Resumé af filmen '12 Years a Slave'

The movie “12 Years a Slave” introduces you to the man: Solomon Northup. Solomon is a free man, working as a fiddler. Solomon lived in his house in Saratoga, New York, with his wife Anne and his children Margaret and Alonzo.

In 1841, at the age of 32, Northup met two men, by the names of Merrill Brown and Abram Hamilton. They introduced themselves to Solomon as entertainers managing a circus. Deceived by an offer to work during their performances in New York, the tour soon extended to Washington, where slavery was very legal.

One night Solomon was drugged and sold into slavery, by the men who had previously hired him. Denied his rights as a free man, and forced to assume the name of “Plat,” Solomon was sold to the plantation owner William Ford.

Though a slave owner, Ford was kind to Solomon and treated him with some degree of respect. Ford knew that Solomon was more than just a slave. But Ford came into financial troubles, and had to sell 18 slaves, including Solomon. The slaves were all sold to a man named John Tibaut, whom was working at Ford´s plantation.

Tibaut was a very cruel man. So cruel that he could whip his slaves, if he did not like the nails they were using. Eventually Solomon once tried to defend himself and beat Tibaut, which nearly resulted in Solomon being hanged. But at the brink of death Ford´s overseer, saved Solomon and chased Tibaut and his men out of the plantation.