"[A] vivid, dramatic discourse that draws readers into the plots outlining each of [these] three Black female experiences." -- Bulletin of Spanish Studies"This remarkable book recovers from the Portuguese archives the life histories of three women who lived in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in present-day Ghana. Konadu, an outstanding historian of his generation, presents a lucid, riveting and transformative portrait of gender and politics in the face of the violence of European empires at the dawn of modernity." -- Toby Green, Professor of Precolonial and Lusophone African History and Culture, King's College London"A fascinating picture of the entangled early modern world. Using the rich archival material found in inquisition records, this book provides an important new window onto the daily lives of three Black women in sixteenth-century coastal West Africa, and in Europe." -- Bronwen Everill, Lecturer in History, University of Cambridge"A refreshing, remarkable excavation of the kind of life stories typically lost to history. Methodologically creative and bold in reach, this is a book that forces us to rethink both what we know and what we are able to know." -- Paddy Docherty, author of Blood and Bronze.