Introduction: The Origins of Antislavery in Birmingham
Transatlantic Slavery: A Historical Context
Aims for Learning
Introduction: The Origins of Antislavery in Birmingham
This is an engraving of Joseph Sturge (1793-1859), a forgotten figure in the history of Birmingham, who dedicated his life to bringing about an end to transatlantic slavery in the nineteenth century.
Living in Edgbaston, Sturge started out in business as a ‘corn merchant’, but was to spend much of his life pressing for urgent social change. A devoutly religious Quaker as well as a man of financial enterprise, an educational reformer and also an advocate of the working class vote, Sturge contributed to many areas of Birmingham’s public life. His most impassioned cause remained the abolition of slavery around the world.
Responsible for oppressing millions of Africans for an unjust profit, the slave trade that prospered in the late eighteenth century continued to haunt Sturge’s nineteenth century society. Birmingham itself was far from untainted by this trade: by selling guns, engines, metals and a range of industrial products, the town’s growth became linked to profits made directly or indirectly from the buying and selling of slaves.
At the same time, through the dedicated efforts of a wide range of people, Birmingham also became an important centre of antislavery activity. In fact, the origins of its antislavery campaigning can first be traced back to the eighteenth century, when the industrialists, manufacturers, inventors and intellectuals of what became known as the ‘Lunar Society’ (including members such as Matthew Boulton, James Watt, Joseph Priestly, Erasmus Darwin and Josiah Wedgwood) first regularly debated the problem.
However, it was not until around 1825 that specific antislavery organisations were started in Birmingham. Local archives and materials help to us to remember how individuals like Sturge did much to build the area’s reputation for promoting social justice. They also identify that Birmingham’s resistance to slavery ultimately extended far beyond being the product of one man, one organisation, or one outlook. Campaigning for social justice drew in a shifting mosaic of people and tactics, to leave a strong mark on the city’s social conscience.
Transatlantic Slavery: A Historical Context
Slaves were men women and children wrongly stolen by European traders from family and society in Africa and transported as cargo on terrifying journeys across the Atlantic: an ordeal which huge numbers did not survive. Of those who did, many ended up in the Americas where they would spend the rest of their lives as domestic servants or plantation labourers. As the ‘property’ of their owners, they were allowed no legal rights or cultural identity. Many slaves rebelled at the harsh conditions, led rebellions, formed secret gatherings and subverted their master’s authority.
But from around 1500 until as late as 1880’s, a transatlantic slave trade continued to exert itself as an unprecedented form of global oppression. In Britain, the first ‘Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade’ was formed by William Wilberforce in 1787. By the nineteenth century, many other antislavery societies had spread across the country, very often meeting with strong resistance from those who believed slavery was necessary for trade. As a consequence, antislavery laws were only gradually introduced over a long period of time, a result of prolonged campaigns of resistance.
In 1807, the first ‘Abolition of the Slave Trade Act’ was passed. After this time, the actual sale of slaves in the British Colonies was illegal. However, the use of existing slaves would still be allowed until 1834, when another act came into effect which ended the legal right to own slaves. Even then, a corrupt ‘apprenticeship’ system was still enforced in the West Indies until a further emancipation date of August 1st, 1838. Meanwhile, slavery in America continued until President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation 1863. Slavery in Cuba continued legally until as late as 1886.
It vital to remember that during this long and bloody struggle, it was not just Africans who were affected. As slavery became legally abolished, other unjust forms of cheap manual labour were often used to replace slaves, an issue which drastically affected the Asian continent with new forms of servitude. The year two thousand and seven will mark the bicentenary of the 1807 act. It is important to remember, however, that since then, certain forms of illegal slavery have continued to operate around the world; we still face the challenge of resisting the legacy of racism, poverty and oppression deeply rooted in the history of the slave trade.
Aims for Learning This guide to antislavery in Birmingham has several interconnected aims: (1) To show images and arguments that act as creative starting points in provoking your own personal ideas and research into a subject often surrounded by silence. (2) To illustrate how local archives can help you navigate an ongoing journey between the present and the past. (3) To open a discussion on how early antislavery activists might be linked to later human rights activities within Birmingham- this is why the ‘social justice’ learning package features two aspects: nineteenth century antislavery and twentieth century campaign groups such as the Indian Workers Association. (4) To suggest directions for further study. |
