{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_68144/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_68144","id":"gutenberg_68144","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68144","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - Modern (1750+)","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Slavery -- Early works to 1800"],"text":"THOUGHTS\n\nUPON\n\nSLAVERY.\n\n\nTHE FIFTH EDITION.\n\n\nBy _JOHN WESLEY_, A. M.\n\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n_LONDON_:\n\nPrinted by G. PARAMORE, North Green, Worship-Street;\nand sold by _G. Whitfield_, at the Chapel, City-Road; and at the\nMethodist Preaching-Houses, in Town and Country. 1792.\n\n[Price TWO-PENCE.]\n\n\n\n\nI. 1. By _Slavery_ I mean Domestic Slavery, or that of a servant to\na master. A late ingenious Writer well observes, \u201cThe variety of\nforms in which Slavery appears, makes it almost impossible to convey\na just notion of it, by way of definition. There are however certain\nproperties which have accompanied Slavery in most places, whereby it is\neasily distinguished from that mild domestic _service_ which obtains in\nour country.\u201d[1]\n\n[1] See Mr. _Hargrave\u2019s_ Plea for _Somerset_ the Negro.\n\n2. _Slavery_ imports an obligation of perpetual service, an obligation\nwhich only the consent of the master can dissolve. Neither in some\ncountries can the master himself dissolve it, without the consent of\njudges appointed by the law. It generally gives the master an arbitrary\npower of any correction, not affecting life or limb. Sometimes even\nthese are exposed to his will: or protected only by a fine, or some\nslight punishment, too inconsiderable to restrain a master of a harsh\ntemper. It creates an incapacity of acquiring any thing, except for\nthe master\u2019s benefit. It allows the master to alienate the Slave, in\nthe same manner as his cows and horses. Lastly it descends in its full\nextent from parent to child, even to the last generation.\n\n3. The beginning of this may be dated from the remotest period, of\nwhich we have an account in history. It commenced in the barbarous\nState of Society, and in process of time spread into all nations. It\nprevailed particularly among the _Jews_, the _Greeks_, the _Romans_,\nand the ancient _Germans_: and was transmitted by them to the various\nkingdoms and states, which arose out of the _Roman_ empire. But after\nchristianity prevailed, it gradually fell into decline in almost all\nparts of _Europe_. This great change began in _Spain_, about the end of\nthe eighth century: and was become general in most other kingdoms of\n_Europe_, before the middle of the fourteenth.\n\n4. From this time Slavery was nearly extinct, till the commencement\nof the sixteenth century, when the discovery of _America_, and of the\nWestern and Eastern coasts of _Africa_, gave occasion to the revival\nof it. It took its rise from the _Portuguese_, who to supply the\n_Spaniards_ with men, to cultivate their new possessions in _America_,\nprocured Negroes from _Africa_, whom they sold for Slaves to the\n_American_ Spaniards. This began in the year 1508, when they imported\nthe first Negroes into _Hispaniola_. In 1540, _Charles_ the fifth, then\nKing of _Spain_, determined to put an end to _Negro-Slavery_: giving\npositive orders, That all the Negro-Slaves in the _Spanish_ dominions\nshould be set free. And this was accordingly done by _Lagasca_, whom\nhe sent and impowered to free them all, on condition of continuing to\nlabour for their masters. But soon after _Lagasca_ returned to _Spain_,\nSlavery returned and flourished as before. Afterwards other nations, as\nthey acquired possessions in _America_, followed the examples of the\n_Spaniards_; and Slavery has taken deep root in most of our _American_\ncolonies.\n\nII. Such is the nature of Slavery: such the beginning of Negro-Slavery\nin _America_. But some may desire to know, what country it is, from\nwhich the Negroes are brought? What sort of men, of what temper and\nbehaviour are they in their own country? And in what manner they are\ngenerally procured, carried to, and treated in _America_?\n\n1. And first, What kind of country is that from whence they are\nbrought? Is it so remarkably horrid, dreary and barren, that it is a\nkindness to deliver them out of it? I believe many have apprehended so:\nbut it is an entire mistake, if we may give credit to those who have\nlived many years therein, and could have no motive to misrepresent it.\n\n2. That part of _Africa_ whence the Negroes are brought, commonly known\nby the name of _Guinea_, extends along the coast, in the whole, between\nthree and four thousand miles. From the river _Senegal_, (seventeen\ndegrees North of the line) to Cape _Sierra Leona_, it contains seven\nhundred miles. Thence it runs Eastward about fifteen hundred miles,\nincluding the _Grain-coast_, the _Ivory-coast_, the _Gold-coast_, and\nthe _Slave-coast_, with the large kingdom of _Benin_. From thence it\nruns Southward, about twelve hundred miles, and contains the kingdoms\nof _Congo_ and _Angola_.\n\n3. Concerning the first, the _Senegal_ coast, Mons. _Bene_, who lived\nthere sixteen years, after describing its fruitfulness near the\nsea, says, \u201cThe farther you go from the sea, the more fruitful and\nwell-improved is the country, abounding in pulse, Indian corn, and\nvarious fruits. Here are vast meadows, which feed large herds of great\nand small cattle. And the villages which lie thick, shew the country\nis well peopled.\u201d And again: \u201cI was surprized, to see the land so well\ncultivated; scarce a spot lay unimproved: the low lands divided by\nsmall canals, were all sowed with rice: the higher grounds were planted\nwith Indian corn, and peas of different sorts. Their beef is excellent;\npoultry plenty, and very cheap, as are all the necessaries of life.\u201d\n\n4. As to the _Grain_ and _Ivory-coast_, we learn from eye-witnesses,\nthat the soil is in general fertile, producing abundance of rice and\nroots. Indigo and cotton thrive without cultivation. Fish is in great\nplenty; the flocks and herds are numerous, and the trees loaden with\nfruit.\n\n5. The _Gold-coast_ and _Slave-coast_, all who have seen it agree, is\nexceeding fruitful and pleasant, producing vast quantities of rice and\nother grain, plenty of fruit and roots, palm-wine and oil, and fish in\ngreat abundance, with much tame and wild cattle. The very same account\nis given us of the soil and produce of the kingdoms of _Benin_, _Congo_\nand _Angola_. From which it appears, that _Guinea_ in general, is far\nfrom a horrid, dreary, barren country, is one of the most fruitful,\nas well as the most pleasant countries in the known world. It is said\nindeed to be unhealthy. And so it is to strangers, but perfectly\nhealthy to the native inhabitants.\n\n6. Such is the country from which the Negroes are brought. We come next\nto enquire, What sort of men they are, of what temper and behaviour,\nnot in our plantations, but in their native country. And here likewise\nthe surest way is to take our account from eye and ear-witnesses. Now\nthose who have lived in the _Senegal_ country observe, it is inhabited\nby three nations, the _Jalofs_, _Fulis_ and _Mandingos_. The king\nof the _Jalofs_ has under him several Ministers, who assist in the\nexercise of justice, the Chief Justice goes in circuit through all\nhis dominions, to hear complaints and determine controversies. And\nthe Viceroy goes with him, to inspect the behaviour of the _Alkadi_,\nor Governor of each village. The _Fulis_ are governed by their chief\nmen, who rule with much moderation. Few of them will drink any thing\nstronger than water, being strict _Mahometans_. The government is\neasy, because the people are of a quiet and good disposition; and so\nwell instructed in what is right, that a man who wrongs another is the\nabomination of all.--They desire no more land than they use, which they\ncultivate with great care and industry: if any of them are known to be\nmade Slaves by the white men; they all join to redeem them. They not\nonly support all that are old, or blind, or lame among themselves: but\nhave frequently supplied the necessities of the _Mandingos_, when they\nwere distrest by famine.\n\n7. The _Mandingos_, says Mons. _Brue_, are right _Mahometans_, drinking\nneither wine nor brandy. They are industrious and laborious, keeping\ntheir ground well cultivated, and breeding a good stock of cattle.\nEvery town has a Governor, and he appoints the labour of the people.\nThe men work the ground designed for corn; the women and girls, the\nrice-ground. He afterwards divides the corn and rice, among them:\nand decides all quarrels, if any arise. All the Mahometan Negroes\nconstantly go to public prayers thrice a day: there being a Priest in\nevery village, who regularly calls them together: and it is surprising\nto see the modesty, attention and reverence which they observe during\ntheir worship--These three nations practise several trades; they have\nSmiths, Sadlers, Potters and Weavers. And they are very ingenious\nat their several occupations. Their Smiths not only make all the\ninstruments of iron, which they have occasion to use, but likewise work\nmany things neatly in gold and silver. It is chiefly the women and\nchildren who weave fine cotton cloth, which they dye blue and black.\n\n8. It was of these parts of _Guinea_, that Mons. _Adanson_,\nCorrespondent of the Royal Academy of Sciences at _Paris_, from\n1749, to 1753, gives the following account, both as to the country\nand people, \u201cWhich way soever I turned my eyes, I beheld a perfect\nimage of pure nature: an agreeable solitude, bounded on every side by\na charming landscape; the rural situation of cottages, in the midst\nof trees; the ease and quietness of the Negroes, reclined under the\nshade of the spreading foliage, with the simplicity of their dress and\nmanners: the whole revived in my mind the idea of our first parents,\nand I seemed to contemplate the world in its primitive state. They are,\ngenerally speaking, very good natured, sociable and obliging. I was\nnot a little pleased with my first reception, and it fully convinced\nme, that there ought to be a considerable abatement made, in the\naccounts we have of the savage character of the _Africans_.\u201d He adds,\n\u201cIt is amazing that an illiterate people should reason so pertinently\nconcerning the heavenly bodies. There is no doubt, but that with proper\ninstruments, they would become excellent astronomers.\u201d\n\n9. The inhabitants of the _Grain_ and _Ivory-coast_ are represented\nby those that deal with them, as sensible, courteous, and the fairest\ntraders on the coasts of _Guinea_. They rarely drink to excess: if any\ndo they are severely punished by the King\u2019s order. They are seldom\ntroubled with war: if a difference happen between two nations, they\ncommonly end the dispute amicably.\n\n10. The inhabitants of the _Gold_ and _Slave-coast_ likewise, when they\nare not artfully incensed against each other, live in great union and\nfriendship, being generally well tempered, civil, tractable, and ready\nto help any that need it. In particular, the natives of the kingdom\nof _Whidah_, are civil, kind, and obliging to strangers. And they are\nthe most gentleman-like of all the Negroes, abounding in good manners\ntoward each other. The inferiors pay the utmost respect to their\nsuperiors: so wives to their husbands, children to their parents. And\nthey are remarkably industrious; all are constantly employed; the men\nin agriculture, the women in spinning and weaving cotton.\n\n11. The _Gold_ and _Slave-coasts_ are divided into several districts,\nsome governed by Kings, others by the principal men, who take care\neach of their own town or village, and prevent or appease tumults.\nThey punish murder and adultery severely; very frequently with death.\nTheft and robbery are punished by a fine proportionable to the goods\nthat were taken.--All the natives of this coast, though heathens,\nbelieve there is one God, the Author of them and all things. They\nappear likewise to have a confused apprehension of a future state. And\naccordingly every town and village has a place of public worship.--It\nis remarkable that they have no beggars among them; such is the care of\nthe chief men, in every city and village, to provide some easy labour,\neven for the old and weak. Some are employed in blowing the Smith\u2019s\nbellows; others in pressing palm-oil; others in grinding of colours. If\nthey are too weak even for this, they sell provisions in the market.\n\n12. The natives of the kingdom of _Benin_ are a reasonable and\ngood-natured people. They are sincere and inoffensive, and do no\ninjustice either to one another or to strangers. They are eminently\ncivil and courteous: if you make them a present, they endeavour to\nrepay it double. And if they are trusted, till the ship returns the\nnext year, they are sure honestly to pay the whole debt. Theft is\npunished among them, although not with the same severity as murder.\nIf a man and woman of any quality, are taken in adultery, they are\ncertain to be put to death, and their bodies thrown on a dunghill, and\nleft a prey to wild beasts. They are punctually just and honest in\ntheir dealings; and are also very charitable: the King and the great\nLords taking care to employ all that are capable of any work. And those\nthat are utterly helpless they keep for God\u2019s sake; so that here also\nare no beggars. The inhabitants of _Congo_ and _Angola_ are generally\na quiet people. They discover a good understanding, and behave in a\nfriendly manner to strangers, being of a mild temper and an affable\ncarriage.----Upon the whole therefore the Negroes who inhabit the\ncoast of _Africa_, from the river _Senegal_ to the Southern bounds\nof _Angola_, are so far from being the stupid, senseless, brutish,\nlazy barbarians, the fierce, cruel, perfidious Savages they have been\ndescribed, that on the contrary, they are represented by them who have\nno motive to flatter them, as remarkably sensible, considering the few\nadvantages they have for improving their understanding: as industrious\nto the highest degree, perhaps more so than any other natives of so\nwarm a climate: as fair, just and honest in all their dealings, unless\nwhere white men have taught them to be otherwise: and as far more mild,\nfriendly and kind to strangers, than any of our forefathers were. Our\nforefathers! Where shall we find at this day, among the fair-faced\nnatives of _Europe_, a nation generally practising the justice, mercy,\nand truth, which are found among these poor _Africans_? Suppose the\npreceding accounts are true, (which I see no reason or pretence to\ndoubt of,) and we may leave _England_ and _France_, to seek genuine\nhonesty in _Benin_, _Congo_, or _Angola_.\n\nIII. We have now seen what kind of country it is, from which the\nNegroes are brought: and what sort of men (even white men being the\njudges) they were in their own country. Enquire we, thirdly, In\nwhat manner are they generally procured, carried to, and treated in\n_America_.\n\n1. _First._ In what manner are they procured? Part of them by fraud.\nCaptains of ships from time to time, invited Negroes to come on board,\nand then carried them away. But far more have been procured by force.\nThe Christians landing upon their coasts, seized as many as they found,\nmen, women and children, and transported them to _America_. It was\nabout 1551, that the _English_ began trading to _Guinea_: at first, for\ngold and Elephant\u2019s teeth, but soon after, for men. In 1556, Sir _John\nHawkins_ sailed with two ships to Cape _Verd_, where he sent eighty men\non shore to catch Negroes. But the natives flying, they fell farther\ndown, and there set the men on shore, \u201cto burn their towns and take the\ninhabitants.\u201d But they met with such resistance, that they had seven\nmen killed, and took but ten Negroes. So they went still farther down,\ntill having taken enough, they proceeded to the _West-Indies_ and sold\nthem.\n\n2. It was some time before the _Europeans_ found a more compendious\nway of procuring _African_ Slaves, by prevailing upon them to make war\nupon each other, and to sell their prisoners. Till then they seldom had\nany wars: but were in general quiet and peaceable. But the white men\nfirst taught them drunkenness and avarice, and then hired them to sell\none another. Nay, by this means, even their Kings are induced to sell\ntheir own subjects. So Mr. _Moore_ (Factor of the _African_ Company in\n1730) informs us, \u201cWhen the King of _Barsalli_ wants goods or brandy,\nhe sends to the _English_ Governor at _James\u2019_ Fort, who immediately\nsends a sloop. Against the time it arrives, he plunders some of his\nneighbours\u2019 towns, selling the people for the goods he wants. At other\ntimes he falls upon one of his own towns, and makes bold to sell his\nown subjects.\u201d So Mons. _Brue_ says, \u201cI wrote to the King\u201d (not the\nsame) \u201cif he had a sufficient number of slaves I would treat with\nhim. He seized three hundred of his own people, and sent word he was\nready to deliver them for goods.\u201d He adds, \u201cSome of the natives are\nalways ready\u201d (when well paid) \u201cto surprize and carry off their own\ncountrymen. They come at night without noise, and if they find any\nlone cottage, surround it and carry off all the people.\u201d--_Barbot_,\n(another French Factor) says, \u201cMany of the Slaves sold by the Negroes\nare prisoners of war, or taken in the incursions they make into their\nenemy\u2019s territories. Others are stolen. Abundance of little Blacks of\nboth sexes, are stolen away by their neighbours, when found abroad on\nthe road, or in the woods, or else in the corn-fields, at the time\nof year when their parents keep them there all day to scare away the\ndevouring birds.\u201d That their own parents sell them, is utterly false:\nWhites not Blacks, are without natural affection!\n\n3. To set the manner wherein Negroes are procured in a yet stronger\nlight, it will suffice to give an extract of two voyages to _Guinea_ on\nthis account. The first is taken verbatim from the original manuscript\nof the Surgeon\u2019s Journal.\n\n\u201cSESTRO, Dec. 29, 1724. No trade to-day, though many traders came on\nboard. They informed us, that the people are gone to war within land,\nand will bring prisoners enough in two or three days; in hopes of which\nwe stay.\n\n\u201cThe 30th. No trade yet: but our traders came on board to-day, and\ninformed us the people had burnt four towns: so that to-morrow we\nexpect slaves off.\n\n\u201cThe 31st, Fair weather; but no trading yet. We see each night towns\nburning. But we hear many of the _Sestro_ men are killed by the inland\nNegroes: so that we fear this war will be unsuccessful.\n\n\u201cThe second of January. Last night we saw a prodigious fire break out\nabout eleven o\u2019clock, and this morning see the town of _Sestro_ burnt\ndown to the ground.\u201d (It contained some hundred houses.) \u201cSo that we\nfind their enemies are too hard for them at present, and consequently\nour trade spoiled here. Therefore about seven o\u2019clock we weighed\nanchor, to proceed lower down.\u201d\n\n4. The second Extract taken from the Journal of a Surgeon, who went\nfrom _New-York_ on the same trade, is as follows. \u201cThe Commander of the\nvessel sent to acquaint the King, that he wanted a cargo of slaves. The\nKing promised to furnish him, and in order to it, set out, designing to\nsurprize some town, and make all the people prisoners. Some time after,\nthe King sent him word, he had not yet met with the desired success:\nhaving attempted to break up two towns, but having been twice repulsed:\nbut that he still hoped to procure the number of Slaves. In this design\nhe persisted, till he met his enemies in the field. A battle was\nfought, which lasted three days. And the engagement was so bloody, that\nfour thousand five hundred men were slain upon the spot.\u201d----Such is\nthe manner wherein the Negroes are procured! Thus the Christians preach\nthe Gospel to the Heathens!\n\n5. Thus they are _procured_. But in what numbers and in what manner are\nthey carried to _America_?----Mr. _Anderson_ in his history of Trade\nand Commerce, observes, \u201c_England_ supplies her _American_ Colonies\nwith Negro-slaves, amounting in number to about a hundred thousand\nevery year.\u201d That is, so many are taken on board our ships; but at\nleast ten thousand of them die in the voyage: about a fourth part more\ndie at the different Islands, in what is called the Seasoning. So that\nat an average, in the passage and seasoning together, thirty thousand\ndie: that is, properly are murdered. O earth, O sea, cover not thou\ntheir blood!\n\n6. When they are brought down to the shore in order to be sold, our\nSurgeons thoroughly examine them, and that quite naked, women and men,\nwithout any distinction: those that are approved are set on one side.\nIn the mean time a burning iron, with the arms or name of the Company,\nlies in the fire, with which they are marked on the breast. Before they\nare put into the ships, their masters strip them of all they have on\ntheir backs: so that they come on board stark naked, women as well\nas men. It is common for several hundred of them to be put on board\none vessel: where they are stowed together in as little room as it is\npossible for them to be crowded. It is easy to suppose what a condition\nthey must soon be in, between heat, thirst and stench of various kinds.\nSo that it is no wonder, so many should die in the passage; but rather\nthat any survive it.\n\n7. When the vessels arrive at their destined port, the Negroes are\nagain exposed naked, to the eyes of all that flock together, and\nthe examination of their purchasers; then they are separated to the\nplantations of their several masters, to see each other no more. Here\nyou may see mothers hanging over their daughters, bedewing their naked\nbreasts with tears, and daughters clinging to their parents, till the\nwhipper soon obliges them to part. And what can be more wretched than\nthe condition they then enter upon? Banished from their country, from\ntheir friends and relations for ever, from every comfort of life, they\nare reduced to a state scarce any way preferable to that of beasts of\nburden. In general a few roots, not of the nicest kind, usually yams or\npotatoes, are their food, and two rags, that neither screen them from\nthe heat of the day, nor the cold of the night their covering. Their\nsleep is very short, their labour continual, and frequently above their\nstrength; so that death sets many of them at liberty, before they have\nlived out half their days. The time they work in the _West-Indies_, is\nfrom day-break to noon, and from two o\u2019clock till dark: during which\ntime they are attended by overseers, who, if they think them dilatory,\nor think any thing not so well done as it should be, whip them most\nunmercifully, so that you may see their bodies long after whealed and\nscarred usually from the shoulders to the waist. And before they are\nsuffered to go to their quarters, they have commonly something to\ndo, as collecting herbage for the horses, or gathering fewel for the\nboilers. So that it is often past twelve before they can get home.\nHence if their food is not prepared, they are some times called to\nlabour again, before they can satisfy their hunger. And no excuse will\navail. If they are not in the field immediately, they must expect to\nfeel the lash. Did the Creator intend that the noblest creatures in\nthe visible world, should live such a life as this! \u201cAre _these_ thy\nglorious works, Parent of Good?\u201d\n\n8. As to the punishment inflicted on them, says Sir _Hans Sloan_,\n\u201cthey frequently geld them, or chop off half a foot: after they are\nwhipped till they are raw all over. Some put pepper and salt upon\nthem: some drop melted wax upon their skin. Others cut off their ears,\nand constrain them to broil and eat them. For Rebellion,\u201d (that is,\nasserting their native Liberty, which they have as much right to as to\nthe air they breathe) \u201cthey fasten them down to the ground with crooked\nsticks on every limb, and then applying fire by degrees, to the feet\nand hands, they burn them gradually upward to the head.\u201d\n\n9. But will not the laws made in the plantations, prevent or redress\nall cruelty and oppression? We will take but a few of those laws for a\nspecimen, and then let any man judge.\n\nIn order to rivet the chain of slavery, the law of _Virginia_ ordains,\n\u201cThat no slave shall be set free, upon any pretence whatever, except\nfor some meritorious services, to be adjudged and allowed by the\n_Governor and Council_: and that where any slave shall be set free by\nhis owner, otherwise than is herein directed, the Church-wardens of the\nparish wherein such negro shall reside for the space of one month are\nhereby authorized and required, to _take up and sell_ the said negro,\nby _public outcry_.\u201d\n\n10. Will not these Law-givers take effectual care, to prevent cruelty\nand oppression?\n\nThe law of _Jamaica_ ordains, \u201cEvery slave that shall run away, and\ncontinue absent from his master twelve months, shall be _deemed\nrebellious_:\u201d And by another law, fifty pounds are allowed, to those\nwho kill or bring in alive a _rebellious_ slave. So their law treats\nthese poor men with as little ceremony and consideration, as if they\nwere merely brute beasts! But the innocent blood which is shed in\nconsequence of such a detestable law, must call for vengeance on the\nmurderous abetters and actors of such deliberate wickedness.\n\n11. But the law of _Barbadoes_ exceeds even this, \u201cIf any negro under\npunishment, by his master, or his order, for running away, or any other\ncrime or misdemeanor, shall suffer _in life or member, no person\nwhatsoever shall be liable to any fine therefore_. But if any man, of\nwantonness, or only of bloody-mindedness or cruel intention, _wilfully\nkill_ a negro of his own\u201d (Now observe the severe punishment!) \u201cHe\nshall pay into the public treasury fifteen pounds sterling! And not be\nliable to any other punishment or forfeiture for the same!\u201d\n\nNearly allied to this is that law of _Virginia_: \u201cAfter proclamation\nis issued against slaves that run away, it is lawful for any person\nwhatsoever to kill and destroy such slaves, by such ways and means as\nhe shall think fit.\u201d\n\nWe have seen already some of the ways and means which have been\n_thought fit_ on such occasions. And many more might be mentioned.\nOne Gentleman, when I was abroad, _thought fit_ to roast his slave\nalive! But if the most natural act of \u201crunning away\u201d from intolerable\ntyranny, deserves such relentless severity, what punishment have these\n_Law-makers_ to expect hereafter, on account of their own enormous\noffences?\n\nIV. 1. This is the plain, unaggravated matter of fact. Such is the\nmanner wherein our _African_ slaves are procured: such the manner\nwherein they are removed from their native land, and wherein they are\ntreated in our plantations. I would now enquire, whether these things\ncan be defended, on the principles of even heathen honesty? Whether\nthey can be reconciled (setting the Bible out of the question) with any\ndegree of either justice or mercy?\n\n2. The grand plea is, \u201cThey are authorized by law.\u201d But can law, Human\nLaw, change the nature of things? Can it turn darkness into light,\nor evil into good? By no means. Notwithstanding ten thousand laws,\nright is right, and wrong is wrong still. There must still remain an\nessential difference between justice and injustice, cruelty and mercy.\nSo that I still ask, who can reconcile this treatment of the negroes,\nfirst and last, with either mercy or justice?\n\nWhere is the justice of inflicting the severest evils, on those that\nhave done us no wrong? Of depriving those that never injured us in word\nor deed, of every comfort of life? Of tearing them from their native\ncountry, and depriving them of liberty itself? To which an _Angolan_,\nhas the same natural right as an _Englishman_, and on which he sets as\nhigh a value? Yea, where is the justice of taking away the lives of\ninnocent, inoffensive men? Murdering thousands of them in their own\nland, by the hands of their own countrymen: many thousands, year after\nyear, on shipboard, and then casting them like dung into the sea! And\ntens of thousands in that cruel slavery, to which they are so unjustly\nreduced?\n\n3. But waving, for the present, all other considerations, I strike\nat the root of this complicated villany. I absolutely deny all\nslave-holding to be consistent with any degree of natural justice.\n\nI cannot place this in a clearer light, than that great ornament of his\nprofession, Judge _Blackstone_ has already done. Part of his words are\nas follows:\n\n\u201cThe three origins of the right of slavery assigned by _Justinian_,\nare all built upon false foundations. 1. Slavery is said to arise\nfrom captivity in war. The conqueror having a right to the life of\nhis captive, if he spares that, has then a right to deal with them as\nhe speaks. But this is untrue, if taken generally, That by the laws\nof nations, a man has a right to kill his enemy. He has only a right\nto kill him in particular cases, in cases of absolute necessity for\nself-defence. And it is plain, this absolute necessity did not subsist,\nsince he did not kill him, but made him prisoner. War itself is\njustifiable only on principles of self-preservation. Therefore it gives\nus no right over prisoners, but to hinder their hurting us by confining\nthem. Much less can it give a right to torture, or kill, or even\nenslave an enemy when the war is over. Since therefore the right of\nmaking our prisoners slaves, depends on a supposed right of slaughter,\nthat foundation failing, the consequence which is drawn from it must\nfail likewise.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt is said secondly, Slavery may begin, by one man\u2019s selling himself\nto another. And it is true, a man may sell himself to work for another;\nbut he can not sell himself to be a slave, as above defined. Every sale\nimplies an equivalent given to the seller, in lieu of what he transfers\nto the buyer. But what equivalent can be given for life or liberty?\nHis property likewise, with the very price which he seems to receive,\ndevolves _ipso facto_ to his master, the instant he becomes his slave:\nin this case therefore the buyer gives nothing. Of what validity then\ncan a sale be, which destroys the very principle upon which all sales\nare founded?\u201d\n\n\u201cWe are told, Thirdly, that men may be _born slaves_, by being the\nchildren of slaves. But this being built upon the two former rights\nmust fall together with them, if neither captivity, nor contract can\nby the plain law of nature and reason, reduce the parent to a state of\nslavery, much less can they reduce the offspring.\u201d It clearly follows,\nthat all slavery is as irreconcileable to justice as to mercy.\n\n4. That slave-holding is utterly inconsistent with mercy, is almost\ntoo plain to need a proof. Indeed it is said, \u201cThat these negroes\nbeing prisoners of war, our captains and factors buy them, merely to\nsave them from being put to death. And is not this mercy?\u201d I answer,\n1. Did Sir _John Hawkins_, and many others, seize upon men, women and\nchildren, who were at peace in their own fields and houses, merely to\nsave them from death? 2. Was it to save them from death, that they\nknock\u2019d out the brains of those they could not bring away? 3. Who\noccasioned and fomented those wars, wherein these poor creatures were\ntaken prisoners? Who excited them by money, by drink, by every possible\nmeans, to fall upon one another? Was it not themselves? They know in\ntheir own conscience it was, if they have any conscience left. But 4.\nTo bring the matter to a short issue. Can they say before God, That\nthey ever took a single voyage, or bought a single negro from this\nmotive? They cannot, they well know, to get money, not to save lives,\nwas the whole and sole spring of their motions.\n\n5. But if this manner of procuring and tearing negroes is not\nconsistent either with mercy or justice, yet there is a plea for it\nwhich every man of business will acknowledge to be quite sufficient.\nFifty years ago, one meeting an eminent statesman in the lobby of the\nHouse of Commons, said, \u201cYou have been long talking about justice and\nequity, Pray which is this bill? Equity or justice?\u201d He answered, very\nshort, and plain, \u201cD--n justice: it is necessity.\u201d Here also the\nslave-holder fixes his foot: here he rests the strength of his cause.\n\u201cIf it is not quite right, yet it _must_ be so: there is an absolute\n_necessity for it_. It is necessary we should procure slaves: and when\nwe have procured them, it is necessary to use them with severity,\nconsidering their stupidity, stubbornness and wickedness.\u201d\n\nI answer, You stumble at the threshold: I deny that villany is ever\nnecessary. It is impossible that it should ever be necessary, for\nany reasonable creature to violate all the laws of justice, mercy,\nand truth. No circumstances can make it necessary for a man to burst\nin sunder all the ties of humanity. It can never be necessary for a\nrational being to sink himself below a brute. A man can be under no\nnecessity, of degrading himself into a wolf. The absurdity of the\nsupposition is so glaring, that one would wonder any one could help\nseeing it.\n\n6. This in general. But to be more particular, I ask, 1. What is\nnecessary? And secondly, To what end? It may be answered, \u201cThe whole\nmethod now used by the original purchasers of negroes, is necessary to\nthe furnishing our colonies yearly with a hundred thousand slaves.\u201d I\ngrant this is necessary to that end. But how is that end necessary?\nHow will you prove it necessary that one hundred, that _one_ of those\nslaves should be procured? \u201cWhy, it is necessary to my gaining an\nhundred thousand pounds.\u201d Perhaps so: but how is _this_ necessary?\nIt is very possible you might be both a better and a happier man, if\nyou had not a quarter of it. I deny that your gaining one thousand is\nnecessary, either to your present or eternal happiness. \u201cBut however\nyou must allow, these slaves are necessary for the cultivation of\nour Islands: inasmuch as white men are not able to labour in hot\nclimates.\u201d I answer, 1. It were better that all those Islands should\nremain uncultivated for ever, yea, it were more desirable that they\nwere altogether sunk in the depth of the sea, than that they should\nbe cultivated at so high a price, as the violation of justice, mercy\nand truth. But, secondly, the supposition on which you ground your\nargument is false. For white men, even _English_ men, are well able\nto labour in hot climates: provided they are temperate both in meat\nand drink, and that they inure themselves to it by degrees. I speak\nno more than I know by experience. It appears from the thermometer,\nthat the summer heat in _Georgia_, is frequently equal to that in\n_Barbadoes_, yea to that under the line. And yet I and my family (eight\nin number) did employ all our spare time there, in felling of trees and\nclearing of ground, as hard labour as any negro need be employed in.\nThe _German_ family likewise, forty in number, were employed in all\nmanner of labour. And this was so far from impairing our health, that\nwe all continued perfectly well, while the idle ones round about us,\nwere swept away as with a pestilence. It is not true therefore that\nwhite men are not able to labour, even in hot climates, full as well\nas black. But if they were not, it would be better that none should\nlabour there, that the work should be left undone, than that myriads\nof innocent men should be murdered, and myriads more dragged into the\nbasest slavery.\n\n7. \u201cBut the furnishing us with slaves is necessary, for the trade, and\nwealth, and glory of our nation:\u201d here are several mistakes. For 1.\nWealth is not necessary to the glory of any nation; but wisdom, virtue,\njustice, mercy, generosity, public spirit, love of our country. These\nare necessary to the real glory of a nation; but abundance of wealth\nis not. Men of understanding allow, that the glory of _England_ was\nfull as high, in Queen _Elizabeth\u2019s_ time as it is now: although our\nriches and trade were then as much smaller, as our virtue was greater.\nBut, secondly, it is not clear, that we should have either less money\nor trade, (only less of that detestable trade of man-stealing) if\nthere was not a negro in all our Islands, or in all _English America_.\nIt is demonstrable, white men, inured to it by degrees _can_ work as\nwell as them: and they _would_ do it, were negroes out of the way, and\nproper encouragement given them. However, thirdly, I come back to the\nsame point: better no trade, than trade procured by villany. It is far\nbetter to have no wealth, than to gain wealth at the expence of virtue.\nBetter is honest poverty, than all the riches bought by the tears, and\nsweat and blood of our fellow-creatures.\n\n8. \u201cHowever this be; it is necessary when we have slaves, to use them\nwith severity.\u201d What, to whip them for every petty offence, till they\nare all in gore blood? To take that opportunity, of rubbing pepper and\nsalt into their raw flesh? To drop burning sealing-wax upon their skin?\nTo castrate them? To cut off half their foot with an axe? To hang them\non gibbets, that they may die by inches, with heat, and hunger, and\nthirst? To pin them down to the ground, and then burn them by degrees,\nfrom the feet, to the head? To roast them alive?--When did a Turk or a\nHeathen find it necessary to use a fellow-creature thus?\n\nI pray, to what end is this usage necessary? \u201cWhy, to prevent their\nrunning away: and to keep them constantly to their labour, that they\nmay not idle away their time. So miserably stupid is this race of\nmen, yea, so stubborn and so wicked.\u201d Allowing them to be as stupid\nas you say, to whom is that stupidity owing? Without question it lies\naltogether at the door of their inhuman masters: who give them no\nmeans, no opportunity of improving their understanding: and indeed\nleave them no motive, either from hope or fear, to attempt any such\nthing. They were no way remarkable for stupidity, while they remained\nin their own country: the inhabitants of _Africa_ where they have\nequal motives and equal means of improvement, are not inferior to the\ninhabitants of _Europe_: to some of them they are greatly superior.\nImpartially survey in their own country, the natives of _Benin_, and\nthe natives of _Lapland_. Compare, (setting prejudice aside) the\n_Samoeids_ and the _Angolans_. And on which side does the advantage\nlie, in point of understanding? Certainly the _African_ is in no\nrespect inferior to the _European_. Their stupidity therefore in our\nplantations is not natural; otherwise than it is the natural effect of\ntheir condition. Consequently it is not their fault, but _your\u2019s_: you\nmust answer for it, before God and man.\n\n9. \u201cBut their stupidity is not the only reason of our treating them\nwith severity. For it is hard to say, which is the greatest, this\nor their stubbornness and wickedness.\u201d----It may be so: But do not\nthese as well as the other, lie at _your_ door; are not stubbornness,\ncunning, pilfering, and divers other vices, the natural, necessary\nfruits of slavery? Is not this an observation which has been made,\nin every age and nation?----And what means have you used to remove\nthis stubbornness? Have you tried what mildness and gentleness would\ndo? I knew one that did: that had prudence and patience to make\nthe experiment: Mr. _Hugh Bryan_, who then lived on the borders of\n_South-Carolina_. And what was the effect? Why, that all his negroes\n(and he had no small number of them) loved and reverenced him as a\nfather, and chearfully obeyed him out of love. Yea, they were more\nafraid of a frown from _him_, than of many blows from an overseer. And\nwhat pains have _you_ taken, what method have _you_ used, to reclaim\nthem from their wickedness? Have you carefully taught them,\n\n\u201cThat there is a God, a wise, powerful, merciful being, the Creator\nand Governor of heaven and earth? That he has appointed a day wherein\nhe will judge the world, will take an account of all our thoughts,\nwords and actions? That in that day he will reward every child of man\naccording to his works: that \u201cthen the righteous shall inherit the\nkingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world: and the\nwicked shall be cast into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and\nhis angels.\u201d If you have not done this, if you have taken no pains or\nthought about the matter, can you wonder at their wickedness? What\nwonder, if they should cut your throat? And if they did, whom could you\nthank for it but yourself? You first acted the villain in making them\nslaves, (whether you stole them or bought them.) You kept them stupid\nand wicked, by cutting them off from all opportunities of improving\neither in knowledge or virtue: and now you assign their want of wisdom\nand goodness as the reason for using them worse than brute beasts!\n\nV. 1. It remains only to make a little application of the preceding\nobservations.--But to whom should that application be made? That may\nbear a question. Should we address ourselves to the public at large?\nWhat effect can this have? It may inflame the world against the guilty,\nbut is not likely to remove that guilt. Should we appeal to the\n_English_ nation in general? This also is striking wide; and is never\nlikely to procure any redress for the sore evil we complain of.--As\nlittle would it in all probability avail, to apply to the Parliament.\nSo many things, which _seem_ of greater importance lie before them that\nthey are not likely to attend to this. I therefore add a few words to\nthose who are more immediately concerned, whether captains, merchants\nor planters.\n\n2. And, first, to the captains employed in this trade. Most of _you_\nknow, the country of _Guinea_: several parts of it at least, between\nthe river _Senegal_ and the kingdom of _Angola_. Perhaps now, by\n_your_ means, part of it is become a dreary uncultivated wilderness,\nthe inhabitants being all murdered or carried away, so that there are\nnone left to till the ground. But you well know, how populous, how\nfruitful, how pleasant it was a few years ago. You know the people\nwere not stupid, not wanting in sense, considering the few means of\nimprovement they enjoyed. Neither did you find them savage, fierce,\ncruel, treacherous, or unkind to strangers. On the contrary, they were\nin most parts, a sensible and ingenious people. They were kind and\nfriendly, courteous and obliging, and remarkably fair and just in their\ndealings. Such are the men whom you hire their own countrymen, to tear\naway from this lovely country; part by stealth, part by force, part\nmade captive in those wars, which you raise or foment on purpose. You\nhave seen them torn away, children from their parents, parents from\ntheir children: husbands from their wives, wives from their beloved\nhusbands, brethren and sisters from each other. You have dragged them\nwho had never done you any wrong, perhaps in chains, from their native\nshore. You have forced them into your ships like an herd of swine, them\nwho had souls immortal as your own: (only some of them, leaped into\nthe sea, and resolutely stayed under water, till they could suffer no\nmore from you.) You have stowed them together as close as ever they\ncould lie, without any regard either to decency or convenience. And\nwhen many of them had been poisoned by foul air, or had sunk under\nvarious hardships, you have seen their remains delivered to the deep,\ntill the sea should give up its dead. You have carried the survivors\ninto the vilest slavery, never to end but with life: such slavery as is\nnot found among the Turks at _Algiers_, no nor among the Heathens in\n_America_.\n\n3. May I speak plainly to you? I must. Love constrains me: love to\n_you_, as well as to those you are concerned with.\n\nIs there a God? You know there is. Is he a just God? Then there must be\na state of retribution: a state wherein the just God will reward every\nman according to his works. Then what reward will he render to _you_? O\nthink betimes! Before you drop into eternity! Think now, _He shall have\njudgment without mercy that hath shewed no mercy_. Are you a _man_?\nThen you should have a _human_ heart. But have you indeed? What is your\nheart made of? Is there no such principle as compassion there? Do you\nnever _feel_ another\u2019s pain? Have you no sympathy? No sense of human\nwoe? No pity for the miserable? When you saw the flourishing eyes,\nthe heaving breasts, or the bleeding sides and tortured limbs of your\nfellow-creatures, was you a stone, or a brute? Did you look upon them\nwith the eyes of a tiger? When you squeezed the agonizing creatures\ndown in the ship, or when you threw their poor mangled remains into the\nsea, had you no relenting? Did not one tear drop from your eye, one\nsigh escape from your breast? Do you feel no relenting _now_? If you\ndo not, you must go on, till the measure of your iniquities is full.\nThen will the great God deal with _you_, as you have dealt with _them_,\nand require all their blood at your hands. And at that day it shall be\nmore tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for _you_! But if your heart\ndoes relent, though in a small degree, know it is a call from the God\nof love. And to-day, if you will hear his voice, harden not your heart.\nTo-day resolve, God being your helper, to escape for your life. Regard\nnot money! All that a man hath will he give for his life! Whatever\nyou lose, lose not your soul: nothing can countervail that loss.\nImmediately quit the horrid trade: at all events, be an honest man.\n\n4. This equally concerns every Merchant, who is engaged in the\nSlave-trade. It is _you_ that induce the _African_ villain to sell his\ncountrymen; and in order thereto, to steal, rob, murder men, women and\nchildren without number: by enabling the _English_ villain to pay him\nfor so doing; whom you over pay for his execrable labour. It is _your_\nmoney, that is the spring of all, that impowers him to go on: so that\nwhatever he or the _African_ does in this matter, is all _your_ act and\ndeed. And is your conscience quite reconciled to this? Does it never\nreproach you at all? Has gold entirely blinded your eyes, and stupified\nyour heart? Can you see, can you _feel_ no harm therein? Is it doing\nas you would be done to? Make the case your own. \u201cMaster,\u201d said a Slave\nat _Liverpool_ (to the Merchant that owned him) \u201cwhat if some of my\ncountrymen were to come here, and take away my mistress, and master\n_Tommy_ and master _Billy_ and carry them into our country, and make\nthem slaves, how would you like it?\u201d His answer was worthy of a man:\n\u201cI will never buy a slave more while I live.\u201d O let his resolution be\nyour\u2019s! Have no more any part in this detestable business. Instantly\nleave it to those unfeeling wretches, \u201cWho laugh at human nature\nand compassion!\u201d Be _you_ a man! Not a wolf, a devourer of the human\nspecies! Be merciful, that you may obtain mercy!\n\n5. And this equally concerns every gentleman that has an estate in our\n_American_ plantations: yea all Slave-holders of whatever rank and\ndegree: seeing _men-buyers_ are exactly on a level with _men-stealers_.\nIndeed you say, \u201cI pay honestly for my goods: and I am not concerned to\nknow how they are come by\u201d: nay but you are: you are deeply concerned\nto know they are honestly come by. Otherwise you are partaker with a\nthief, and are not a jot honester than him. But you know, they are not\nhonestly come by: you know they are procured by means, nothing near\nso innocent as picking pockets, house-breaking, or robbery upon the\nhigh-way. You know they are procured by a deliberate series of more\ncomplicated villany, (of fraud, robbery and murder) than was ever\npractised either by Mahometans or Pagans: in particular by murders of\nall kinds; by the blood of the innocent poured upon the ground like\nwater. Now it is _your_ money that pays the Merchant, and through him\nthe Captain, and the _African_ butchers. _You_ therefore are guilty,\nyea principally guilty, of all these frauds, robberies and murders. You\nare the spring that puts all the rest in motion: they would not stir\na step without _you_: therefore the blood of all these wretches, who\ndie before their time, whether in the country or elsewhere, lies upon\nyour head. _The blood of thy brother_, (for, whether thou wilt believe\nit or no, such he is in the sight of Him that made him) _crieth against\nthee from the earth_, from the ship, and from the waters. O, whatever\nit costs, put a stop to its cry before it be too late: instantly,\nat any price, were it the half of your goods, deliver thyself from\nblood-guiltiness! Thy hands, thy bed, thy furniture, thy house,\nthy lands are at present stained with blood. Surely it is enough;\naccumulate no more guilt: spill no more the blood of the innocent! Do\nnot hire another to shed blood: do not pay him for doing it! Whether\nyou are a Christian or no, shew yourself a man! Be not more savage than\na lion or a bear!\n\n6. Perhaps you will say, \u201cI do not _buy_ any Negroes: I only _use_\nthose left by my father.\u201d So far is well: but is it enough to satisfy\nyour own conscience? Had your father, have _you_, has any man living, a\nright to use another as a slave? It cannot be, even setting revelation\naside. It cannot be that either war, or contract, can give any man such\na property in another as he has in his sheep and oxen. Much less is it\npossible, that any child of man, should ever be _born a slave_. Liberty\nis the right of every human creature, as soon as he breathes the vital\nair. And no human law can deprive him of that right, which he derives\nfrom the law of nature.\n\nIf therefore you have any regard to justice, (to say nothing of mercy,\nnor the revealed law of God) render unto all their due. Give liberty to\nwhom liberty is due, that is to every child of man, to every partaker\nof human nature. Let none serve you but by his own act and deed, by his\nown voluntary choice. Away with all whips, all chains, all compulsion!\nBe gentle toward all men, and see that you invariably do unto every\none, as you would he should do unto _you_.\n\n7. O thou God of love, thou who art loving to every man, and whose\nmercy is over all thy works; thou who art the Father of the spirits of\nall flesh, and who art rich in mercy unto all; thou who has mingled of\none blood, all the nations upon the earth; have compassion upon these\noutcasts of men, who are trodden down as dung upon the earth! Arise\nand help these that have no helper, whose blood is spilt upon the\nground like water! Are not these also the work of thine own hands, the\npurchase of thy Son\u2019s blood? Stir them up to cry unto thee in the land\nof their captivity; and let their complaint come up before thee; let\nit enter into thy ears! Make even those that lead them away captive to\npity them, and turn their captivity as the rivers in the South. O burst\nthou all their chains in sunder; more especially the chains of their\nsins: Thou, Saviour of all, make them free, that they may be free indeed!\n\n    The servile progeny of _Ham_\n      Seize as the purchase of thy blood!\n    Let all the Heathens know thy name,\n      From Idols to the living God;\n    The dark _Americans_ convert,\n    And shine in every Pagan heart.\n\n\nFINIS\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Note\n\n\nClear printer\u2019s errors have been corrected by the transcriber; as far as\npossible, however, original spelling and punctuation have been preserved.\n\nIn this file, text in _italics_ is indicated by underscores.","title":"Thoughts upon slavery","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":8946}