Essays in this section:

Overview Essay on The Maroons

Maroons in Jamaica: Their Origins and Development
Maroon Culture and How it Came About
Maroons in Jamaica: An Account of Daily Life
Maroons: Violence and Confrontation with the Planters

During the 18th century, the powerful Maroons, escaped ex-slaves who settled in the
mountains of Jamaica, carved out a significant area of influence. Through the use of slave
labor, the production of sugar in this British colony flourished. But the courageous resistance
of the Maroons threatened this prosperous industry. These efforts included plantation raids,
the killing of white militiamen, and the freeing of slaves. The threat to the system was clear
and present; hence, the planters were willing to sign a treaty with the Maroons in 1738. The
treaty offers good insight to the relationship between the planters and the Maroons at the
time, and deserves further attention.

On March 1, 1738, the articles of pacification with the Maroons of Trelawny Town signaled to
Jamaica that a new era was emerging. The English planters had feared the rising power of
the Maroons, and therefore tried to subdue them. This proved to be unsuccessful,
consequently causing the English to realize that making peace with the Maroons was the only
possible solution. This treaty was the first of its kind and it demonstrated that a group of
rebellious ex-slaves had forced a powerful class of planters to come to terms. This was an
unlikely event during the eighteenth century, given the dominance of the planter class across
the Caribbean. Yet the fact remains that the treaty did not solely serve the planters’ interest.
For example, article three of the treaty states that the Maroons were given 1500 acres of
crown land, a necessity for the Maroons to maintain their independent way of life. In addition,
it made a boundary between the Maroons and the planters, which was to avoid future
conflicts.

Another example of an unbiased stipulation is article eight of

the treaty, which states: "that if any white man shall do any
manner of injury to Captain Cudjoe, his successors, or any of
his or their people, shall apply to any commanding officer or
magistrate in the neighborhood for justice." This showed some
equity under the law between the Maroons and the planters.
Furthermore, the fifth article of the treaty specifies "that
Captain Cudjoe, and all the Captain’s adherents, and people
now in subjection to him, shall all live together within the
bounds of Trelawny Town, and that they have liberty to hunt
where they shall think fit, except within three miles of any
settlement, crawl, or pen; provided always, that in case the
hunters of Captain Cudjoe and those of other settlements
meet, then the hogs to be equally divided between both
parties." In other words, the English planters were willing to
divide the game equally amongst themselves and the Maroons,
but more importantly, they were giving the latter the liberty to hunt freely.

Although the articles of pacification granted the Maroons of Jamaica many privileges, it also
attempted to limit their attacks against the system of slavery in general. There were hints of
favoritism towards the planters, for example, article thirteen required that the Maroons
continue to help clear roads from Trelawny Town to Westmoreland and if possible from St.
James to St. Elizabeth. This was biased because, as free men, the Maroons were not entitled
to labor for the planters. This showed that the planters viewed the Maroons to be inferior to
them. Another bias in the treaty includes article eleven which states that "Captain Cudjoe,
and his successors, shall wait on his Excellency, or the Commander in Chief for the time
being, every year, if thereunto required." This article reveals an attempt to keep the Maroons
subordinate and under control. In addition to article eleven, another article that reveals a
biased attitude is article fourteen, which affirms that two white men shall live with the
Maroons "in order to maintain a friendly correspondence with the inhabitants of this island."
Even though this treaty was to encourage a friendly relationship between the two parties, it
also gave white planters first-hand knowledge of the situation in the Maroon camp. Most
important of all, the treaty also required the Maroons to act as a sort of police force for the
planters, returning future runaways to the plantations, and drafting them to fight against
future rebellions.

This treaty contained elements of fairness and favoritism that were evident through its
articles. Some of these were beneficial to the Maroons, while others were not; however, the
signing of the treaty indicated that the Maroons constituted a substantial threat to the
planters. This treaty was not only ground breaking in that it recognized the Maroons and their
needs, but also revealed that the English planters were fearful of the Maroons capabilities and
ever-rising power.

Bryan Edwards, On the Maroons, (London, 1794) XIX-XX

 Essays in this section:
Overview Essay on the Planter's Perspective
Civil Laws Enacted by the Planters to Supress Slave Resistance
Slave Resistance in Post-Slave Trade Jamaica
Planters and Slave Resistance: Two Original Accounts

Plantation owners in the Caribbean looked to their

land and slaves as the key to their wealth. In order
to generate desired profits, these men had to ensure
that the operations ran smoothly. A chief factor in
achieving this goal was the suppression of slave
resistance by the most efficient means possible. To
understand how this worked, we have to look at both
what the laws of various sugar colonies mandated
and permitted, and what planters actually did. While
laws sometimes limited the punishments that
slaveowners were allowed to inflict, they were
typically not enforced. Instead they provided a
guidebook for the justification of cruelty.
Plantation owners and their employees generally reacted to individual and group resistance
by brutally punishing the enslaved Africans. The most basic punishment was the flogging,
carried out with thick leather cart-whips, leaving victims torn open and bleeding.
Nevertheless, reactions to resistance by the planters took many different forms, varying from
one sadistic slaveowner to the next. Some accounts
report that physical mutilations were forbidden on
certain plantations. Other plantation owners were
exceptionally malicious and chose even more drastic
actions towards slave resistance.

The establishment and management of the slave

institution in the Caribbean was done primarily
through laws which both regulated and promoted the
punishment of enslave Africans. These laws were
continuously modified in a way that would best
suppress resistance and covered broad issues. Many
attempted to govern the religious, labor, and social
practices of the slaves. The laws outlined the proper
punishments toward various types of resistance as well as specific punishments toward those
who enabled the resistance of the slaves.

All in all, we can interpret the responses to slave resistance through the many sources
documenting such punishments and laws. We have explored some of these sources within
this website. We hope to illustrate some of the perceptions of the planters, providing the
reader with a better understanding of the environment surrounding the institution of slavery
on the Caribbean plantation.
 Essays in this section:
Overview Essay on Women in Resistance
To Have and to Own: Slave Relationships
Tradition and Women in Resistance
An Even Stronger Woman: The Enslaved Black Caribbean Woman
Cannot Destroy My Spirit: Punishments suffered by Slave Women

In order to understand where you are going, you first have to know where you came from.
This idea was of great importance to us when we chose this topic. Not only are we women,
but black women whose past is obviously relevant in our every day lives. In attempting to
gain an understanding in the Caribbean slave woman’s role in resistance, there was a need
for substantial research, but we found that there was a lack of relevant primary sources. This
lack of information only reaffirms our belief that society during slavery days regarded the
black enslaved woman as inferior and of little importance. Not only did it become important
to shed light on the past, but also to recover the stories hidden by centuries of
misunderstanding and undervaluing of the independence and strength of Caribbean women.

This paper will focus on resistance to slavery

among Caribbean women. A secondary focus
will be on Caribbean women’s culture,
relationships with other slaves and her
"superiors," and the punishments to which
she was subjected due to her resistance.
Before we attempt to discuss these different
aspects, we first have to define the forms of
resistance. Here we group resistance into
two categories: active and passive. Passive
resistance involves the following: Slow
working, pretending ignorance and
deliberate carelessness. Active resistance is
more vigorous and has immediate results. Such actions were more rare because of the
penalties involved. Some of these were: refusing to engage in copulation with the master,
damaging and destroying owners’ property, (whatever machinery, livestock, burning of
mills); stealing and the most active of all, murder and revolt.

During our research we found that we had to peel away many layers before reaching the core
of active resistance. Many of these layers were laid down by enslaved women themselves,
who worked resistance into all the aspects of their culture and tradition. One example of this
phenomenon might be the practice of religion, a major part of life for Africans who were
brought into the Caribbean. When forbidden to continue the practice of this aspect of their
culture on the plantation, traditional religious practices then took on a deeper meaning for
Caribbean slaves. Through religion and dance, they were able to release themselves to their
gods and at the same time engage in a form of passive resistance. At the forefront of all this
were enslaved women, who passed down and kept alive a disproportionate amount of the
cultural heritage of Africa that survived in slavery. They did so through their roles as mothers
and healers, daughters and workers. They were, in short, strong women who felt it their duty
to uphold traditional values.

In many African cultures, women were honored and this attitude towards them did not
change within the Caribbean. Many of the religious rites and rituals took on an altered form in
the Caribbean, but the role of women was constant. The proof is in the legacy that has been
left behind. The same customs that enslaved Africans brought with them are still present
today. For instance, women have handed down lessons through the art of storytelling, an art
which they have maintained. Their stories tell of ancient people in ancient times but the
morals are relevant even today, as are told in the Haitian folktale "Ti Malice" or the Jamaican
folktales of "Anansi." Another part of life still present today is the art of hair braiding, an
ancient African tradition, which has always created a bond between mothers and their
children. As with cooking, it had to be taught and cultivated in order for them to have
substance, and it often provided the occasion for other kinds of instruction.

Slave women's reactions to and experience within slavery were different than that of the
African male slave. Like her Caribbean male slave counterpart, "Quashee," "Quasheba"
actively resisted the repressive and dehumanizing stranglehold of slavery. But enslaved
women devised ingenious ways of rebelling that were distinctively their own. These forms of
resistance were often actions that related to them particularly as women: resistance against
sexual assault; resistance through the passing on of traditions to daughters and other young
women; resistance through the distinctively female (in the Caribbean) activity of marketing.
Within the restrictions imposed upon the slave woman in Caribbean slave plantation society,
her actions in resistance are such that they could be considered an active form of resisting.

In other cases, enslaved women broke the bonds of not only slavery, but the stereotypes of
black womanhood as well. The enslaved black woman’s slave narrative, such as that written
by former slave Mary Prince, is an example of this active form of resistance. Here, in her own
words, the enslaved black woman tries to dispel the mythic stereotypes of the scheming, lazy
"Quasheba." In Quasheba’s place, she presents herself, industrious, resourceful, and
productive. Here, in her very own words, given the domestic, social, and economical
restriction inherent in slave plantation society, the slave woman proclaims herself as the sole
authority over her status, her life, and what her legacy to future generations will be.

Prince’s narrative could not by itself defeat things like the sexual exploitation of African
women in the Caribbean, the misery and theft of labor in the cane fields, or the harsh
punishments and tortures dreamed up by white slave owners and overseers. Nor could it by
itself alleviate the misery of the countless women who watched malnourished children die
before they ever got to listen to a story or have their mothers braid their hair. We could
easily conclude that the female slave’s misery was endless. We could conclude that the
distinctively female forms of passive and active forms of resistance mentioned here were not
very effective, or did not do much to eliminate the real economic and physical constraints of
slavery. In thinking of resistance, perhaps religion and dance are not the first examples that
would come to mind. But we also have to remind ourselves that cultural imperialism was a
significant way in which Europeans tried to strip slaves of their dignity. Therefore, in
discussing slave resistance, it is important to recognize one of the things that made slaves
feel they could no longer live as slaves, that being tradition. Since women upheld tradition, it
is also important to acknowledge their contribution to the struggle. Once you have an
understanding of your roots, you have the ability to grow stronger, stand firm in your beliefs
and are now capable to help others in their quest for self-empowerment. The ability of the
black Caribbean slave woman to withstand punishments, maintain cultural identity, resist the
master, and to take on various authoritative roles is the essence of true resistance. And the
black Caribbean slave woman passed on her power, beauty and strength to her descendants
in the form of a legacy of dignity and struggle, one still much needed in the world today.

Essays in this section:

Overview Essay on Women in Resistance
To Have and to Own: Slave Relationships
Tradition and Women in Resistance
An Even Stronger Woman: The Enslaved Black Caribbean Woman
Cannot Destroy My Spirit: Punishments suffered by Slave Women
Since the beginning of time woman has been the axis on which the world turns. Her ability to
bring forth new life and her capacity to withstand mental and physical hardships make
woman is who the world depends on to renovate and sustain itself. Her presence here on
earth is indispensable.

This is not about the general woman. This is about the black
woman; specifically the black Caribbean Slave woman. Her
presence has left a remarkable impact on history, one that
most whites have refused to admit or even care to
acknowledge. Few authors relay to the masses the trials and
tribulations of black Caribbean Slave woman. White America
refused to recognize that it was on the back of the black
Caribbean Slave woman that the slave system was built.
Within the configuration of the Caribbean slave system, her
relationship with her "master" and her fellow slaves played a
pivotal role

One of the few extensive accounts discovered about the

treatment of slaves in general is that of Thomas Thistlewood in
Jamaica. His diary, which contains daily accounts of his
activities and the activities of his slaves, sheds some light on
the subject of the slave-owner’s relationship with the black
Caribbean Slave woman. In Thistlewood’s entries, one discovers a fascination with some of
his black slave women. His writings are emotionless and indifferent whether he is providing
for an ailing slave or copulating with a slave woman. Yet despite this indifferent and unfeeling
tone, one finds instances in Thistlewood’s entries that reveal the white world’s fascination
with the black slave woman.

Thistlewood would on many occasions copulate with his black slave women and then pay
them. He would also make a certain woman his "wife". A slave woman such as Nago Jenny
would receive gifts while another slave woman would receive a whip to her backside.
Thistlewood continuously had relations with various slave women multiple times throughout
his stay in Jamaica. He relays these events in an odd Pig Latin. For example, we find he had a
penchant for "taking" Black slave women out in the field. He
says, "a.m. about eleven o’clock, Cum Ellin, an Ebo by the
Morass side, Supp. Terr. Toward the little plantain walk." This
diary entry states that about eleven o’clock in the morning he
had sex with Ellin, an Ebo, on the ground by the plantain walk.
It is doubtful that these "encounters" were voluntary on the
part of the black slave woman, however, there are two black
Caribbean slave women in particular who appear to have
regular "encounters" with Thistlewood: Abba and Phibbah.

Thistlewood seems to have affection for Abba. He slept with

her a total of 155 times over a span of seven years and he
paid her after every "encounter." For a time Thistlewood
became jealous of Abba’s pursuit of an affair with Jimmy, a
fellow slave. But of the two women, Phibbah is the most
interesting because of the influence she appears to wield over
Thistlewood. The two have a relationship that borders on that
of husband and wife. Phibbah is able to cross the master/slave
line without suffering the consequences. Slave women would occasionally resist the overtures
of their masters and be punished severely for their behavior. Phibbah on the other hand was
not subjected to such treatment from Thistlewood, who was after all her owner’s agent. She
would blatantly shun him and was able to leave and return to the grounds at her discretion.

After he "took" her, she would get up and go sleep somewhere else. In one of his entries, he
declared that "She was rather too saucy." One notices that he is concerned with Phibbah’s
attitude toward him. He would constantly mention how Phibbah would deny him and would
not speak to him. Phibbah would even argue with him when she suspected him of infidelity.
However, in retaliation and in an effort to establish his dominance over her, he had sex with
another slave woman in front of other slaves. Thistlewood wrote extensively of Phibbah in his
diary. He seemed to pay attention to the most minute detail where she was concerned. He
wrote of everything, from her toothache to her irregular monthly cycles to the treatment of
her venereal disease. His relationship with her was in the open and he was rather affectionate
towards her and their son Mulatto John. In his last will and testament Thistlewood provided
for his "wife" Phibbah. He requested that a manumission be secured for Phibbah and her
children. A lot of land was to be purchased and a house built for Phibbah the sum totaling
100 pounds.

Most enslaved Caribbean women were not "kept," as Phibbah was. Thistlewood had another
her and their son Mulatto John. In his last will and testament Thistlewood provided for his
"wife" Phibbah. He requested that a manumission be secured for Phibbah and her children. A
lot of land was to be purchased and a house built for Phibbah the sum totaling 100 pounds.

Most enslaved Caribbean women were not "kept," as Phibbah was. Thistlewood had another
sex partner on a separate estate who was just a sexually independent as he was. She was
known to sleep with several other slave men on the same estate. The male to female ratio
was very contorted explaining the strong competition for companionship and the rampant
violence. This was a stressful and difficult situation for the African man, who was used the
being the "king" of his castle. In Jamaica the black Caribbean slave woman was able to go to
whom she pleased and whenever she pleased. This placed on strain on the relationship
between the slave man and the slave woman. The black woman, recognizing her value and
the then current situation, took advantage. She would move from one man to another in
quick succession. This caused an unharmonious situation among the slaves on the plantation.
To add insult to injury, the slave woman was not always available to the slave man. The
master could always come and claim what he rightfully "owned." This angered the slave man
but what could he possibly do? The relationship between the three parties discussed was was
the source of social discord between slave man and woman. The presence of the white slave
owner further deteriorated an already severely weakened family structure.
The French Revolution furnished the Mulattoes and slaves with an opportunity and an inspi
ration after having witnessed the successful insurrection in France against the government’s
long-standing denial of equal representation of the Commons to that of the Nobility and Cle
rgy. This was such a revolution in the structure of French society that its news spread like
wildfire and was exactly the stimulus the slaves and Mulattoes in Haiti nee

d to inspire their revolt. The Governor of Haiti, Mon. Duchilleau, sought to slow down the p
rocess of insurgency in an effort to give the French government more time to formulate a p
olicy on slavery in the Caribbean, as well as for the political representation of the colo
nies in the National Assembly. However, his efforts to stall were not successful as the Hai
tian Revolution grew in scope and participation, eventually bringing slavery in Haiti
to an effective end.The radical slave revolt in St. Domingue occurred before the most turb
ulent years of the French Revolution. This reflects just how bad things in St. Domingue were
, and also shows that though some inspiration was needed to spark the slave revolt in St. Domi
ngue, it was not necessary for those there to s

how the French Revolution played out, as they were not concerned with the consequences of the
revolution, they were simply interested in the ideas put forth by it. Now that the inspiration f
or the revolt in St. Domingue was found, a leader was needed to take charge of the insurge
ncy, and that leader was Toussaint.Toussaint was the son of an educated slave who would g
o on to lead the most significant and successful slave rebellion and history, partly inspired b
y the developments that occurred simultaneously in France. Although at first he was uncommitt
ed to the revolutionary goal, events in France would soon inspire him to take action. A
s a leader, Toussaint was nothing less than inspirational, taking of the hundreds of slaves a
nd free Mulattoes who were revolting. Having found local leaders of the rebellion to be inept, he f
ormed his own army, inspiring hundreds

Coke, Thomas. A History of the West Indies.

Printed for the author, London, 1811.

Edwards, Bryan. The History of the West Indies.

Piccadilly Press, London, 1801.

Essays in this section:

Overview Essay on The Slave Trade
The Debate Over Abolition
The Middle Passage
The Christianization of Slaves in the West Indies
The slave trade comprises one of the most embarrassing chapters in European history. Its
cruelties are shocking to those reading about them for the first time, and its extent multiplies
that horror. From the 16th until the early 19th centuries, black slaves totaling nearly 12
million were brought from Africa to the New World , against their will, and forced to perform
back-breaking labor under terrible conditions. The end of the slave trade was a gradual
process, although the severity of it did not wane in its final years. The movement to abolish
the slave trade was broad based and rather loosely associated, including economists,
politicians, religious leaders and others. Eventually, the British slave trade was abolished in
1807, although illegal slave trading would continue for decades after that date. This paper
will focus on the arguments that surrounded the debate regarding abolition (Britain’s debate
will be the focus of this paper) and the circumstances under which the slave trade ended

Support for abolition in Britain dated back to the middle of the 18th century , but only many
years later did Parliament seriously debate the subject. When it did, former slave turned
abolitionist Equiano (Gustavus Vassa) was in no small part
responsible. Though a slave until the 1770’s, Equiano’s
writings to the Queen and elsewhere comprised the final
chapter of his lifelong resistance to slavery, first as a slave
and then as an abolitionist. His first-hand accounts of the
treatment of slaves detailed the horrors perpetrated even
against slaves that had bought their freedom. The account
of Equiano provides some insight into the day to day life of
a slave. In one instance, he witnessed the torture of one of
his close friends and felt tremendous desire to die and
thereby escape what he was seeing. Equiano’s frustration stemmed in part from the fact that
he had purchased his freedom, and yet was betrayed by his attorney and tortured aboard the
ship that was supposed to be sailing for his freedom. With liberty so close he could taste it,
the shackles of slavery and dishonesty of slave owners became even more anguishing. In a
nutshell, Equiano’s tale is a microcosm of the frustrations felt by slaves in the West Indies for
hundreds of years, always facing one more obstacle in the quest for liberation.

Writing in 1777, Equiano was politically astute, and was aware of both the political and
intellectual climate of the era. He recognized groups such as the Quakers who were
unequivocally calling for immediate abolition of slavery and the slave trade, but he also made
economic arguments similar to those of Adam Smith and his laissez-faire economic theory of
the "Invisible Hand." Indeed, with the British Parliament locked in a heated debate over
abolition (and what effects abolition would have on commerce), Equiano presented an
impressive case outlining how liberating Africa would open up a whole new market for British
industry. Ironically, and somewhat tragically, in the course of arguing for abolition Equiano
and others raved about the possibility of missionary work in Africa. "Missionary work",
however, would eventually result in colonization and severe exploitation of the continent.
Regardless, Equiano’s arguments had striking similarities to those that William Wilberforce
would employ with success in Parliament about ten years later.

One of the most important questions surrounding the abolition of the

slave trade is this one: why did it happen? Was it the intellectual climate
of the Enlightenment or the new economic fields that were opening up in
India, or in the textile mills of Manchester, providing alternatives to
British entrepreneurs and investors? CLR James argues in his book The
Black Jacobins that, despite all the soliloquies in Parliament on the
"immorality" of the slave trade, only economic necessity that brought
about abolition. British commerce was, of course, high on the list of
priorities to members of Parliament considering abolition. The issues of
"justice and humanity" were not the only issues considered in Parliament
as the slave trade was discussed. The most notable orator in Parliament
against the slave trade, William Wilberforce, argued that while, "justice
and humanity" demanded "immediate abolition", the latter also served
"the political interests of the British Empire."

Arguments that the slave trade served "political interests of the British
Empire" made sense in the context of the Parliamentary debate. Sir
William Young, a St. Vincent planter, commented in 1791 that "(Should abolition occur) I
presume not to measure the extent of ruin in the islands, and decay in commerce as
dependent for a time on that with Africa…" . Many MP’s opposed ending the slave trade on
the grounds that it would devastate British commerce. Some considered the slave trade a
necessary evil, whereas others such as MP Vaughan argued that "he had seen nothing of the
cruelties the Negroes spoke of." The former significantly outnumbered the latter, and this in
part explains why supporters of abolition put so much effort into detailing the advantages of
wage labor over inefficient slavery.

Even among those in favor of abolition, there was no consensus on the probable impact on
British commercial interests of ending the slave trade. Adam Smith, classical liberal that he
was, supported abolition and gave reasons why it would benefit the economy, although this is
not to say that he supported abolition solely because of the economic arguments. The
arguments he makes in The Wealth of Nations focus a great deal on how constrained labor
conditions, such as those under mercantilism or slavery, fail to allocate resources in the most
efficient manner. But many, including Sir William Young, remained skeptical regarding
Smith’s analysis, and the debate over abolition most likely was not
won on the strength of the Invisible Hand. By no means did such
arguments overwhelm the lobbying of British sugar interests, who
could not care less if slave labor "wasn’t allocated properly." In fact,
the ending of the slave trade may very well have been a case of
apparent "econocide" in the British West Indies. In fact, at the time
of abolition of the slave trade the sugar islands were more profitable
than they had been during the years from 1720-1775.

Less influential (though highly vocal) were abolitionist groups that

supported abolition regardless of the economic consequences,
including The Providence Society. They, along with the most radical
of the abolitionists, believed that not only was the slave trade
reprehensible ("an outrageous violation of all the rights of man" they
called the "abominable slave trade with the Africans") but also that
any association with it was "the work of the devil." Another irony is
that the Providence Society supported paying for the Africans to go
back to Africa if they wanted, as a means of truly spreading the
gospel to that continent. Borrowing from pro slavery propaganda, abolitionist groups often
accepted the idea that the Africans were "barbaric" and thus needed to be "civilized",
claiming that this could best be accomplished by setting them free.

Religion, in fact, played a central role in the debate over abolition. Opposing groups such as
the Quakers (to whom Equiano expressed his gratitude), there were those who argued that
since blacks were not Christians, they were not worthy of liberty. This created a bizarre circle
of theological debate: the slaves were brought from Africa partly under the guise that they
were to be Christianized/ civilized, but most only received education in the first principles of
Christianity, which as CLR James points out "marked the beginning and the end of their
education." On the other hand, the Quakers and
Providence Society recognized the hostility the slaves
must have felt towards Christians and, recognizing the
damage this was doing to the cause of spreading
Christianity, called for immediate abolition, often using
scripture to support their arguments.

But it may be a mistake to give too much weight to

arguments made either in Parliament or elsewhere
regarding abolition. As the account of Equiano
demonstrates, slavery as an institution was in trouble
under the pressure of a general resistance by the slaves,
a counteroffensive that was finally making breakthroughs
by the late 18th century. Still, the decision to enact
legislation terminating British involvement in the slave trade was certainly of great historical
significance. What abolition meant to the British Empire is an even more interesting question,
one that remains far from settled.

Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. London: 1789.

Great Britain. Parliament, House of Commons. Abolitionist Debate. London: 1789.

Antsey, Roger. The Atlantic Slave Trade and British Abolition, (New Jersey: Humanities Press,
1975).

Drescher, Seymour. A Case of Econocide :British Abolition and Economic Development,

quoted from.Antsey.

Hopkins, Samuel. Timely Articles on Slavery. (Miami, FL: Mnemosyne Publishing Inc., 1969).