5: Humanitarian campaigns and religion Flashcards
when did the Quakers organise their Committee against the Slave Trade
1783
when was the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade founded
1787
when did Wilberforce make his first speech in parliament against slavery
1789
when were 100 petitions against the slave trade presented to parliament
1788
what group was established in 1788
African Association
how many petitions were presented to parliament in 1792
519
when was the abolition of the slave trade act passed
1807
Enlightenment
spread intellectual concerns about human rights into broader society
Industrialisation
it was becoming increasingly obvious that the welfare of many was being ignored. Free trade economics removed any support for the poorest and industrialisation itself widened the class gap.
first group to address slavery
Quakers - who had opposed the wider issue of slavery since 1657 on the grounds that everybody was equal before God
Quakers and pamphlets
known to distribute thousands of copies of pamphlets (e.g. The Case of Our Fellow Creatures, The Oppressed Africans) among MPs, the royal family and general public
why were the quakers anti-slavery?
they believed that God was inside every human being and to do harm to another person was to do harm to God Himself.
which group are credited with spearheading a moral crusade against slavery?
Quakers
although slavery had been abolished in Britain in 1772..
it had become fashionable to have black servants in upper class homes.
London itself was home to 10,000 Africans who had been brought back by ship’s captains or returning plantation owners.
what idea did Evangelicals promote
- the importance of turning away from sin (Slavery was sin in their eyes) in order to reach heaven
- spreading their message of repenting
what were Evangelicals successful at doing?
public speaking and spreading their ideas.
Wilberforce (an evangelical) became the public voice of abolition and regularly spoke in parliament
wilberforce as an evangelical
spoke in parliament regularly to spread his message. He introduced bills every year after 1791
what were Evangelicals concerned about relating to slavery
morality and the inhumanity of it
2 prominent evangelical activists
Thomas Clarkson (1786 Cambridge University essay and researcher) and Granville Sharp (campaigned to legally end the slave trade as a civil servant)
who was unrivalled as a lobby group?
society for effecting abolition of slave trade (1787)
2 aims of society for effecting abolition
- raise public awareness (conscience)
- put pressure on British government to act
which historian maintains that humanitarian campaigns must have been very strong, if they were able to pass bills at the time of the sugar booms and when the trade was extremely profitable?
Roger Anstey 1968 - The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition
Roger Anstey 1968 - The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition - why is his argument attractive?
(historian who maintains that humanitarian campaigns must have been very strong, if they were able to pass bills at the time of the sugar booms and when the trade was extremely profitable)
because it allows Britain to maintain the notion of innate goodness. Recent historians however have become more sceptical of this thesis and have started to focus on other factors.
what have recent historians said about humanitarian campaigns?
they are becoming more and more sceptical, as it is most likely that this argument became popular because it made Britain look good. Instead they’ve started to focus on economic and political changes.
when was the Zong Case
1783
who was the captain on the ship Zong?
Luke Collingwood
when was the Zong voyage? (the case was 2 years later)
1781
what happened on the Zong voyage? (and the case that followed)
the captain ordered 133 slaves to be thrown overboard during the last stages of their journey when food supplies were running low.
He planned to make an insurance claim for those who drowned, but the insurers refused to pay. The legal case was made about the claim rather than the morality of the slaves, and the ruling said that in certain circumstances it was acceptable to kill slaves and receive compensation, but not in this particular case.
how much of Britain’s annual income was dependent on the slave trade?
24%
who opposed humanitarian campaigns - give one example
‘West India Lobby’ - a group of sugar planters in the West Indies whose business depended on the trade. The group had close links with parliament; in 1785 it was estimated that 50 MPs were tied to the group with one even becoming the Mayor of London.
how long did the humanitarian campaign last
their extensive education campaign lasted for more than 20 years
what was the most popular means of promoting the cause?
propaganda which emphasised the extreme nature of the trade and made clear its inhumanity
3 examples of humanitarian propaganda
- thousands of pamphlets with emotive imagery
- Josiah Wedgwood’s plaque of a slave with the title “Am I not a man and a brother?”
- The cross section of the slave ship ‘Brookes’
in 1792, how many petitions did people sign
519
even by 1785, what did most British people retain?
some sense of religious belief - humanitarian campaigns appealed to this and this meant they were able to continue momentum
persistence of the Society for Effecting
every year between 1791-9, the MP for Hull (Wilberforce) presented a bill in favour of abolition
how was Wilberforce significant in this way
continued efforts to keep the interest alive (even as it became tainted by revolts abroad e.g. Haiti).
in 1804, he re-issued his bill and gained the support of William Pitt (and then his replacement William Grenville in 1806). Abolition was passed the following year.
manchester
1787
10,000 people signed a petition for abolition
population of 50,000
why did it appeal to most people
in late 1700s, most people held some form of religious belief
