1 - Slavery Flashcards
Quakers facts
A religious group formed in 1650
June 1783 the Quakers presented a petition againstt the slave trade signed by 272 people
–> ignored by Parliament
then set up a 23 person committee to campaign against the slave trade
In 1784, 10,000 copies of their pamphlet were distributed to promote abolition
The Society for effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade
AND petitions
SfEtAotST = created in 1787
50 MPs were closely linked to the West India Lobby group
Founded by Clarkson and Sharp
In 1792, people had signed more than 519 peitions that year
Despite 24% of Britain’s income being dependant on the slave trade
In machester which was a town of 50,000 people in 1787, 10,700 poeple had signed an abolition petition.
Sucess of the economy due to the slave trade
In 1740s Bristol, 40% of people’s incomes were slave based
vs. 24% of Britain as a whole
Slave trade generated £3 million a year in profits by the ended of the 1700s
The Codrington plantation in Barbados was 710 acres of land made a profit of £2,000 a year
– vs. £24 annunally for a working family of 5 in 1790
– with 276 slaves
Failure of the economy due to the salve trade
- Adam Smith argued that labourers did their best work when paid due to motivation = ‘The Wealth of Nations’ — published 1776 — Despite the slave trade generating £3 million a year in profits by the ended of the 1700s
- 1 in 10 slave voyages were subject to a revolt.
- Sugar Boycott = Around 300,000 people boycotted sugar - Causing sales to drop by between 1/3 and 1/2.
- Liverpool city merchants lost £700,000 = 12 out of 30 bankrupt from debt by 1788.
Significant individuals
Thomas Clarkson
June 1786 = published ‘An essay on slavery and the commerce of the human species’ — Quakers published 10,000 copies of it
Went on a tour and travelled 35,000 miles = box filled with slaves’ possessions Brookes ship map
Clarkson along with his colleagues in Manchester sent a petition to Parliament with 10,700 names on it, which was 1 in 5 people there in 1787
Significant individuals
William Wilberforce
MP for Hull
April 1791 = introduced a bill to abolish the salve trade
–> motion defeated by 163 to 88.
March 1796 = bill defeated by 4 votes (many MPs were out of town)
In every year between 1789 and 1806, Wilberforce presented a Bill for abolition
Significant individuals
Olaudah Equiano
Kidnapped at 11 from Southern Nigeria
Bought own freedom 1766
Wrote his autobiography ’The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano; or, Gustavus Vassa, the African, Written by Himself’
It became a best seller and sold over 1,900 copies in 1791.
Equiano, when his master was a navy officer, worked on the London streets in a press gang.
Significant individuals
Granville Sharp
In 1765 when Sharp was visiting his brother, he met Jonathan Strong.
Strong was a young black slave from Barbados who had been badly beaten by his master.
The Sharps paid for his treatment at Barts Hospital
Lawyer in the Zong case - 1783 trial
Slave revolt facts
SD
Saint Domingue = The Haitian revolution — victory and freedom in 1804
–> August 1791 = French plantation
Led by Toussaint L’Ouverture
More than 1,000 plantations burned — damage amounted to 2 million francs over 2 weeks
12,000 poeple killed
Loss; it produced 30% of the worls’s sugar + 50% of the world’s coffee
September 1791 = British soldiers land and conquer the rebellion — Britain attempted to take it from France as it was a French island = context of the French Wars
Slave revolt facts
St. V + St. L
February 1795 = St. Lucia
Led by Victor Hugues
Over 4 months they forced out every white slave owner and anyone from the British army who was sent to squash the rebellion
It took 12,000 British troops to retake the island in 1803 vs. 2,000 slaves
St. Vincent 1795-97 –> The Second Carib War
= indigenous people of the island vs. French forces
Slave revolt facts
Jamaica
500 Maroons rebelled with just 150 muskets
vs. 5,000 British troops
Fighting lasted less than half a year
But Britain spent £500,000
Naval Press Gang facts
Kidnapped men to ship to the West Indies to stop slave revolts
⅓ to ½ out of all navy seamen were possibly pressed into service
Between 1740 and 1805 more than 500 brawls occurred between press gangs and their victims were serious enough to be reported
In Bristol, every member of a press gang there had been wounded and one killed.
In the American revolution, the press kidnapped 80,000+ men, provoking riots in 22 British seaports.
–> Equiano, when his master was a navy officer, worked on the London streets in a press gang.
Changing political climate
The American War of Independence
The war was over in 1783
Causing Britain to lose a market to sell slaves
In 1776 approximately 20% of the Thirteen Colonies were of African descent.
Changing political climate
French Wars
Following the 1789 French Revolution slavery was abolished in 1794
But Napoleon reintroduced it in 1802
Slave conditions
On average, Caribbean male slaves were 3 inches shorter than those in the American South, due to malnutrition.
4.5% died on arrival at the Caribbean before the sale.
— They could claim insurance.
