Lessons from the British Abolitionists
Two years ago, on a friend’s recommendation, I read Bury the Chains, a book about the British Abolitionist movement. Twenty-five years before slavery ended in America, it ended in one of the most far-reaching empires in history thanks to the work of a small group of radicals who refused to shut up. At the time I read this, Trump’s presidency was a year old. The Republican party hadn’t gotten thrashed in the midterms yet, and so-called principled Conservatives proved to be a disappointment when it came to risking their careers to stop an immoral wannabe tyrant. This book filled me with hope when that word seemed synonymous with idiocy.
There are many books people should read about current events in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death. And it is especially important to listen to marginalized voices, but Hochschild work outlining one of the earliest social justice campaigns provides several key lessons for our times:
- It is possible to dream of a better world
Slavery was once thought of as a completely necessary evil. In the late 1700s, 75% of the world was in some form of servitude. And Britain was responsible for 50% of the slave trade. A group of people outraged by a massacre of slaves in Jamaica went against the conventional wisdom. It’s quite popular to believe that the industrial revolution and automation ended slavery, but that isn’t true. Yes, the Industrial revolution lowered the demand for labor, but believers in slavery would have found ways to justify it otherwise. - Change takes time
Granville Sharpe’s first encounter with the horrors of slavery was in 1765 when he witnessed someone beating a Barbadian slave with a pistol. Britain abolished slavery in 1833. The world is lucky for the handful of British radicals who went against British society and refused to give up. Few of the earliest abolitionists lived to see slavery end in Britain, but they laid the groundwork for its eventual eradication. - Improvement can happen in stages
The abolition of slavery did not happen all at once. There were victories along the way. The banning of slavery in England and the banning of the slave trade were crucial turning points in the fight to end slavery that improved lives. The abolitionists took half-measures, but they complained loudly. And their work was never done. - Setbacks will happen. They are disheartening, and often horrific. But they are not the end.
The Haitian War of Independence and the French Revolutionary Wars initially set the antislavery campaign back. But the movement still scored victories through a successful boycott of slave-produced sugar and the support of influential people like William Blake. Core activists who kept the movement alive through dark times made sure that when conditions were more favorable after the Reform Act of 1832, the abolitionist movement was ready to strike while the iron is hot. And they succeeded one year later. - You do not have to be marginalized to do something
Many abolitionists were well off. One of the most important figures in the movement was William Wilberforce, who was the parliamentary voice of the anti-slavery movement. He wasn’t marginalized. He was not even a Quaker. He was a conservative evangelical Christian who was to the right of British politics in every aspect except slavery. Thomas Clarkson was a Cambridge Divinity student. Even former slave Olaudah Equiano fared better than most fellow slaves because of his ability to trade goods on the side to buy his freedom. The ability to see past themselves gave them the drive to use their privilege for good. - People who aren’t in positions of power are essential to the success of any movement
The book concentrates on people like Wilberforce and Sharpe, but it also points out the role of the British working class, the slaves who rebelled, and women who refused to buy slave-produced groceries. If a movement doesn’t attract average citizens, it is just the intellectual curiosity of the rich. - Focus
The abolitionists at first focused mainly on ending the slave trade, because it seemed like a more achievable goal. Through the end of the slave trade, the complete abolition became easier. And by remaining focused on their goal, the abolitionists made alliances with people who would disagree with them on almost any other subject. Wilberforce was against the expansion of labor rights, for example. But at the time, slavery was an evil that needed to end. It’s not that people should put aside their differences and become friends, but people can work together on common goals.
The world seems dark right now, but as Leonard Cohen once said, there is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. The massacre of slaves in Jamaica should have never happened. But that atrocity kicked off a stirring worldwide revolution that has almost eradicated an institution once thought of as an intrinsic part of human civilization. George Floyd should be alive, but the best we can do to honor his memory is create a more equal society to live in.
