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Defending the Slave Trade and Slavery in Britain in the Era of Abolition, 1783-1833 Paula Elizabeth Sophia Dumas Dissertation submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of History, Classics, and Archaeology University of Edinburgh 2012 Dumas i Declaration I declare that I composed this thesis and that this work is my own. This work has not been submitted for any other degree or professional qualification. Paula Dumas 2012 Dumas ii Abstract This study seeks to explore the nature and activities of the anti-abolitionists in the era of British abolition. There were Britons who actively opposed the idea of abolishing the slave trade and West Indian slavery. They published works promoting and defending the trade and the institution of slavery. They challenged abolitionist assertions and claims about life in the colonies and the nature of the slaves and attacked the sentimental nature of abolitionist rhetoric. Proslavery MPs argued in Parliament for the maintenance of slavery and the slave trade. Members of the West Indian interest formed committees to produce their own propaganda and petitions. They also worked with Parliament to develop strategies to ameliorate slavery and end British slaveholding, whilst securing several more years of plantation labour and financial compensation for slaveholders. Politicians, writers, members of the West Indian interest, and their supporters actively fought to maintain colonial slavery and the prosperity of Britain and the colonies. A wide range of sources has been employed to reveal the true nature of the proslavery arguments advanced in Britain in the era of abolition. These include committee minutes, petitions, pamphlets, reviews, manuals, travel writing, scientific studies, political prints, portraits, poetry and song, plays, and the records of every parliamentary debate on slavery, the slave trade, and the West Indian colonies. Specific proslavery and anti-abolitionist arguments have been identified and analysed using these sources, with some commentary on how the setting or genre potentially impacted on the argument being presented. This analysis reveals that economic, racial, legal, historical, strategic, religious, moral, and humanitarian arguments were all used to counter the growing popularity of abolition and emancipation. Proslavery rhetoric in Parliament is also analysed, revealing an active proslavery side committed to fighting abolition. Overall, this study contributes to our current understanding of the timing, nature, and reception of British abolition in Britain by showing that the process was influenced by a serious debate. Dumas iii Table of Contents Acknowledgements...................................................................................................... v List of Illustrations ..................................................................................................... vii Introduction.................................................................................................................. 1 Section One: Anti-Abolitionists and their Activities in Britain................................. 24 Chapter One: The Role of the West Indian Interest in Opposing Abolition and Emancipation in Britain, 1783-1833.......................................................................... 25 1. The Chronology of Anti-abolition ................................................................................. 26 I. 1770s and 1780s – Considering the Legality of Slavery............................................ 27 II. 1789-1807 – Revolution, War, and Abolition .......................................................... 30 III. 1807-1823 – International Abolition and Domestic Unrest .................................... 33 IV. 1823-1833 – Resolutions, Revolutions, and Emancipation .................................... 36 2. The West Indian Interest in Britain................................................................................ 43 3. West Indian Organisations in Britain............................................................................. 46 4. The West Indian Interest and Parliament....................................................................... 53 Chapter Two: Proslavery and Anti-Abolitionist Works Created and Published in Britain......................................................................................................................... 61 1. Pamphlet Propaganda .................................................................................................... 66 2. Reviews.......................................................................................................................... 80 3. Informative Works......................................................................................................... 86 4. Art and Creative Writing ............................................................................................... 98 Section Two: British Anti-Abolitionist Arguments and Rhetoric............................ 124 Chapter Three: Proslavery Arguments Presented in Parliament Prior to the Abolition of the Slave Trade .................................................................................................... 125 1. Economic Arguments .................................................................................................. 129 2. Strategic and Naval Importance................................................................................... 131 3. Historical Justification ................................................................................................. 138 4. Paternalist Arguments.................................................................................................. 141 5. Moral and Religious Arguments.................................................................................. 147 6. Racial Arguments ........................................................................................................ 150 Chapter Four: Intellectual Arguments Presented in Parliament Against the Abolition of Slavery, 1807-1833.............................................................................................. 157 1. Historical and Legal Justifications............................................................................... 159 2. Paternalist Arguments.................................................................................................. 164 3. Moral and Religious Arguments.................................................................................. 169 4. Racial Arguments ........................................................................................................ 172 5. Economic Arguments .................................................................................................. 175 6. Threat of Rebellion ...................................................................................................... 179 Chapter Five: Anti-Abolitionist Rhetoric in Parliament .......................................... 186 1. Attacks on Individual Abolitionists ............................................................................. 188 Dumas iv 2. Attacks on the Abolitionists’ Evidence........................................................................ 193 3. Attacks on the Abolitionists’ Methods ........................................................................ 197 4. Attacks on the Abolitionists’ Logic ............................................................................. 204 5. Attacks on Abolitionist Ideology................................................................................. 208 6. Anti-Abolitionist Rhetoric After 1807......................................................................... 215 I. Attacks on Individual Abolitionists ......................................................................... 217 II. Demonstrating Abolition’s Damaging Consequences............................................ 218 III. Attacks on the Abolitionists’ Methods .................................................................. 221 IV. Defending the Colonists and Themselves ............................................................. 224 Conclusion................................................................................................................ 229 Bibliography............................................................................................................. 235 Dumas v Acknowledgements I would first like to express my gratitude to my doctoral supervisors, Prof. H.T. Dickinson and Dr. Gordon Pentland, at the University of Edinburgh. Both showed a great deal of enthusiasm for my project from the very beginning and