The Abolitionist Movement
Important Dates:
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1772: Mansfield Case (No Slave could be forcibly removed from
England)
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1773: Wheatley's Poems on Various Subjects published (England)
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1775: American War for Independence begins
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1789: French War for Independence begins
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Equiano's Narrative published (England)
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1791: Equiano's Narrative published (America)
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1793: France abolished slavery in St. Dominique
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1802: Slavery reestablished by French under Napolean
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1804: Haitian Independence
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1807: Britain, U.S. abolish slave trade
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1833: Slavery in British territories "abolished"
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(As of Aug. 1, 1834, for those under six; others become unpaid "Apprentices"
for six year period)
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1838: July 1: All British slaves freed
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1863: Emancipation Proclamation in U.S.
1865: Thirteenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution ratified,
ending slavery
Discussion Questions:
209:
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Explain the "triangular trade" (209).
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Why was Wilberforce's first bill for abolition defeated in 1791?
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How did the increasing involvement of women help the movement?
209-10:
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What arguments did opponents of abolition present?
Mary Prince (c. 1788-after 1833):
History of Mary Prince, a West Indian Slave, Related by Herself
(1831)
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In the introduction to the Schomburg Library edition of this work, editor
William Andrews explains the significance of Prince's closing remarks,
asserting that her declaration "constitutes the first claim in the Afro-American
autobiographical tradition for the black woman's authority as a spokesperson
for all black people, regardless of gender, on the subject of 'what
slaves feel' about the morality of slavery" (xxxiv).
-
In describing the fact that the text was ghostwritten, Andrews remarks,
"The power to write their own stories as they saw fit did not come to female
slaves as early as it did to male slaves" (xxxiv).
220:
-
The excerpt opens after Prince, aged about 12, has been sold with her
two sisters to three different owners, as her "owner's" father, Mr. Williams,
needs money for his second marriage after the death of the kindly first
Mrs. Williams. Prince's discussion of this experience includes a
description of her mother, who accompanies her children to say good bye
to them, bidding them to be obedient (4).
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What is privateering?
222:
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Explain: "I was mercifully preserved for better things" (222).
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What is the significance of the earthquake?
223:
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Why isn't Prince allowed to say goodbye to her family?
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What is the difference, according to Prince, between Mr. D— and Capt.
I — ?
224:
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Explain Prince's final statement.
William Cowper (1731-1800)
"The Negro's Complaint" (1778)
238:
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Describe the Rhyme Scheme of this poem.
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Explain lines 7-8.
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Explain lines 15-16.
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Explain lines 25-28, especially the imagery in 27-28.
239:
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Who are "slaves of gold" (53)? Explain.
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Explain lines 55-56.
Hannah More (1745-1833) and Eaglesfield Smith
239:
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What was the purpose of the Cheap Repository Tracts?
"The Sorrows of Yamba" (1795)
240:
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Explain the irony of line 13, especially in conjunction with line 29.
241:
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Who is "happy" in line 49? Explain.
242:
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What (dis)service(s) does the English missionary perform for Yamba?
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Is Yamba suggesting that forgiveness of "Massa's sin" is a requirement
for God's mercy (115-16)? Explain.
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How does line 148 compare to line 55? Explain.
244:
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