One of the Three Remaining “Slave Bibles,” in the World
Found in Special Collections at the Fisk University Library
I wrote about this slave bible before having a chance to see and touch it. What’s different about this bible isn’t because of anything added, it’s about what has been taken out. Slave bibles were originally distributed in the British West Indies to slaves there in an attempt to control their minds and prevent revolution.
This version of the bible was produced by British clergy in 1807, a few years after the Haitian Revolution ended and Haitians won their freedom from France through revolution. The British didn’t want to see their enslaved people lost to them, so they used religion to convince them that God wants compliance and obedience. The slave bibles eliminate all instances of revolt, particularly the story of Moses in Exodus. The story of Pharaoh letting Moses people go was one the British (or Americans) didn’t want to spread. This version cut a significant portion of the Old Testament and some of the New Testament including the Book of Revelations.
Most enslaved people in America were prohibited from learning to read but this new bible was an exception. The Colonies were interested in showing the rest of the world they were Christians bringing the heathen enslaved people out of the darkness…
