World Anti-Slavery Convention: Difference between revisions
Victuallers (talk | contribs) →List of delegates: Edinburgh |
Goose friend (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 13: | Line 13: | ||
The circular message distributed in 1839 provoked a controversial response from American opponents of slavery. The [[Garrisonian]] faction supported the participation of women in the anti-slavery movement. They were opposed by the supporters of [[Lewis Tappan]]. When the latter group sent a message to the BFASS opposing the inclusion of women, a second circular was issued in February 1840 which explicitly stated that the meeting was limited to "gentlemen".<ref name="McDaniel"/> |
The circular message distributed in 1839 provoked a controversial response from American opponents of slavery. The [[Garrisonian]] faction supported the participation of women in the anti-slavery movement. They were opposed by the supporters of [[Lewis Tappan]]. When the latter group sent a message to the BFASS opposing the inclusion of women, a second circular was issued in February 1840 which explicitly stated that the meeting was limited to "gentlemen".<ref name="McDaniel"/> |
||
Despite an earlier statement that women would not be admitted, seven female abolitionists, including [[Lucretia Mott]], appeared at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. [[Wendell Phillips]] proposed that female delegates should be admitted, and much of the first day of the convention was devoted to discussing whether they should be allowed to participate.<ref name="McDaniel"/> |
Despite an earlier statement that women would not be admitted, seven female abolitionists, including [[Lucretia Mott]] and [[Ada Lovelace]]<ref>http://www.dandizettes.com/dandizettes/countess-ada-lovelace/</ref>, appeared at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. [[Wendell Phillips]] proposed that female delegates should be admitted, and much of the first day of the convention was devoted to discussing whether they should be allowed to participate.<ref name="McDaniel"/> |
||
A painting of the proceedings was commissioned that today is in the [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]]. This very large and detailed work shows Alexander as Treasurer of the new Society.<ref name=bap>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wFQEAAAAQAAJ&lpg=RA1-PA786&ots=hCUdNo1F_u&dq=%22George+William+Alexander%22&pg=RA1-PA786&ci=82,1258,856,289&source=bookclip"> The Baptist Magazine], 786, 1854, accessed 10 July 2008</ref> The painting portrays the 1840 meeting and was completed the next year.<ref name=npg/> The new society's mission was "The universal extinction of slavery and the [[slave trade]] and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured as slaves."<ref name=bap/> |
A painting of the proceedings was commissioned that today is in the [[National Portrait Gallery (London)|National Portrait Gallery]]. This very large and detailed work shows Alexander as Treasurer of the new Society.<ref name=bap>[http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=wFQEAAAAQAAJ&lpg=RA1-PA786&ots=hCUdNo1F_u&dq=%22George+William+Alexander%22&pg=RA1-PA786&ci=82,1258,856,289&source=bookclip"> The Baptist Magazine], 786, 1854, accessed 10 July 2008</ref> The painting portrays the 1840 meeting and was completed the next year.<ref name=npg/> The new society's mission was "The universal extinction of slavery and the [[slave trade]] and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured as slaves."<ref name=bap/> |
||
Revision as of 01:55, 25 June 2015
The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time in Exeter Hall, London, on 12–23 June 1840.[2] It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge.[2][3] The exclusion of women from the convention had important ramifications for the women's suffrage movement in the United States.[4]
Background
The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was principally a Quaker society founded in the eighteenth century by Thomas Clarkson. The slave trade had been abolished throughout the British Empire in 1807. In August 1833 the British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act, advocated by William Wilberforce, which abolished slavery in the British Empire from August 1834, when some 800,000 people in the British empire became free.[5]
Given the perceived need for a society to campaign for anti-slavery worldwide, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS) was accordingly founded in 1839.[2] One of its first significant deeds was to organise the World Anti-Slavery Convention in 1840: "The Convention assembled in London at the Free-mason's Hall, on Friday, 12th June. Our expectations, we confess, were high, and the reality did not disappoint them."[6] The preparations for this event had begun in 1839, when the Society circulated an advertisement inviting delegates to participate in the convention.[2] Over 200 of the official delegates were British. The next largest group was the Americans, with around 50 delegates. Only small numbers of delegates from other nations attended.[2]
The circular message distributed in 1839 provoked a controversial response from American opponents of slavery. The Garrisonian faction supported the participation of women in the anti-slavery movement. They were opposed by the supporters of Lewis Tappan. When the latter group sent a message to the BFASS opposing the inclusion of women, a second circular was issued in February 1840 which explicitly stated that the meeting was limited to "gentlemen".[2]
Despite an earlier statement that women would not be admitted, seven female abolitionists, including Lucretia Mott and Ada Lovelace[7], appeared at the World Anti-Slavery Convention in London. Wendell Phillips proposed that female delegates should be admitted, and much of the first day of the convention was devoted to discussing whether they should be allowed to participate.[2]
A painting of the proceedings was commissioned that today is in the National Portrait Gallery. This very large and detailed work shows Alexander as Treasurer of the new Society.[8] The painting portrays the 1840 meeting and was completed the next year.[1] The new society's mission was "The universal extinction of slavery and the slave trade and the protection of the rights and interests of the enfranchised population in the British possessions and of all persons captured as slaves."[8]
Proceedings (incomplete)
| Part of a series on |
| Forced labour and slavery |
|---|
 |
The convention's organising committee had asked the Reverend Benjamin Godwin to prepare a paper on the ethics of slavery.[9] The convention unanimously accepted his paper which condemnation of slavery but also the world's religious leaders and every community who had failed to condemn the practise. The convention resolved to write to every religious leader to share this view. The convention called on every religious communities to eject any supporters of slavery from their midst.[10]
George William Alexander reported on his visits in 1839, with James Whitehorn, to Sweden and the Netherlands to discuss the conditions of slaves in the Dutch colonies and in Suriname. In Suriname, he reported, there were over 100,000 slaves with an annual attrition rate of twenty per cent. The convention prepared open letters of protest to the respective sovereigns.[6]
Joseph Pease spoke and accused the British government of being complicit in the continuing existence of slavery in India.[11]
Legacy
Ten years later the National Women's Rights Convention was held in America as a result of women who had met here and been denied full access to the proceedings.
One hundred years later the Women's Centennial Congress was held in America to celebrate the progress that women had made since they were prevented from speaking at this conference.
List of delegates
| Delegate | Country | In painting? | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prof William Adam | US | very top right | from Massachusetts |
| Edward Adey | UK | very far right | from Leighton Buzzard |
| George William Alexander | UK | left | Treasurer |
| Richard Allen | UK | right | from Dublin |
| Stafford Allen | UK | left mid | committee |
| William Allen | UK | front mid left | Committee member |
| Sir Edward Baines M.P. | UK | left | News |
| Edward Baldwin | UK | right front | from Dublin |
| Saxe Bannister | UK | right | Pamphleteer |
| Edward Barrett | Freed slave | far right | former slave |
| Richard Barrett | US | very far right | |
| Isaac Bass | UK | far right | from Brighton |
| Henry Beckford | Jamaica | front centre | former slave |
| Abraham Beaumont | UK | left | |
| Mrs John Beaumont | UK | front far right | |
| William Beaumont | UK | left | from Newcastle on Tyne |
| George Bennett | UK | right front | |
| Rev. Dr. Thomas Binney | UK | far right | from Isle of Wight |
| James Gillespie Birney | US | left | |
| John Birt | US | back far right | from New York |
| Jonathan Backhouse | UK | left | from Darlington |
| W.T.Blair | UK | mid | from Bath |
| William Boulbee | UK | far right | from Birmingham |
| Samuel Bowly | UK | far left back | of Gloucester |
| George Bradburn | US | left | Massachusetts politician |
| William Brock | UK | rbbb | from Norwich |
| John Burnet | UK | mid | Abolitionist Speaker |
| Anne Isabella, Lady Byron | UK | bonneted far right | |
| Tapper Cadbury | UK | right back row | Businessman |
| Mary Clarkson | UK | bonnet left | Speaker's daughter in law |
| Thomas Clarkson | UK | main speaker | Abolitionist leader |
| Nathaniel Colver | US | right | |
| Josiah Conder | UK | ? | Committee |
| Daniel O'Connell | Ireland | far left | "The Liberator" |
| Francis Augustus Cox | UK | left | |
| Isaac Crewdson | UK | back row | Beaconite writer |
| John Cropper | UK | right front | from Liverpool |
| William Dawes | UK | far left | from Ohio |
| Prof. James Dean | US? | ? | from Vermont |
| Sir John Eardley-Wilmot | UK | mid left | MP |
| Joseph Eaton | UK | ? | from Bristol |
| John Ellis | UK | far right | from Leicester |
| William Forster | UK | front | Quaker leader |
| William Forster – | UK | front | Anti-Slavery ambassador |
| Josiah Forster | UK | front mid right | Quaker leader |
| Samuel Gurney | UK | under speaker | the Banker's Banker |
| George Head Head | UK | Front right | Banker from Carlisle |
| M.M. Isambert | France | mid | from Paris |
| Rev. John Keep | US | ? | from Ohio |
| William Knibb | Jamaica | front mid right | Missionary |
| Samuel Jackman Prescod | Barbados | front middle | Journalist |
| William Morgan | UK | middle front | from Birmingham |
| Dr. Murch | UK | yes | Baptist Union |
| John Scoble | Canada | front right | |
| Joseph Ketley | Guyana | front right | |
| George Stacey | UK | front | Quaker leader |
| George Thompson | UK & US | front mid right | Edinburgh |
| J. Harfield Tredgold | South Africa | under speaker | secretary |
| Dr Stephen Lushington | UK | left | MP and Judge |
| Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton | UK | left | |
| Rev. B.Godwin | UK | mid | from Oxford |
| Vice Admiral Moorsom | UK | left | |
| William Taylor | UK | mid | |
| John Morrison | UK | mid | |
| Dr George Prince | UK | ? | from Chesterfield |
| Joseph Soul | ??? | ??? | |
| Joseph Sturge | UK | left front | Organiser from Birmingham |
| James Whitehorne | Jamaica | ? | of Bristol and Jamaica |
| Joseph Marriage | UK | left front | from Chelmsford |
| William Leatham | UK | left | |
| Samuel Lucas | UK | left | |
| Samuel Fox | UK | left back | |
| Louis Celeste Lecesne | UK | left back | |
| Robert Greville | UK | far left | botanist |
| Joseph Pease | UK | mid right | |
| William Tatum | UK | right | from Rochester and Chatham |
| Richard D. Webb | UK | right | from Dublin |
| Rev. Thomas Scales | UK | right front | from Leeds |
| Rev. William James | UK | right | from Bridgewater |
| William Wilson | UK | right | from Nottingham |
| Rev. Thomas Swan | UK | right | from Birmingham |
| Rev. Edward Steane | UK | right | Baptist Union |
| Col. Jonathon Miller | US | right front | from Vermont |
| Capt. Charles Stuart | Jamaica | right | |
| Sir John Jeremie – Judge | Colonies | rbbb | |
| Charles Stovel | UK | far right front | Baptist Union |
| Richard Peek | UK | far right front | ex Sheriff of London |
| John Sturge | UK | far right | . |
| Robert Forster | UK | very far right | |
| Elon Galusha | US | right | |
| Cyrus Pitt Grosvenor | US | far right | |
| Henry Sterry (committee) | UK | far right | |
| Peter Clare | UK | far right | sec. of Society in Manchester |
| Rev. J.H. Johnson | UK | far right | from Devizes |
| Dr. Thomas Price | UK | far right | committee |
| Joseph Reynolds | UK | far right | from Bristol |
| Samuel Wheeler | UK | far right | from Rochester |
| Wiliam Fairbank | UK | far right | from Sheffield |
| Rev. John Woodmark | UK | far right | committee |
| William Smeal | UK | far right | fromGlasgow |
| James Carlile | Ireland | far right | minister |
| John Howard Hinton | UK | far right | Baptist minister |
| John Angell James | Ireland | far right | clergyman |
| Joseph Cooper | UK | far right | |
| Dr. Richard Robert Madden | Ireland/ Jamaica | far right | |
| Alderman Thomas Bulley | UK | far right | from Liverpool |
| Isaac Hodgson | UK | far right | from Leicester |
| Edward Smith | UK | far right | from Sheffield |
| Sir John Bowring | UK | far right | |
| Anne Knight – Feminist | UK | bonneted far right | |
| C. Edwards Lester | US | far right | American writer |
| Thomas Pinches | ? | far right | from Birmingham |
| David Turnbull | UK | far right | |
| John Steer | UK | very far right | |
| Henry Tuckett | UK | very far right | committee |
| James Mott[12] | US | very far right | |
| Richard Rathbone | UK | very far right | |
| Wendell Phillips | US | very far right | |
| M. L'Instant | Haiti | front far right | from Haiti |
| Henry Stanton | US | front far right | |
| Mrs Elizabeth Tredgold | South African | back row right | |
| Rev. T.M. McDonnell | ? | very far right | from Birmingham |
| Mary Anne Rawson | UK | far right | from Sheffield |
| Elizabeth Pease | UK | very far right | Suffragist |
| Jacob Post | UK | very far right | Quaker |
| Amelia Opie | UK | front far right | Novelist and poet |
| Rev. Thomas Morgan | UK | mid right | from Birmingham |
| Elizabeth Jesser Reid | ?? | No | |
| Norton Strange Townshend | ?? | No | |
| Rev A Harvey[13] | ?? | No | from Glasgow |
| Mary Grew[12] | US | No | |
| Lucretia Mott[12] | US | No | |
| Eliza Wigham | UK | No | Edinburgh |
| Abby Southwick[12] | US | No | |
| Henry Grew[12] | US | No | |
| Elizabeth Neall[12] | US | No | |
| Ann Greene Phillips[12] | US | No | |
| Charles Lenox Remond[14] | US | No | ex slave |
| Nathaniel Peabody Rogers[14] | US | No | |
| Emily Winslow[12] | US | No | |
| Isaac Winslow[12] | US | No |
Notes
- ^ a b The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840, Benjamin Robert Haydon, 1841, National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG599, Given by British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1880
- ^ a b c d e f g McDaniel, W. Caleb (2007). "World's Anti-Slavery Convention". In Peter P. Hinks, John R. McKivigan, R. Owen Williams (ed.). Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition. Vol. 2. Greenwood. pp. 760–762. ISBN 0313331448.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link) - ^ Maynard 1960, p. 452.
- ^ Sklar 1990, p. 453.
- ^ Slavery and Abolition, ODNB, accessed 10 July 2008
- ^ a b The Dublin Magazine, 1840 accessed 13 July 2008
- ^ http://www.dandizettes.com/dandizettes/countess-ada-lovelace/
- ^ a b "> The Baptist Magazine, 786, 1854, accessed 10 July 2008
- ^ Paper presented to the General Anti-Slavery Convention, Rev. Benjamin Godwin, 1840
- ^ The Baptist Magazine, page 374, retrieved 24 July 2014
- ^ Madhavi Kale (1 January 1998). Fragments of Empire: Capital, Slavery, and Indian Indentured Labor Migration in the British Caribbean. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 120. ISBN 0-8122-3467-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mary Grew, Abolitionist and Feminist, 1813–1896, accessed 19 July 2008
- ^ DOCUMENT 4 (1: 53–62): World's Anti-Slavery Convention, London, England, June 1840, accessed February 2013
- ^ a b [A Collection from the Miscellaneous Writings of Nathaniel Peabody Rogers], N.P.Rogers, 1949, p106, accessed April 2009
References
- Attention: This template ({{cite jstor}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by jstor:1888877, please use {{cite journal}} with
|jstor=1888877instead. - Attention: This template ({{cite jstor}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by jstor:3640236, please use {{cite journal}} with
|jstor=3640236instead.
Further reading
- Attention: This template ({{cite doi}}) is deprecated. To cite the publication identified by doi:10.1080/01440398408574876, please use {{cite journal}} (if it was published in a bona fide academic journal, otherwise {{cite report}} with
|doi=10.1080/01440398408574876instead.