MAKING OUR MARK

1
MAKING OUR MARK

• Remembrance - Repentance - Restoration

2
Setting the Scene

• England enslaved many millions of Africans
  between 1562 and the abolition act of 1807
• Scale difficult to quantify, but approximately 24
  million Africans were captured and 10 million
  survived crossing the Middle Passage
• Slave rebellions at sea, and on plantations, were
  common. Any history of slavery is a history of
  resistance

3
Slavery in England before 1807

• Slavers were often run on forced labor
• Many sailors on slavers were press-ganged into
  becoming crew
• Only those who returned had to be paid--and 20
  of the crew on British slavers didnt complete
  the triangle

4
Slavery in England after 1807

• Slavery became illegal in England in 1807 and the
  entire British Empire in 1834. A forced
  apprenticeship scheme for freed slaves ended in
  1838 due to protests.

5
Abolitionists around 1807

• Abolitionists were united in their cause but came
  from many sectors of society
• The Church of Englands roles were complex many
  Anglicans owned slaves, and many more were
  abolitionists
• Abolitionist groups remained active -and new ones
  formed-after the political victory in 1807

6
Economics of Abolition

• Slavery was a major investment for England
• England paid 2 million annually in slave-related
  expenses (including bounties)
• By the 1790s, over 40 of British exports were to
  Africa and the Americas
• Slavery was seen as an essential component of the
  empires financial well-being
• By 1800, 80 of England's overseas/colonial
  revenue came from slave plantations in the West
  Indies

7
Slaverys Legacy

• Today, a large portion of London's population is
  descended from slaves
• The social, economic and architectural traces of
  slavery are an integral part of London's identity
  
• In February 2006, the Church of England offered
  its first official apology for its role in the
  slave trade

8

• Many clergy and mission organizations saw slavery
  as an ideal opportunity for conversion
• Scripture was often cited to support slavery
• Some saw that their faith obligated them to fight
  for abolition

9

• 'They are still men, and men should still be
  freeThough few can reason, all mankind can
  feel.
• (Hannah More)

10
Naming and Ownership

• Slaves were usually given non-Christian names
• The day of the week of purchase
• Place names, usually European
• Names of Classical heroes
• This emphasized the slaves non-Christian
  identity
• It also ironically referred to their powerlessness

11
Codrington, the Church of Englands Plantation

• Codrington was seen as an opportunity for a model
  of Christian slavery
• Frederic Keppel, the Bp of Exeter, to SPG in
  1770 'It is with great satisfaction also that
  we observe the humane and tender treatment of
  those Negro Slaves who are become the Societys
  possession, and we many reasonably hope that our
  good example will have its proper effect upon
  other masters'

12
The Churchs Slaves

• In a good year, Codringtons profits reached
  220,000
• Following the abolition of slavery in England,
  the number of slaves on the Condrington
  plantation increased from 303 in 1807 to 355 in
  1823

13

• 'The Negroes in our plantations decrease and
  new Supplies become necessary continually.
  Surely this proceeds from some Defect, but of
  Humanity and even of good policy. But we must
  take things as they are at present.
• (The Archbishop of Canterbury, 1760)

14
Abolition in England, 1780s

• 1782 - Ignatius Sancho draws attention to the
  reality of slavery
• Positions himself as both an ex-slave, describing
  'my miserable black brethren,' and a civilized
  Englishman, declaiming 'the tears and blood of
  the poor natives'
• 1783 Olaudah Equiano, who bought his freedom in
  1766, calls national attention to the Zong
  tragedy
• Captain and crew threw 145 slaves overboard
  claiming a water shortage, but knowing they would
  benefit legally and economically from murdering
  them

15

• A strange scene to imagine two captains in
  their tricornered hats pacing the deck, earnestly
  talking of God and sin through the night, while
  slaves lie in shackles below them.
• (Adam Hochschild, Breaking the Chains)

16
Abolition in England, 1789

• 1789 Wilberforce testifies to Commons about the
  wretchedness and inhumanity of the conditions
  on the slavers
• 1789 The Clapham Sect design and disseminate a
  diagram of 482 slaves on the ship Brookes
• 700 copies are initially printed and posted
• The design shows well under the ships maximum
  cargo of 600 slaves

17
Abolition in England, 1790s

• 1791 William Wilberforce speaks to Parliament
• 500 petitions received by the Commons
• All but 5 demand immediate abolition
• The West India Company budgets 1,600 for
  pro-slavery newspaper ads, aware the
  abolitionists are gaining momentum

18
Abolitions Progress in Parliament

• 1800 - Act of Union with Ireland brings 100 Irish
  MPs into Commons, most of whom are sympathetic to
  abolition
• 1804-5 - Abolition becomes a patriotic issue, not
  simply a humanitarian one
• William Pitt the Younger summarized the
  Abolitionist position by responding that no other
  nation in Europe had 'plunged so deeply into this
  guilt'

19
Abolition in England, 1806

• 1806 - James Stevens, MP, proposes the Foreign
  Slave Trade bill to cut off ties with France and
  allied slaving activity while Britain remains at
  war with France. Britain's slave trade is reduced
  by 2/3.
• 1806 - Lord Grenville becomes PM

20
1807 The Abolition Act

• 1807 The Abolition Act passes
• (Commons 283 to 16 Lords 100 to 34)
• It does not aim to challenge the perception of
  Africans as inferior
• It does not quell Englands exploitative
  dependence on colonial forced labour and
  production

21
Abolition in England, 1820s

• 1820s Elizabeth Heyrick helps to raise the
  profile of continued slavery in the Americas. She
  is criticized by the Clapham Sect for her stance
  on immediate abolition
• Inspires the establishment of over 70
  anti-slavery womens groups
• Campaigns for a boycott of slave sugar and its
  vendors
• Publishes an influential pamphlet, Immediate Not
  Gradual Abolition

22
Abolition in England, 1830-34

• 1833 Act abolishing slavery in the colonies is
  passed to take effect on 1 August 1834
• Slavery is replaced with forced apprenticeships
• Financial compensation offered to owners
• The Bishop of Exeter receives 13 000
• Owners receive 20 million (2.9 billion in
  todays economy, and half the annual national
  budget)

23
Abolition in England, 1834-39

• 1834 - Forced apprenticeships for former slaves
  begin
• 1834-1838 500,000 petitions sent in protest at
  the continuation of slavery
• 1838 Forced apprenticeships for former slaves
  end
• 1839 - Anti-Slavery International founded to
  address the continuance of slavery

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Anti-Slavery or Equality?

• Some opponents of abolitionism were also
  opponents of slavery
• 1823 Wilberforce responded to accusations that
  it would be equally cruel to continue slavery as
  to abandon newly freed slaves
• Williams - advocated a return to serfdom, linking
  slaves to property rather than owners
• Some thought that the Empire was too dependent on
  slavery for abolition
• They argued that it would be in the interest of
  the common good for slavery to continue

25

• Slavery is not an amiable trade but neither
  is the trade of a butcher, and yet a mutton chop
  is, notwithstanding, a very good thing
• (Thomas Grosvenor, MP, 1791)

26
Seeing Slavery?

• Many of Londons important landmarks, such as the
  National Gallery and the Bank of England, were
  built with funds directly from the profits of
  slavery
• Londons roles in the slave trade and modern
  slavery are far more wide-ranging than is often
  acknowledged

27
Abolition and the Docklands

• The 1807 Act had no effect on the booming
  business at the West India Docks - slavery was
  still legal in the colonies and people still ate
  sugar
• Boycotts and diversification began to slow
  production only in the 1820s

28
Protest and Positive Action Then and Now

• Everywhere people are asking me about immediate
  abolition, and whether that would not be the
  bestand whether they should not leave off West
  India sugar.
• (Thomas Clarkson, Abolitionist, 1824)
• 180 years later, numerous institutions and
  regions are working towards Fairtrade Status and
  ethical commercial practices.

29

• I dont want to hear apologies. I dont want
  them to feel guilty. But what I do need is for
  them to realise that the end of the slave trade
  was only 200 years ago, and that there are still
  consequences. Its not done yet.
• (David Monteith, slave descendant)

30
Legacies of Slavery

• These include
• Racist beliefs and practices
• Colonial and post-colonial policies
• Poor education about slavery
• Continued demand for low-wage production
• Wealth and privilege in the West

31

• The lifestyle of the privileged classes was
  dependent on the suffering of slaves.
• (Zoe Whitley, Curator, VA Uncomfortable
  Truths Exhibition)

32

• There approximately 24 million people enslaved
  throughout the world right now.
• Around 9 million children are enslaved today, as
  domestic workers, in armed conflict, as
  prostitutes, in forced recruitment and various
  other illegal activities

33

• Many young women are trafficked from central
  Europe to work in London as prostitutes, often
  forced to pay debts of more than 15 000.
• Mende Nazer was trafficked from Sudan as a child
  to carry out forced domestic work in London.
  Since her escape in 2000, she has worked as an
  activist and writer.
• Cecilia Flores won the 2005 Anti-Slavery Award in
  London for her work in setting up the Visayan
  Forum for child workers in the Philippines.

34
Take the ShacklesOff My Feet

• This Lent, Bishops Appeals are fundraising
  hundreds of thousands of pounds for numerous NGOs
  and charities committed to ending global slavery.

35

• Britain is crying out for justice. Campaigns,
  talks, events, and services are taking place
  across the country in 2007 and beyond.
• Museums and galleries throughout Britain are
  focusing on slavery in special exhibitions and
  permanent collections.
• Schools are working with NGOs to educate every
  student about slavery, trafficking, and human
  rights.

36

• On Saturday the 24th of March 2007, thousands
  joined the Archbishops of Canterbury and York in
  a walk from Whitehall to Kennington Park in South
  London, making a mark of pilgrimage through
  present and historical sites of resistance,
  complacency, deprivation, wealth, diversity, and
  hope.

37

• you can only be free if I am free.
• (Clarence Darrow)