Work of individuals Flashcards
Granville Sharp years
1735-1813
What did Granville Sharp do in general ?
A civil servant who took keen interest in the abolition of slavery
What did Granville Sharp do for abolition in 1767?
In 1767 he helped an injured slave (Jonathan Strong) who had been beaten by his master and cast out, found his paid work and defended him in court when his master sough to enslave him
What was Granville Sharp a founding member of?
Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade
What did Granville Sharp do to help slaves?
*Sharp used his political skill, legal knowledge, and social contacts to become the leading defender of African people in London and saved many of them from being sent back to slavery in the West Indies, often at his own expense
Thomas Clarkson years
1760-1846
What did Thomas Clarkson do?
- Became a leading figure in the abolition movement after winning a Latin essay competition about slavery
- Became a founding member of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade
What mission did Thomas Clarkson go on?
He spent 2 years travelling England on horseback, interviewing 20,000 sailors, and obtaining equipment used on slave ships
What did Thomas Clarkson collect?
- Objects which he used in campaigning lectures against the Slave Trade and kept them in a chest equipped with trays and boxes
- There were also objects that displayed the skill and talent of African craftspeople such as dyed cloth
What did James Ramsey do
- Saw the suffering of slaves in 1759 when he was called to treat dysentery cases on board a slave ship
- Ramsey treated over 100 victims both slaves and sailors
Who was Olaudah Equiano?
He was a former slave who wrote about his experiences
What did Olaudah Equiano do for abolition?
- Wrote ‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
- The book made him famous and furthered the abolitionist cause
- He travelled extensively across the British Isles selling and reading his book
When did Equiano publish his book?
1789
What famous slave ship case was Sharp a part of?
Zong Case, 1783
What was the Zong case?
133 slaves thrown overboard when supplies were running low. Wanted to make an insurance claim but was refused, bought it to court
What was the background of Ottabah Cuagano?
- He was captured and sold into slavery at the age of 13 in present day Ghana, and shipped to Grenada
- In 1772 he was purchased by an English merchant who took him to England, where he was freed
What did Ottabah Cuagano do?
In 1787, with the help of Olaudah Equiano, he published an account of his experiences, ‘Narrative of the Enslavement of a Native of Africa’
What impact did Cuagano’s book have?
Copies of his book was sent to George III, Edmund Burke, and other leading politicians
What did James Ramsey do?
- He saw the suffering of slaves in 1759 when he was called to treat dysentery cases on board a slave ship
- Ramsey treated over 100 victims both slaves and sailors
What beliefs did James Ramsey have?
He strongly criticised the harsh conditions and the brutality of the overseers and suffered personal attacks from the enraged sugar planters
What did James Ramsey publish and when?
- When he returned to Britain in 1781, he worked on his essay on the ‘Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves in the British Sugar Colonies’
- He also published ‘An Inquiry into the Effects of Putting a Stop to the African Slave Trade’ in 1784
What did William Roscoe do?
- Most prominent of Liverpool’s abolitionists, he wrote poems denouncing the slave trade, including the ‘Wrongs of Africa’ (1787-88)
- He was elected as one of the 2 MPs for Liverpool in 1806, and voted in favour of the act abolishing the British slave trade
What did William Wilberforce do after university?
Became an MP for the town in 1780 and an evangelical Christian
What did Wilberforce initially believe?
Initially only believed in ending the slave trade and not slavery itself
