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III. ‘Humanity Sold for Sugar!’ The British Abolitionist Response to Free Trade in Slave-grown Sugar

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

C. Duncan Rice
C. Duncan Rice
Affiliation:
Yale University
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Extract

Prior to 1944, the interpretation of the British anti-slavery movement was dominated by the ‘humanitarian’ ideas of the school of imperial historians centred round the great Sir Reginald Coupland. The turning point in slave trade and slavery studies came with the publication of Eric Williams' Capitalism and Slavery, significantly enough published at Chapel Hill—it would be interesting to find out whether the manuscript had previously been submitted to any English firms. In his bibliography, Williams remarked of Coupland that he ‘represents the sentimental conception of history; his works help us to understand what the anti-slavery movement was not’. But the attack went much further than personalities. Capitalism and Slavery included evidence which stood the more traditional interpretation on its head, while its conclusions rejected the simple moral motivation which had previously been picked out as the main factor behind the abolition of the slave trade and slavery. The whole thesis of Williams' book was that while the moral awakening of which Coupland and his followers had written may have genuinely affected the behaviour of individual supporters of abolition, the root cause of the abandonment of the slave trade and later of West Indian slavery was a change in the balance of economic pressure groups. Building on the work of Lowell Joseph Ragatz, Williams suggested that the anti-slavery movement was a group response of the middle class, to a decline in the relative power of the West India interest on the one hand, and a change in the needs of the increasingly industrialized society in which they lived on the other.

Type
Articles
Information
The Historical Journal , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , September 1970 , pp. 402 - 418
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1970

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References

1 E.g. Coupland, R., Wilberforce (London, 1923);Google ScholarThe British Anti-Slavery Movement (London, 1933).Google Scholar

2 Williams, E., Capitalism and Slavery (2nd ed.London, 1964), p. 268.Google Scholar References throughout this paper are to this edition.

3 Williams, op. cit. p. 211.

4 American Historical Review, L (1945), 782–3.Google Scholar The first sentence runs, ‘The present study is an attempt to place in historical perspective the relationship between early capitalism as exemplified by Great Britain, and the Negro slave trade, Negro slavery, and the general colonial trade of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries,’ (p.v).

5 Williams, op. cit. p. ix. Cf. Anstey, R., ‘Capitalism and Slavery: a Critique’, Economic History Review, 2nd series, XXI, no. 2 (1968),Google Scholar published since the writing of this article.

6 Williams, op. cit. pp. 160–1.

7 The relevant files in the Bodleian are Bodl. Brit. Emp. MSS S. 18, C4/1–C 10/203; Letters of Tredgold; C 11/1–C 11/167, Letters of Beaumont; C 12/1–C 23/121, Letters of Scoble; C 27/ 1–C 37/153, Letters of Chamerovzow. The American collections with the highest proportion of British abolitionists' letters are the Garrison Papers, Boston Public Library, the May Papers, Cornell University Library, and the Sidney Howard Gay Papers, Columbia University Library.

8 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 18 May 1842, 28 June 1843, 1 June 1853.

9 Burleigh, C.C., ed., The Reception of George Thompson in Great Britain, Compiled from Various British Publications (Boston, 1836), p. 64;Google ScholarGlasgow Emancipation Society Minute Books, II, Mitchell Library, Glasgow, entry for 27 July 1840.

10 Files of each of these are held in the British Museum.

11 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 May 1853.

12 British Friend, 31 January 1843.

13 Stephen, G., Anti-Slavery Recollections, in a Series of Letters Addressed to Mrs. Beecher Stowe (London, 1854), pp. 211–13.Google Scholar

14 E.g. Scottish Guardian, 26 June 1840.

15 Unpublished Ph.D. dissertation (Edinburgh, 1956) by R. Botsford, ‘Scotland and the American Civil War', p. 660; Thompson, G. and Wright, H.C., The Free Church of Scotland and American Slavery, Substance of Speeches Delivered in the Music Hall, Edinburgh, during May and June 1846 (Edinburgh, 1846), p. 58;Google Scholar J. Dunlop to J. H. Hinton, 23 April 1844, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS S. 18, C 156/256.

16 Anti-Slavery Advocate, October 1852.

17 Williams, op. cit. pp. 161–2.

18 Committee Lists in Glasgow Emancipation Society Annual Reports (Glasgow, 1835–1851);Google ScholarAddress by the Committee of the Edinburgh Emancipation and Aborigines' Protection Society (Edinburgh, 1841);Google ScholarThe League, 20 January 1844, 21 October 1843, 16 December 1843.

19 Ibid. 20 January 1844.

20 British Friend, 31 January 1843.

21 R. Allen to W. L. Garrison, 2 February 1841, printed in Liberator, 12 March 1841.

22 The League, 3 May 1845. Miss Martineau's most influential pamphlet was The Martyr Age of the United States of America, with an Appeal on Behalf of the Oberlin Institute in Aid of the Abolition of Slavery (Newcastle, 1840).Google Scholar

23 Williams, op. cit., loc. cit.

24 The League, 11 November 1843, 4 November 1843, 9 March 1844.

25 E.g. Beldam, J., A Review of the Late Proposed Measure for the Reduction of the Duties on Sugar, so Far as it Relates to Slavery and the Slave Trade, Addressed to Sir T. F. Buxton, Bart. (London, 1841).Google Scholar

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27 The League, 9 March 1844.

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29 B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, III, loc. cit., entries for 7 June 1848, 7 February 1851; Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 July 1850.

30 C. R. Fay, op. cit. pp. 397–8; Guillebaud, C.W., ‘The Development of the Crown Colonies, 1815–1845’, in Rose, J.H. et al. ,Google Scholar eds., op. cit. pp. 473 ff.; C. W. Guillebaud, ‘The Crown Colonies, 1845–1870’, ibid.. pp. 705–13; Schuyler, R.L., ‘British Imperial Preference and Sir Robert Peel’, Political Science Quarterly, XXXIII (1917);Google Scholar R. L. Schuyler, ‘The Abolition of British Imperial Preference, 1846–1860’, ibid. XXXIII (1918).

31 B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, I, loc. cit., entry for 27 May 1840.

32 Ibid., entries for 5 February 1841, 21 March 1841.

33 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 7 April 1841, 5 May 1841, 2 June 1841.

34 Scottish Guardian, 11 May 1841, 21 May 1841, 11 June 1841; Scotsman, 5 May 1841, 19 May 1841, 22 May 1841, 29 May 1841, 9 June 1841; Kelso Mail, 5 May 1841, 8 May 1841, 12 May 1841, 26 May 1841. Russell first put his proposals before the House in a speech reprinted in Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, LVIII, 15–42.Google Scholar

35 B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, 1, entries for 16 March 1844, 3 May 1844, 7 June 1844; Anti-Slavery Reporter, 20 March 1844, 10 July 1844.

36 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 July 1846. See also B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, entry for 11 July 1846. The memorial and appeal and protest are in B.F.A.S.S. Petition Books, I, 333–5, 340–6.

37 B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, III, entries for 6 February 1848, 25 February 1848, 7 June 1848; Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 March 1848, 1 July 1848.

38 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 August 1848.

39 B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, III, entries for 3 May 1850, 7 February 1851; Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 July 1850, 1 January 1853.

40 E.g. Petition of Agents for West India Legislative Colonies, in Columbia University Library; Greg, W.R., The Slave Trade and the Sugar Duties (reprinted from the Westminster Review, London, 1844).Google Scholar

41 W. R. Greg, op. cit. p. 29.

42 Scotsman, 5 May 1841.

43 London Patriot, 13 May 1841.

44 Kelso Mail, 5 May 1841.

45 Scottish Guardian, 11 May 1841; Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, loc. cit.

46 George Thompson to ?, n.d. [1846], in Garrison Papers, Boston Public Library.

47 Glasgow Emancipation Society Circular, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS, S. 18, C 17/76.

48 Proceedings of the General Anti-Slavery Convention, called by the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and held in London from Tuesday, June 13th, to Tuesday, June 20th, 1843 (London, 1844).Google Scholar

49 Proceedings of the General Anti-Slavery Convention called by the Committee of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, and held in London from Friday, June 12th, to Tuesday, June 23rd, 1840 (London, 1841), pp. 519–20.Google Scholar

50 1843 Convention Proceedings, pp. 127–73, condensed in Anti-Slavery Reporter, 21 June 1843.

51 1840 Convention Proceedings, report of sub-committee on free labour, pp. 430–3.

52 1843 Convention Proceedings, pp. 139–41, 147–50, 155–8, 162–7.

53 British Friend, 31 July 1843; London Patriot, 26 June 1843.

54 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 3 April 1844.

55 See Richard, H., Memoirs of Joseph Sturge (London, 1865),Google Scholar passim.

56 T. Sturge to H. G. Chapman and M. W. Chapman, 5 April 1841, in Weston Papers, Boston Public Library.

57 O'Connell to Sturge, 27 March 1844, Anti-Slavery Reporter, 3 April 1844; Liberator, 9 July 1841.

58 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 17 April 1844.

59 Blair to Scoble, 24 April 1844, ibid. 1 May 1844; B.F.A.S.S. Minute Books, II, entry for 3 May 1844.

60 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 1 May 1844.

61 George Stephen, op. cit. pp. 149–52; Garrison, W.L., ed., Lectures of George Thompson, with…a Brief History of his Connection with the Anti-Slavery Cause in England (Boston, 1836),Google Scholar passim.

62 Thompson, G., Letters and Addresses…during his Mission to the United States, from October 1st 1834 to November 27th 1835 (Boston, 1837),Google Scholar passim; C. C. Burleigh, op. cit., passim; Rice, C. Duncan, ‘The Anti-Slavery Mission of George Thompson to the United States, 1834–1835’, in Journal of American Studies, II (1968).Google Scholar

63 Elizur Wright to Weld, 18 November 1835, G. Thompson to Weld, 15 June 1839, in Barnes, G.H. and Dumond, D.L., eds., Letters of Theodore Dwight Weld, Angelina Grimke Weld, and Sarah Grimke, 1822–1844 (New York, 2 vols. 1934), pp. 246–7, 774–7.Google Scholar Thompson's best-known pamphlets were Substance of a Speech…being a Reply to Mr. Borthwick's Statements on the subject of British Colonial Slavery (London, 1832);Google ScholarDiscussion on American Slavery…between Mr. G. Thompson and the Rev. R.J. Breckenridge (Glasgow, 1836, and various other editions);Google ScholarSix Lectures on the Conditions, Resources, and Prospects of British India, and the Responsibilities of Great Britain to do Justice to that Vast Empire (London, 1842).Google Scholar

64 The League, 4 January 1845, 8 February 1845, 23 November 1845, printed anonymous articles clearly written by Thompson.

65 Glasgmv Emancipation Society Annual Report, 1843 (Glasgow, 1843);Google ScholarBritish Friend, issues from 31 May 1843 to 31 January 1844; Edinburgh Witness, 12 July 1843, 6 September 1843.

66 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 29 May 1844.

67 Ibid. 12 June 1844.

68 E. S. Abdy to M. W. Chapman, 20 April 1844, Weston Papers, Boston Public Library.

69 The League, 8 June 1844.

70 Glasgow Argus, 18 March 1844—reprint as broadsheet in Mitchell Library, Glasgow; Murray to J. H. Hinton, 17 August 1844, in Anti-Slavery Reporter, 26 June 1844; Murray to Hinton, 8 July 1844, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS. S. 18, C 103/110; Murray to Hinton, 17 November 1845, ibid. C 103/III.

71 E. Cruickshank to Scoble, 6 June 1846, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS. S. 18, C 15/130a; Dunlop to Scoble, 1 June 1844, ibid. C 16/83; Dunlop to Scoble, 19 May 1848, ibid. C 16/85.

72 J. T. Philodos to Bolton, 21 October 1846, ibid. C 26/66; See also J. J. Gurney to Scoble, 6 December 1846, ibid C17/113; F. J. Brewin to Tredgold, 5 May 1841, ibid. C 5/82.

73 Worcester Anti-Slavery Society Minute for 18 May 1841, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS S. 18, C6/64; Bristol Anti-Slavery Society Minute for 10 May 1841, ibid. C6/92; Committee of Derby Auxiliary Anti-Slavery Society to Tredgold, n.d. [1841], ibid. C7/15; C.Wilson to Tredgold, 11 May 1841, ibid. C7/91; S. Jesper to Tredgold, 5 August 1841, ibid. C8/6.

74 Anti-Slavery Reporter, 29 May 1844.

75 Minute of Birmingham Negroes' Friend Society, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS S. 18, C 5/67; Anti-Slavery Reporter, 29 May 1844.

76 W. Cross to Tredgold, 18 June 1841, Bodl.Brit.Emp.MSS S. 18, C 6/45; A. Wigham to Scoble, n.d., ibid. C23/15.

77 Guillebaud, C.W., ‘The Crown Colonies, 1845–1870’, in Rose, J.H. et al. , eds., op. cit. p. 705.Google Scholar

78 This paper is an expanded and altered version of one originally submitted in absentia to a seminar on the Transatlantic Slave Trade from West Africa, held in the Centre of African Studies, University of Edinburgh, in June 1965.