Black Bride of Christ: Chicaba, an African Nun in Eighteenth-Century Spain provides both a full English-language translation of a mid-eighteenth-century spiritual biography of Teresa Chicaba, a West African woman who spent much of her life as a tertiary in a Spanish content, and a critical introduction which explores the text in its historical and literary contexts. Chicaba, who was likely born into an Ewe-speaking community in the 1670s, was kidnapped as a young child, enslaved, brought to Spain, renamed, and later entered a Domonican community in Salamanca. Her vida was written shortly after her death by Fr. Juan Carlos Pan y Agua (or Paniagua), likely based on information provided directly by Chicaba herself.

This is, in other words, a rare text which tells us something about the experiences of an enslaved African woman in early modern Europe, and also about the racism of white Europeans during this period—much as Paniagua clearly admires Chicaba’s piety and thinks her capable of working miracles, he is a racist who denigrates her skin colour and her region of origin. The translation is clear and straightforward, for the most part, and should work well in a classroom setting. However, the introductory essay, while highly informative, is likely pitched at a level beyond what’s accessible the most advanced undergraduates. ( )