Caribbean History From
Colonialism to Independence
AM217
David Lambert
Lecture: Abolishing slavery
Tuesday 8th December,
11am-12pm
Abolishing slavery
1. The problem of slavery
i.
Why was slavery abolished?
2. The British campaign to abolish slavery (c.
1780-1833)
3. Abolitionist views of enslaved people
4. Abolitionist disillusionment and resurgent
racism
5. Other abolitions
The problem of slavery
In the 1760s there was nothing unprecedented
about chattel slavery, even the slavery of one
ethnic group to another. What was
unprecedented by the 1760s and early 1770s
was the emergence of a widespread conviction
that New World slavery symbolized all the
forces that threatened the true destiny of man
[sic].
D. B. Davis, The problem of slavery in the age
of revolution, 1975, p. 41.
Power relations in age of abolition
(c. 1780-1833)
Political
conflict
Resistance
Subjugation
Slaveholders
Slaves
Abolitionists
Power relations in age of abolition
(c. 1780-1833)
Political
conflict
Abolitionists
Lobbying
Resistance
Subjugation
Slaveholders
Slaves
Emancipation
Metropolitan
government
Why was slavery abolished?
• The British abolitionist movement emerged from
the 1770s because of…
– The evangelical revival, within and beyond the Anglican
Church
– The Enlightenment (a belief in progress)
– The development of Romanticism (ideas of the ‘noble
savage’)
– The growth of free-tradism
• In addition, British slavery was abolished because
of…
– Revolution in North America (independent from 1783),
which meant that Britain lost half its slave colonies
– Falling profits from the West Indian colonies
– Intensified resistance from enslaved people
The British abolitionist campaign
• In 1787, the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
was formed.
• The main campaigners were evangelicals, plus some
former slaves.
Olaudah Equiano’s
Interesting narrative (1789)
The British abolitionist campaign
• In 1787, the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
was formed.
• The main campaigners were evangelicals, plus some
former slaves.
• Initially focused on the slave trade (abolished 1807)
and later slavery itself (abolished 1833-38).
• Features of the campaign:
– Extra-Parliamentary petitioning
– Consumer boycott of West Indian sugar
Consumer boycott of
West Indian sugar
Consumer boycott of
West Indian sugar
[W]ith every pound of sugar we may be
considered as consuming two ounces of
human flesh…
William Fox, An Address to the People of
Great Britain, on the Propriety of Abstaining
from West India Sugar and Rum (1791) p. 2.
The British abolitionist campaign
• In 1787, the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
was formed.
• The main campaigners were evangelicals and
supporters of free-trade, plus some former slaves.
• Initially focused on the slave trade (abolished 1807)
and later slavery itself (abolished 1833-38).
• Features of the campaign:
– Extra-Parliamentary petitioning
– Consumer boycott of West Indian sugar
– Use of visual imagery
Abolitionist visual imagery
Seal of the Society
for the Abolition of
the Slave Trade.
Made by Josiah
Wedgwood, cameo
in jasper, 1788.
The British abolitionist campaign
• In 1787, the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
was formed.
• The main campaigners were evangelicals and
supporters of free-trade, plus some former slaves.
• Initially focused on the slave trade (abolished 1807)
and later slavery itself (abolished 1833-38).
• Features of the campaign:
– Extra-Parliamentary petitioning
– Consumer boycott of West Indian sugar
– Use of visual imagery
• These features make this the first modern political
campaign.
• The British campaign supported and encouraged those
elsewhere.
Abolitionist views of enslaved
people
Seal of the Society
for the Abolition of
the Slave Trade.
Made by Josiah
Wedgwood, cameo
in jasper, 1788.
Enslaved people as ‘commodities’
Abolitionist views of enslaved
people
Part of the discourse
of the ‘good negro’:
• Not quite equal
• Christian (or soon to
be converted)
• Eternally grateful
• Passive victim
Emancipation: The abolition of slavery
Expectations at emancipation
• When slavery was ended,
abolitionists and the
metropolitan governments
expected that the former slaves
would become good Christians
and grateful, hard-working
labourers (the ‘good Negro’).
• But when the ex-slaves did not
conform to such expectations,
abolitionists and others became
disillusioned, setting the stage
for the return of virulent racism.
Resurgent racism after the
abolition of slavery
Exeter Hall, my philanthropic friends, has had its
way in this matter…and, far over the sea, we have
a few black persons rendered extremely ‘free’
indeed. Sitting yonder, with their beautiful muzzles
up to the ears in pumpkins, imbibing sweet pulps
and juices; the grinder and incisor teeth ready for
every new work, and the pumpkins cheap as grass
in those rich climates; while the sugar crops rot
round them, uncut, because labour cannot be
hired, so cheap are the pumpkins…
Thomas Carlyle, Occasional Discourse on the
Negro Question (1849)
The paradox of abolitionism
Abolitionism itself, no matter how well intended, was
not the same as the victory over racism. The abolition
of slavery was not the same as black emancipation.
Abolitionism promoted new stereotypes of blacks – the
movement humanized the image of blacks but also
popularized the image of blacks as victims…The
central icon of abolitionism…carried a clear message.
It made emancipation conditional – on condition of
conversion, on condition of docility and meekness, on
condition of being on one’s knees.
Jan Pieterse, White on black (1992), p. 60, emphasis
added.
Other abolitions: France
• No mass antislavery movement for abolition
• No reforms until 1830s. Most significant were
those of 1845 that made self-purchase easier and
prevented the flogging of women (‘Mackau laws’)
• 1848 Revolution created Second Republic brought
about political reform
• Commission headed by Victor Schoelcher went to
Caribbean to end slavery
• Enslaved people pre-empted this and emancipation
declared early in Martinique (23 May) and
Guadeloupe (27 May)
Other abolitions: Danish and Dutch
• Danish Caribbean:
– Steps toward abolition began in 1847
– Full emancipation planned for 1859
– Rebellion in St. Croix (July 1848) led to immediate
emancipation across the Danish colonies
• Dutch Caribbean:
– Mainland Suriname the most important colony
– Slavery ended 1863 following protests and reforms in
1850s
– Full emancipation in 1873 came after ten-year
apprenticeship