pascal d'AvezacMacaya's Fascination with Osifekunde Reconsidered," paper presented at the African Studies Association Meeting, Chicago, November 17, 2017.