Abolition: in the context of colonialism
Content Warning
Historical resources referred to in this post reflect the racial prejudices of the era in which they were created, and some items include language and imagery which is offensive, oppressive and may cause upset. This is not condoned by The University of Manchester, but we are committed to providing access to this material as evidence of the inequalities and attitudes of the time period.
The abolition of slavery, and the role Britain had in its enforcement, is one of the most historically celebrated aspects of racial politics in the UK. Still to this day, abolition is often seen as being representative of British values of liberty and equality. When reanalysing various abolitionist documents found in Special Collections at the John Rylands Research Institute and Library, several interesting questions are raised about the meanings attached to abolition and how it relates to colonialism.
It would be easy to assume that abolitionism and colonialism were ideologically opposed to one another. However, the arguments used to criticise the institution of slavery often conformed to 18th and 19th century concepts of British imperialism, rather than contradict them. Because of this, it is difficult to separate the abolitionist movement in Britain from its colonial mindset, as the ideas articulated within it were often used as further justification for colonial expansion.
The four sources below each present varying forms of support for this point, highlighted throughout.
Ottobah Cugoano
The earliest chronological source relating to abolition is perhaps the John Rylands’ most radical, coming in the form of a book written by Ottobah Cugoano in 1787. Cugoano, who was enslaved at the age of 13, went on to become an incredibly important figure in the British anti-slavery movement. He is also notable for having been a member of Sons of Africa, a political activist group made up of ex-slaves living in London, who were highly successful in achieving their abolitionist aims during the late 18th century.
His predominant literary work, titled ‘Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species’ represented a brutal attack on the institution of slavery, making him the first African born person to publicly demand the total abolition of the slave trade in Britain.
Cugoano used many argumentative techniques throughout his impassioned plea, in particular focusing on the hypocrisy of religious slave owners. However, he did not stop there, highlighted most clearly in his propensity for an uncompromising sub-title. Page 79, for example, introduces the chapter “Every man in Great Britain responsible, in some degree, for the shocking and inhuman murders and oppressions of the Africans”. This is followed shortly after by the chapter “That the several nations of Europe, who carry on slavery, are become barbarous, and the British nation has joined as the head of that wicked combination”.
Alongside such attacks on the barbaric nature of slavery, however, is an implicit acceptance of the respectability and supposed superiority of British civilisation. When giving this thanks to Christianity, Cugoano claims “I am highly indebted to many of the good people of England for learning and principles unknown to the people of my native country”. This is a regular theme within, and is important as arguments seen throughout the abolitionist movement often reinforced principles of colonialism, rather than opposed them.
Nevertheless, in his work ‘Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery’, Cugoano presents an undoubtedly radical and exhaustive criticism of the institution of slavery. There is little doubt or lack of conviction in his words, making his work one of the most compelling abolitionist sources available.
James Ramsey
Only a year later James Ramsey — a Scottish Anglican priest and abolitionist — published another interesting piece of abolitionist literature. In contrast to Cugoano’s work, Ramsey takes a much less inflammatory approach, instead aiming to produce a comprehensive breakdown of all potential arguments against the abolition of slavery.
He starts by acknowledging this fact, stating that the topic of slavery must be discussed “dispassionately”, made clear by his focus on the economic aspects of abolitionism. At times Ramsey does write more creatively, seen with Objection #39, that “Negroes are happier in the colonies than in Africa.” Ramsey replies:
“Positively denied. Do they ever offer themselves to be received into our slave ships, to escape from their wretched country? Is there not a charm in the place of nativity, that makes, to the natives, Greenland more desirable than the polished parts of Europe? Do they not seize every opportunity of rising against, or escaping from their oppressors?”
Whilst referring to West African countries as “wretched”, Ramsey simultaneously discredits the morality of slavery. It is important to note, therefore, that throughout both Ramsey’s and Cugoano’s work, there is an absence of any attempt to question the legitimacy of Britain’s colonial aspirations. Abolitionism and colonialism were entirely compatible ideologies. This is made clear by the inability of abolitionists to interrogate the founding principles that justified both slavery and colonialism.
British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
Fifty years later, the context of the abolitionist movement had changed significantly. The Slave Trade Act of 1807 outlawed the slave trade within the British Empire, and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 made it illegal to purchase slaves. These acts are closely related to the Industrial Revolution — which made Britain’s economy less dependent on the slave trade — as well as the rapid expansion of Britain’s colonial territories during the rise of the “Second Empire”. By 1840 it was clear that abolition did not equate to a decline in colonialist thought.
The Anti-Slavery Reporter was founded in London in 1825. Within the 1840 edition there are several clues that highlight the relationship between abolition, economy and colonialism. The stated objective of the newspaper is: “the universal extinction of slavery and the slave-trade, and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions, and of all persons captured as slaves.” Even within abolitionist literature there was an acceptance of colonial language and ideology.
Towards the end of the 1840 edition, it is stated that “if the negro emancipation should diminish the growth of colonial produce in our colonies, and stimulating the cultivation of new lands elsewhere, create increased demand for African slaves, the crime is not ours. We have done our duty.” This follows a similar trend seen through James Ramsey’s “dispassionate” abolitionism, further highlighting the distance between the abolition movement in Britain and genuine concern for the rights of Black populations around the world.
The historical context is also important here, as the 1840 edition of the Anti-Slavery Reporter was published only a year after the First Opium War in China. In the previous 25 years Britain had increased its colonial territories significantly. The Anti-Slavery Reporter or abolition itself did not exist to achieve liberation for Britain’s colonial populations. Over the next 60 years Britain would continue to rapidly expand its Empire, going on to establish the British Raj in modern day India and initiate numerous conflicts in countries across Asia and Africa, such as Egypt and South Africa.
Henry ‘Box’ Brown
There are few stories more fascinating than that of Henry ‘Box’ Brown. Born into slavery in the USA, Brown achieved a significant level of fame based on the incredible story of his escape, after posting himself across the country in a small wooden box. In his biography ‘A Narrative of the Life of Henry ‘Box’ Brown’, he details this story whilst simultaneously presenting his abolitionist argument.
Similar to Ottobah Cugoano, many of the argumentative techniques he uses are rooted in preconceived notions of Western principles of liberty and equality, as well as the consistent referral to religious hypocrisy. The first sentence of Brown’s introduction abruptly states that “While America is boasting of her freedom and making the world ring with her professions of equality, she holds millions of her inhabitants in bondage.” Whilst pointing out this hypocrisy, Brown either purposefully or inadvertently conforms to the belief that the concept of equality is inherently American. The idea that slavery exists within the country is seen as an aberration to this perceived fact. Brown reaffirms this point, later stating “I entered the world a slave — in the midst of a country whose most honoured writings declare that all men have a right to liberty.”
Religion is also a key point raised within Henry Brown’s personal narrative. In telling a story about his mother, Brown highlights the contradiction between Christian values and slavery:
“My mother used to instruct me in the principles of morality according to her own notion of what was good and pure; but I had no means of acquiring proper conception of religion in a state of slavery, where all those who professed to be followers of Jesus Christ evinced more of the disposition of demons than of men; and it is really a matter of wonder to me now, considering the character of my position that I did not imbibe a strong and lasting hatred of everything pertaining to the religion of Christ.”
Brown frames his abolitionist argument around his own respectability as a Christian man, by suggesting it was in spite of slavery, rather than because of, that he gained the “principles of morality” through the religion. Although this makes practical sense and was likely effective in convincing many people to adopt abolitionist views, it cannot be separated from the underlying acceptance of the superiority of White-Christian ideology. It is these same principles that continued to justify colonialism throughout the 19th century.
Points for discussion:
Who do you think the intended audiences were for the writing described above?
Do you agree with the statement that the arguments in favour of abolition in the examples above reveal an implicit acceptance of colonialism? Why/why not?
Further resources:
Henry Box Brown, ‘A Narrative of the Life of Henry ‘Box’ Brown’, Manchester: Lee & Glynn, 1851 (follow link for the full digitised volume)
‘The Anti Slavery Watchman’, a magazine of English and American abolitionism, no. 2, December 1853 (follow link for the full digitised volume)
Posts about the abolitionists Robert Wedderburn and Frederick Douglass can be viewed on the Rylands blog
Guest post written by Xavier Banson, a recent MA History graduate from the University of Manchester with a strong interest in Black British History. His MA thesis explored the relationship between African and Caribbean communities in Britain and he is currently researching the history of Black barber shops in Manchester through Oral History interviews.
