SOME HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OF GUINEA, ITS SITUATION, PRODUCE, AND THE GENERAL DISPOSITION OF ITS INHABITANTS. 

AN INQUIRY INTO THE RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE SLAVE TRADE, ITS NATURE ANDLAMENTABLE EFFECTS. 

1771 BY ANTHONY BENEZET

SOME

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

OF

GUINEA, ITS

SITUATION, PRODUCE, and the general

DISPOSITION of its INHABITANTS. 

WITH

An Inquiry into the RISE and PROGRESS

OF THE

SLAVE TRADE, Its NATURE, and lamentable EFFECTS. 

ALSO

A REPUBLICATION of the Sentiments of several Authors of Note on thisinteresting Subject: Particularly an Extract of a Treatise written byGRANVILLE SHARPE. 

By ANTHONY BENEZET

 ACTS xvii. 24, 26. GOD, _that made the world hath made of_ one blood _all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the--bounds of their habitation. _

PHILADELPHIA: Printed MDCCLXXI. 

LONDON: Re-printed MDCCLXXII. 

 Introduction. 

 CHAPTER I. _A GENERAL account of_ Guinea; _particularly those parts on the rivers_ Senegal _and_ Gambia. 

 CHAP. II. _Account of the_ Ivory-Coast, _the_ Gold-Coast _and the Slave-Coast_. 

 CHAP. III. _Of the kingdoms of_ Benin, Kongo _and_ Angola. 

 CHAP. IV. Guinea, _first discovered and subdued by the_ Arabians. _The Portuguese make descents on the coast, and carry off the natives. Oppression of the_ Indians: _De la Casa pleads their cause_. 

 CHAP. V. _The_ English's _first trade to the coast of_ Guinea: _Violently carry off some of the Negros. _

 CHAP. VI. _Slavery more tolerable under_ Pagans _and_ Turks _than in the colonies. As christianity prevailed, ancient slavery declined_. 

 CHAP. VII. Montesquieu's _sentiments of slavery_. Morgan Godwyn's _advocacy on behalf of Negroes and Indians, &c. _

 CHAP. VIII. _Grievous treatment of the Negroes in the colonies, &c. _

 CHAP. IX. _Desire of gain the true motive of the_ Slave trade. _Misrepresentation of the state of the Negroes in Guinea_. 

 CHAP. X. _State of the Government in_ Guinea, &c. 

 CHAP. XI. _Accounts of the cruel methods used in carrying on of the_ Slave trade, &c. 

 CHAP. XII. _Extracts of several voyages to the coast of_ Guinea, &c. 

 CHAP. XIII. _Numbers of Negroes, yearly brought from_ Guinea, _by the_ English, &c. 

 CHAP. XIV. _Observations on the situation and disposition of the Negroes in the northern colonies_, &c. 

 CHAP. XV. Europeans _capable of bearing reasonable labour in the_ West Indies, &c. 

 _Extracts from_ Granville Sharp's _representations, _ &c. 

 _Sentiments of several authors, _ viz. George Wallace, Francis Hutcheson, _and_ James Foster. 

 _Extracts of an address to the assembly of_ Virginia. 

 _Extract of the bishop of_ Gloucester's _sermon_. 

INTRODUCTION. 

The slavery of the Negroes having, of late, drawn the attention of manyserious minded people; several tracts have been published setting forthits inconsistency with every christian and moral virtue, which it ishoped will have weight with the judicious; especially at a time when theliberties of mankind are become so much the subject of generalattention. For the satisfaction of the serious enquirer who may not havethe opportunity of seeing those tracts, and such others who aresincerely desirous that the iniquity of this practice may becomeeffectually apparent, to those in whose power, it may be to put a stopto any farther progress therein; it is proposed, hereby, to republishthe most material parts of said tracts; and in order to enable thereader to form a true judgment of this matter, which, tho' so veryimportant, is generally disregarded, or so artfully misrepresented bythose whose interest leads them to vindicate it, as to bias the opinionsof people otherwise upright; some account will be here given of thedifferent parts of Africa, from which the Negroes are brought toAmerica; with an impartial relation from what motives the Europeans werefirst induced to undertake, and have since continued this iniquitoustraffic. And here it will not be improper to premise, that tho' wars, arising from the common depravity of human nature, have happened, aswell among the Negroes as other nations, and the weak sometimes beenmade captives to the strong; yet nothing appears, in the variousrelations of the intercourse and trade for a long time carried on by theEuropeans on that coast, which would induce us to believe, that there isany real foundation for that argument, so commonly advanced invindication of that trade, viz. "_That the slavery of the Negroes tookits rise from a desire, in the purchasers, to save the lives of such ofthem as were taken captives in war, who would otherwise have beensacrificed to the implacable revenge of their conquerors. _" A plea whichwhen compared with the history of those times, will appear to bedestitute of Truth; and to have been advanced, and urged, principally bysuch as were concerned in reaping the gain of this infamous traffic, asa palliation of that, against which their own reason and conscience musthave raised fearful objections. 

SOME

HISTORICAL ACCOUNT

OF

GUINEA. 

 * * * * *

[Price 2s. 6d. Stitched. ]

CHAP. I. 

Guinea affords an easy living to its inhabitants, with but little toil. The climate agrees well with the natives, but extremely unhealthful tothe Europeans. Produces provisions in the greatest plenty. Simplicity oftheir housholdry. The coast of Guinea described from the river Senegalto the kingdom of Angola. The fruitfulness of that part lying on andbetween the two great rivers Senegal and Gambia. Account of thedifferent nations settled there. Order of government amongst the Jalofs. Good account of some of the Fulis. The Mandingos; their management, government, &c. Their worship. M. Adanson's account of those countries. Surprizing vegetation. Pleasant appearance of the country. He found thenatives very sociable and obliging. 

When the Negroes are considered barely in their present abject state ofslavery, broken-spirited and dejected; and too easy credit is given tothe accounts we frequently hear or read of their barbarous and savageway of living in their own country; we shall be naturally induced tolook upon them as incapable of improvement, destitute, miserable, andinsensible of the benefits of life; and that our permitting them to liveamongst us, even on the most oppressive terms, is to them a favour. But, on impartial enquiry, the case will appear to be far otherwise; we shallfind that there is scarce a country in the whole world, that is bettercalculated for affording the necessary comforts of life to itsinhabitants, with less solicitude and toil, than Guinea. And thatnotwithstanding the long converse of many of its inhabitants with(often) the worst of the Europeans, they still retain a great deal ofinnocent simplicity; and, when not stirred up to revenge from thefrequent abuses they have received from the Europeans in general, manifest themselves to be a humane, sociable people, whose faculties areas capable of improvement as those of other Men; and that their oeconomyand government is, in many respects, commendable. Hence it appears theymight have lived happy, if not disturbed by the Europeans; moreespecially, if these last had used such endeavours as their christianprofession requires, to communicate to the ignorant Africans thatsuperior knowledge which Providence had favoured them with. In order toset this matter in its true light, and for the information of thosewell-minded people who are desirous of being fully acquainted with themerits of a cause, which is of the utmost consequence; as therein thelives and happiness of thousands, and hundreds of thousands, of ourfellow _Men_ have fallen, and are daily falling, a sacrifice to selfishavarice and usurped power, I will here give some account of the severaldivisions of those parts of Africa from whence the Negroes are brought, with a summary of their produce; the disposition of their respectiveinhabitants; their improvements, &c. &c. Extracted from authors ofcredit; mostly such as have been principal officers in the English, French and Dutch factories, and who resided many years in thosecountries. But first it is necessary to premise, as a remark generallyapplicable to the whole coast of Guinea, "_That the Almighty, who hasdetermined and appointed the bounds of the habitation of men on the faceof the earth_" in the manner that is most conducive to the well-being oftheir different natures and dispositions, has so ordered it, that altho'Guinea is extremely unhealthy[A] to the Europeans, of whom manythousands have met there with a miserable and untimely end, yet it isnot so with the Negroes, who enjoy a good state of health[B] and areable to procure to themselves a comfortable subsistence, with much lesscare and toil than is necessary in our more northern climate; which lastadvantage arises not only from the warmth of the climate, but also fromthe overflowing of the rivers, whereby the land is regularly moistenedand rendered extremely fertile; and being in many places improved byculture, abounds with grain and fruits, cattle, poultry, &c. The earthyields all the year a fresh supply of food: Few clothes are requisite, and little art necessary in making them, or in the construction of theirhouses, which are very simple, principally calculated to defend themfrom the tempestuous seasons and wild beasts; a few dry reeds coveredwith matts serve for their beds. The other furniture, except whatbelongs to cookery, gives the women but little trouble; the moveables ofthe greatest among them amounting only to a few earthen pots, somewooden utensils, and gourds or calabashes; from these last, which growalmost naturally over their huts, to which they afford an agreeableshade, they are abundantly stocked with good clean vessels for mosthoushold uses, being of different sizes, from half a pint to severalgallons. 

[Footnote A: _Gentleman's Magazine, Supplement, 1763. Extract of aletter wrote from the island of Senegal, by Mr. Boone, practitioner ofphysic there, to Dr. Brocklesby of London. _

 "To form just idea of the unhealthiness of the climate, it will be necessary to conceive a country extending three hundred leagues East, and more to the North and South. Through this country several large rivers empty themselves into the sea; particularly the Sanaga, Gambia and Sherbro; these, during the rainy months, which begin in July and continue till October, overflow their banks, and lay the whole flat country under water; and indeed, the very sudden rise of these rivers is incredible to persons who have never been within the tropicks, and are unacquainted with the violent rains that fall there. At Galem, nine hundred miles from the mouth of the Sanaga, I am informed that the waters rise one hundred and fifty feet perpendicular, from the bed of the river. This information I received from a gentleman, who was surgeon's mate to a party sent there, and the only survivor of three captains command, each consisting of one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, a surgeon's mate, three serjeants, three corporals, and fifty privates. 

 "When the rains are at an end, which usually happens in October, the intense heat of the sun soon dries up the waters which lie on the higher parts of the earth, and the remainder forms lakes of stagnated waters, in which are found all sorts of dead animals. These waters every day decrease, till at last they are quite exhaled, and then the effluvia that arises is almost insupportable. At this season, the winds blow so very hot from off the land, that I can compare them to nothing but the heat proceeding from the mouth of an oven. This occasions the Europeans to be sorely vexed with bilious and putrid fevers. From this account you will not be surprized, that the total loss of British subjects in this island only, amounted to above two thousand five hundred, in the space of three years that I was there, in such a putrid moist air as I have described. "

]

[Footnote B: James Barbot, agent general to the French African company, in his account of Africa, page 105, says, "The natives are seldomtroubled with any distempers, being little affected with the unhealthyair. In tempestuous times they keep much within doors; and when exposedto the weather, their skins being suppled, and pores closed by dailyanointing with palm oil, the weather can make but little impression onthem. "]

That part of Africa from which the Negroes are sold to be carried intoslavery, commonly known by the name of Guinea, extends along the coastthree or four thousand miles. Beginning at the river Senegal, situateabout the 17th degree of North latitude, being the nearest part ofGuinea, as well to Europe as to North America; from thence to the riverGambia, and in a southerly course to Cape Sierra Leona, comprehends acoast of about seven hundred miles; being the same tract for which QueenElizabeth granted charters to the first traders to that coast: fromSierra Leona, the land of Guinea takes a turn to the eastward, extendingthat course about fifteen hundred miles, including those severalcivilians known by name of _the Grain Coast, the Ivory Coast, the GoldCoast, and the Slave Coast, with the large kingdom of Benin_. Fromthence the land runs southward along the coast about twelve hundredmiles, which contains the _kingdoms of Congo and Angola_; there thetrade for slaves ends. From which to the southermost Cape of Africa, called the Cape of Good Hope, the country is settled by Caffres andHottentots, who have never been concerned in the making or sellingslaves. 

Of the parts which are above described, the first which presents itselfto view, is that situate on the great river Senegal, which is said to benavigable more than a thousand miles, and is by travellers described tobe very agreeable and fruitful. Andrew Brue, principal factor for theFrench African company, who lived sixteen years in that country, afterdescribing its fruitfulness and plenty, near the sea, adds, [A] "Thefarther you go from the sea, the country on the river seems the morefruitful and well improved; abounding with Indian corn, pulse, fruit, &c. Here are vast meadows, which feed large herds of great and smallcattle, and poultry numerous: The villages that lie thick on the river, shew the country is well peopled. " The same author, in the account of avoyage he made up the river Gambia, the mouth of which lies about threehundred miles South of the Senegal, and is navigable about six hundredmiles up the country, says, [B] "That he was surprized to see the land sowell cultivated; scarce a spot lay unimproved; the low lands, divided bysmall canals, were all formed with rice, &c. The higher ground plantedwith millet, Indian corn, and pease of different sorts; their beefexcellent; poultry plenty, and very cheap, as well as all othernecessaries of life. " Francis Moor, who was sent from England about theyear 1735, in the service of the African company, and resided at JamesFort, on the river Gambia, or in other factories on that river, aboutfive years, confirms the above account of the fruitfulness of thecountry. William Smith, who was sent in the year 1726, by the Africancompany, to survey their settlements throughout the whole coast ofGuinea[C] says, "The country about the Gambia is pleasant and fruitful;provisions of all kinds being plenty and exceeding cheap. " The countryon and between the two above-mentioned rivers is large and extensive, inhabited principally by those three Negro nations known by the name ofJalofs, Fulis, and Mandingos. The Jalofs possess the middle of thecountry. The Fulis principal settlement is on both sides of the Senegal;great numbers of these people are also mixed with the Mandingos; whichlast are mostly settled on both sides the Gambia. The government of theJalofs is represented as under a better regulation than can be expectedfrom the common opinion we entertain of the Negroes. We are told in theCollection, [D] "That the King has under him several ministers of state, who assist him in the exercise of justice. _The grand Jerafo_ is thechief justice thro' all the King's dominions, and goes in circuit fromtime to time to hear complaints, and determine controversies. _TheKing's treasurer_ exercises the same employment, and has under himAlkairs, who are governors of towns or villages. That the _Kondi_, or_Viceroy_, goes the circuit with the chief justice, both to hear causes, and inspect into the behaviour of the _Alkadi_, or chief magistrate ofevery village in their several districts[E]. " _Vasconcelas_, an authormentioned in the collection, says, "The ancientest are preferred to bethe _Prince's counsellors_, who keep always about his person; and themen of most judgment and experience are the judges. " _The Fulis_ aresettled on both sides of the river _Senegal_: Their country, which isvery fruitful and populous, extends near four hundred miles from East toWest. They are generally of a deep tawny complexion, appearing to bearsome affinity with the Moors, whose country they join on the North. Theyare good farmers, and make great harvest of corn, cotton, tobacco, &c. And breed great numbers of cattle of all kinds. _Bartholomew Stibbs_, (mentioned by _Fr. Moor_) in his account of that country says, [F] "_Theywere a cleanly, decent, industrious people, and very affable_. " But themost particular account we have, of these people, is from _Francis Moor_himself, who says, [G] "Some of these Fuli blacks who dwell on both sidesthe river Gambia, are in subjection to the Mandingos, amongst whom theydwell, having been probably driven out of their country by war orfamine. They have chiefs of their own, who rule with much moderation. Few of them will drink brandy, or any thing stronger than water andsugar, being strict Mahometans. Their form of government goes on easy, because the people are of a good quiet disposition, and so wellinstructed in what is right, that a man who does ill, is the abominationof all, and, none will support him against the chief. In thesecountries, the natives are not covetous of land, desiring no more thanwhat they use; and as they do not plough with horses and cattle, theycan use but very little, therefore the Kings are willing to give theFulis leave to live in their country, and cultivate their lands. If anyof their people are known to be made slaves, all the Fulis will join toredeem them; they also support the old, the blind, and lame, amongstthemselves; and as far as their abilities go, they supply thenecessities of the Mandingos, great numbers of whom they have maintainedin famine. " _The author_, from his own observations, says, "They wererarely angry, and that he never heard them abuse one another. "

[Footnote A: Astley's collect. Vol. 2. Page 46. ]

[Footnote B: Astley's collection of voyages, vol. 2, page 86. ]

[Footnote C: William Smith's voyage to Guinea, page 31, 34. ]

[Footnote D: Astley's collection, vol. 2, page 358. ]

[Footnote E: Idem. 259. ]

[Footnote F: Moor's travels into distant parts of Africa, page 198. ]

[Footnote G: Ibid, page 21. ]

_The Mandingos_ are said by _A. Brue_ before mentioned, "To be the mostnumerous nation on the Gambia, besides which, numbers of them aredispersed over all these countries; being the most rigid Mahometansamongst the Negroes, they drink neither wine nor brandy, and are politerthan the other Negroes. The chief of the trade goes through their hands. Many are industrious and laborious, keeping their ground wellcultivated, and breeding a good stock of cattle. [A] Every town has an_Alkadi_, or _Governor_, who has great power; for most of them havingtwo common fields of clear ground, one for corn, and the other for rice, _the Alkadi_ appoints the labour of all the people. The men work thecorn ground, and the women and girls the rice ground; and as they allequally labour, so he equally divides the corn amongst them; and in casethey are in want, the others supply them. This Alkadi decides allquarrels, and has the first voice in all conferences in town affairs. "Some of these Mandingos who are settled at Galem, far up the riverSenegal, can read and write Arabic tolerably, and are a good hospitablepeople, who carry on a trade with the inland nations. "[B] They areextremely populous in those parts, their women being fruitful, and theynot suffering any person amongst them, but such as are guilty of crimes, to be made slaves. " We are told from Jobson, "[C] That the MahometanNegroes say their prayers thrice a day. Each village has a priest whocalls them to their duty. It is surprizing (says the author) as well ascommendable, to see the modesty, attention, and reverence they observeduring their worship. He asked some of their priests the purport oftheir prayers and ceremonies; their answer always was, _That they adoredGod by prostrating themselves before him; that by humbling themselves, they acknowledged their own insignificancy, and farther intreated him toforgive their faults, and to grant them all good and necessary things aswell as deliverance from evil. "_ Jobson takes notice of several goodqualities in these Negroe priests, particularly their great sobriety. They gain their livelihood by keeping school for the education of thechildren. The boys are taught to read and write. They not only teachschool, but rove about the country, teaching and instructing, for whichthe whole country is open to them; and they have a free course throughall places, though the Kings may be at war with one another. 

[Footnote A: Astley's collect. Vol. 2, page 269. ]

[Footnote B: Astley's collect. Vol. 2, page 73. ]

[Footnote C: Ibid, 296. ]

The three fore-mentioned nations practise several trades, as smiths, potters, sadlers, and weavers. Their smiths particularly work neatly ingold and silver, and make knifes, hatchets, reaping hooks, spades andshares to cut iron, &c. &c. Their potters make neat tobacco pipes, andpots to boil their food. Some authors say that weaving is theirprincipal trade; this is done by the women and girls, who spin and weavevery fine cotton cloth, which they dye blue or black. [A] F. Moor says, the Jalofs particularly make great quantities of the cotton cloth; theirpieces are generally twenty-seven yards long, and about nine inchesbroad, their looms being very narrow; these they sew neatly together, soas to supply the use of broad cloth. 

[Footnote A: F. Moor, 28. ]

It was in these parts of Guinea, that M. Adanson, correspondent of theRoyal Academy of Sciences at Paris, mentioned in some formerpublications, was employed from the year 1749, to the year 1753, whollyin making _natural_ and _philosophical_ observations on the countryabout the rivers Senegal and Gambia. Speaking of the great heats inSenegal, he says, [A] "It is to them that they are partly indebted forthe fertility of their lands; which is so great, that, with littlelabour and care, there is no fruit nor grain but grow in great plenty. "

[Footnote A: M. Adanson's voyage to Senegal, &c, page 308. ]

Of the soil on the Gambia, he says, [A] "It is rich and deep, andamazingly fertile; it produces spontaneously, and almost withoutcultivation, all the necessaries of life, grain, fruit, herbs, androots. Every thing matures to perfection, and is excellent in itskind. "[B] One thing, which always surprized him, was the prodigiousrapidity with which the sap of trees repairs any loss they may happen tosustain in that country: "And I was never, " says he, "more astonished, than when landing four days after the locusts had devoured all thefruits and leaves, and even the buds of the trees, to find the treescovered with new leaves, and they did not seem to me to have sufferedmuch. "[C] "It was then, " says the same author; "the fish season; youmight see them in shoals approaching towards land. Some of those shoalswere fifty fathom square, and the fish crowded together in such amanner, as to roll upon one another, without being able to swim. As soonas the Negroes perceive them coming towards land, they jump into thewater with a basket in one hand, and swim with the other. They need onlyto plunge and to lift up their basket, and they are sure to returnloaded with fish. " Speaking of the appearance of the country, and of thedisposition of the people, he says, [D] "Which way soever I turned mineeyes on this pleasant spot, I beheld a perfect image of pure nature; anagreeable solitude, bounded on every side by charming landscapes; therural situation of cottages in the midst of trees; the ease andindolence of the Negroes, reclined under the shade of their spreadingfoliage; the simplicity of their dress and manners; the whole revived inmy mind the idea of our first parents, and I seemed to contemplate theworld in its primitive state. They are, generally speaking, verygood-natured, sociable, and obliging. I was not a little pleased withthis my first reception; it convinced me, that there ought to be aconsiderable abatement made in the accounts I had read and heard everywhere of the savage character of the Africans. I observed both inNegroes and Moors, great humanity and sociableness, which gave me stronghopes that I should be very safe amongst them, and meet with the successI desired in my enquiries after the curiosities of the country. "[E] Hewas agreeably amused with the conversation of the Negroes, their_fables, dialogues_, and _witty stories_ with which they entertain eachother alternately, according to their custom. Speaking of the remarkswhich the natives made to him, with relation to the _stars_ and_planets_, he says, "It is amazing, that such a rude and illiteratepeople, should reason so pertinently in regard to those heavenly bodies;there is no manner of doubt, but that with proper instruments, and agood will, they would become _excellent astronomers_. "

[Footnote A: Idem, page 164. ]

[Footnote B: M. Adanson, page 161. ]

[Footnote C: Idem, page 171. ]

[Footnote D: Ibid, page 54. ]

[Footnote E: Adanson, page 252, ibid. ]

CHAP. II

_The Ivory Coast_; its soil and produce. The character of the _natives_misrepresented by some authors. These misrepresentations occasioned by_the Europeans_ having treacherously carried off many of their people. _John Smith, surveyor to the African company_, his observations thereon. _John Snock's_ remarks. _The Gold Coast_ and _Slave Coast_, these havethe most _European factories_, and furnish the greatest number of slavesto _the Europeans_. Exceeding fertile. The country of _Axim_, and of_Ante_. Good account of the _inland people_ Great fishery. Extraordinarytrade for slaves. _The Slave Coast. The kingdom of Whidah_. Fruitful andpleasant. The natives kind and obliging. Very populous. Keep regularmarkets and fairs. Good order therein. Murder, adultery, and theftseverely punished. The King's revenues. The principal people have anidea of the true God. Commendable care of the poor. Several smallgovernments depend on _plunder_ and the _slave_ trade. 

That part of Guinea known by the name of the _Grain_, and _Ivory Coast, _comes next in course. This coast extends about five hundred miles. Thesoil appears by account, to be in general fertile, producing abundanceof rice and roots; indigo and cotton thrive without cultivation, andtobacco would be excellent, if carefully manufactured; they have fish inplenty; their flocks greatly increase, and their trees are loaded withfruit. They make a cotton cloth, which sells well on the Coast. In aword, the country is rich, and the commerce advantageous, and might begreatly augmented by such as would cultivate the friendship of thenatives. These are represented by some writers as a rude, _treacherouspeople_, whilst several other _authors_ of credit give them a verydifferent character, representing them as _sensible, courteous and thefairest traders on the coast of Guinea_. In the Collection, they aresaid[A] to be averse to drinking to excess, and such as do, are severelypunished by the King's order: On enquiry why there is such adisagreement in the character given of these people, it appears, thatthough they are naturally inclined to be _kind to strangers_, with whomthey are _fond_ of _trading_, yet the _frequent injuries_ done them byEuropeans, have occasioned their being _suspicious and shy_. The samecause has been the occasion of the ill treatment they have sometimesgiven to innocent strangers, who have attempted to trade with them. Asthe Europeans have no settlement on this part of Guinea, the trade iscarried on by signals from the ships, on the appearance of which thenatives usually come on board in their canoes, bringing their gold-dust, ivory, &c. Which has given opportunity to some villainous Europeans tocarry them off with their effects, or retain them on board till a ransomis paid. It is noted by some, that since the European voyagers havecarried away several of these people, their mistrust is so great, thatit is very difficult to prevail on them to come on board. _WilliamSmith_ remarks, [B] "As we past along this coast, we very often laybefore a town, and fired a gun for the natives to come off, but no soulcame near us; at length we learnt by some ships that were trading downthe coast, that the natives came seldom on board an English ship, forfear of being detained or carried off; yet last some ventured on board, but if those chanced to spy any arms, they would all immediately take totheir canoes, and make the best of their way home. They had then intheir possession one _Benjamin Cross_ the mate of an English vessel, whowas detained by them to make reprisals for some of their men, who hadformerly been carried away by some English vessel. " In the Collection weare told, [C]_This villainous custom is too often practised, chiefly bythe Bristol and Liverpool ships, and is a great detriment to the slavetrade on the windward coast. John Snock, mentioned in Bosman_[D] when onthat coast, wrote, "We cast anchor, but not one Negro coming on board, Iwent on shore, and after having staid a while on the strand, someNegroes came to me; and being desirous to be informed why they did notcome on board, I was answered that about two months before, the Englishhad been there with two large vessels, and had ravaged the country, destroyed all their canoes, plundered their houses, and carried off someof their people, upon which the remainder fled to the inland country, where most of them were that time; so that there being not much to bedone by us, we were obliged to return on board. [E] When I enquired aftertheir wars with other countries, they told me they were not oftentroubled with them; but if any difference happened, they chose rather toend the dispute amicably, than to come to arms. "[F] He found theinhabitants civil and good-natured. Speaking of the _King of Rio Seftré_lower down the coast, he says, "He was a very agreeable, obliging man, and that all his subjects are civil, as well as very laborious inagriculture, and the pursuits of trade, " _Marchais_ says, [G] "Thatthough the country is very populous, yet none of the natives (exceptcriminals) are sold for slaves. " _Vaillant_ never heard of anysettlement being made by the Europeans on this part of _Guinea_; and_Smith_ remarks, [H] "That these coasts, which are divided into severallittle kingdoms, and have seldom any wars, is the reason the slave tradeis not so good here as on _the Gold and Slave Coast_, where theEuropeans have several forts and factories. " A plain evidence this, thatit is the intercourse with the Europeans, and their settlements on thecoast, which gives life to the slave trade. 

[Footnote A: Collection, vol. 2, page 560. ]

[Footnote B: W. Smith, page 111. ]

[Footnote C: Astley's collection, vol. 2, page 475. ]

[Footnote D: W. Bosman's description of Guinea, page 440. ]

[Footnote E: W. Bosman's description of Guinea, page 429. ]

[Footnote F: Ibid, 441. ]

[Footnote G: Astley's collection, Vol. 2, page 565. ]

[Footnote H: Smith's voyage to Guinea, page 112. ]

Next adjoining to the _Ivory Coast_, are those called the _Gold Coast_, and the _Slave Coast_; authors are not agreed about their bounds, buttheir extent together along the coast may be about five hundred miles. And as the policy, produce, and oeconomy of these two kingdoms of Guineaare much the same, I shall describe them together. 

Here the Europeans have the greatest number of forts and factories, fromwhence, by means of the Negro sailors, a trade is carried on above sevenhundred miles back in the inland country; whereby great numbers ofslaves are procured, as well by means of the wars which arise amongstthe Negroes, or are fomented by the Europeans, as those brought from theback country. Here we find the natives _more reconciled to the Europeanmanners and trade_; but, at the same time, _much more inured to war_, and ready to assist the European traders in procuring loadings for thegreat number of vessels which come yearly on those coasts for slaves. This part of Guinea is agreed by historians to be, in general, _extraordinary fruitful and agreeable_; producing (according to thedifference of the soil) vast quantities of rice and other grain; plentyof fruit and roots; palm wine and oil, and fish in great abundance, withmuch tame and wild cattle. Bosman, principal factor for the Dutch atD'Elmina, speaking of the country of Axim, which is situate towards thebeginning of the Gold Coast, says, [A] "The Negro inhabitants aregenerally very rich, driving a great trade with the Europeans for gold. That they are industriously employed either in trade, fishing, oragriculture; but chiefly in the culture of rice, which grows here in anincredible abundance, and is transported hence all over the Gold Coast. The inhabitants, in lieu, returning full fraught with millet, jamms, potatoes, and palm oil. " The same author speaking of the country ofAnte, says, [B] "This country, as well as the Gold Coast, abounds withhills, enriched with extraordinary high and beautiful trees; itsvalleys, betwixt the hills, are wide and extensive, producing in greatabundance very good rice, millet, jamms, potatoes, and other fruits, allgood in their kind. " He adds, "In short, it is a land that yields itsmanurers as plentiful a crop as they can wish, with great quantities ofpalm wine and oil, besides being well furnished with all sorts of tame, as well as wild beasts; but that the last fatal wars had reduced it to amiserable condition, and stripped it of most of its inhabitants. " Theadjoining country of Fetu, he says, [C] "was formerly so powerful andpopulous, that it struck terror into all the neighbouring nations; butit is at present so drained by continual wars, that it is entirelyruined; there does not remain inhabitants sufficient to till thecountry, tho' it is so fruitful and pleasant that it may be compared tothe country of Ante just before described; frequently, says that author, when walking through it before the last war, I have seen it abound withfine well built and populous towns, agreeably enriched with vastquantities of corn, cattle, palm wine, and oil. The inhabitants allapplying themselves without any distinction to agriculture; some sowcorn, others press oil, and draw wine from palm trees, with both whichit is plentifully stored. "

[Footnote A: Bosman's description of the coast of Guinea, p, 5. ]

[Footnote B: Idem, page 14. ]

[Footnote C: Bosman, page 41. ]

William Smith gives much the same account of the before-mentioned partsof the Gold Coast, and adds, "The country about D'Elmina and Cape Coast, is much the same for beauty and goodness, but more populous; and thenearer we come towards the Slave Coast, the more delightful and rich allthe countries are, producing all sorts of trees, fruits, roots, andherbs, that grow within the Torrid Zone. " J. Barbot also remarks, [A]with respect to the countries of Ante and Adom, "That the soil is verygood and fruitful in corn and other produce, which it affords in suchplenty, that besides what serves for their own use, they always exportgreat quantities for sale; they have a competent number of cattle, bothtame and wild, and the rivers abundantly stored with fish, so thatnothing is wanting for the support of life, and to make it easy. " In theCollection it is said, [B] "That the inland people on that part of thecoast, employ themselves in tillage and trade, and supply the marketwith corn, fruit, and palm wine; the country producing such vast plentyof Indian corn, that abundance is daily exported, as well by Europeansas Blacks resorting thither from other parts. " "These inland people aresaid to live in great union and friendship, being generally welltempered, civil, and tractable; not apt to shed human blood, except whenmuch provoked, and ready to assist one another. "

[Footnote A: John Barbot's description of Guinea, page 154. ]

[Footnote B: Astley's collect. Vol. 2. Page 535. ]

In the Collection[A] it is said, "That the fishing business is esteemedon the Gold Coast next to trading; that those who profess it are morenumerous than those of other employments. That the greatest number ofthese are at Kommendo, Mina, and Kormantin. From each of which places, there go out every morning, (Tuesday excepted, which is the Fetish day, or day of rest) five, six, and sometimes eight hundred canoes, fromthirteen to fourteen feet long, which spread themselves two leagues atsea, each fisherman carrying in his canoe a sword, with bread, water, and a little fire on a large stone to roast fish. Thus they labour tillnoon, when the sea breeze blowing fresh, they return on the shore, generally laden with fish; a quantity of which the inland inhabitantscome down to buy, which they sell again at the country markets. "

[Footnote A: Collection, vol. 2, page 640. ]

William Smith says, [A] "The country about Acra, where the English andDutch have each a strong fort, is very delightful, and the nativescourteous and civil to strangers. " He adds, "That this place seldomfails of an extraordinary good trade from the inland country, especiallyfor slaves, whereof several are supposed to come from very remote parts, because it is not uncommon to find a Malayan or two amongst a parcel ofother slaves. The Malaya, people are generally natives of Malacca, inthe East Indies, situate several thousand miles from the Gold Coast. "They differ very much from the Guinea Negroes, being of a tawnycomplexion, with long black hair. 

[Footnote A: William Smith, page 145. ]

Most parts of the Slave Coasts are represented as equally fertile andpleasant with the Gold Coast. The kingdom of Whidah has beenparticularly noted by travellers. [A] William Smith and Bosman agree, "That it is one of the most delightful countries in the world. The greatnumber and variety of tall, beautiful, and shady trees, which seemplanted in groves, the verdant fields every where cultivated, and nootherwise divided than by those groves, and in some places a smallfoot-path, together with a great number of villages, contribute toafford the most delightful prospect; the whole country being a fineeasy, and almost imperceptible ascent, for the space of forty or fiftymiles from the sea. That the farther you go from the sea, the morebeautiful and populous the country appears. That the natives were kindand obliging, and so industrious, that no place which was thoughtfertile, could escape being planted, even within the hedges whichinclose their villages. And that the next day after they had reaped, they sowed again. "

[Footnote A: Smith, page 194. Bosman, page 319. ]

Snelgrave also says, "The country appears full of towns and villages;and being a rich soil, and well cultivated, looks like an entiregarden. " In the Collection, [A] the husbandry of the Negroes is describedto be carried on with great regularity: "The rainy season approaching, they go into the fields and woods, to fix on a proper place for sowing;and as here is no property in ground, the King's licence being obtained, the people go out in troops, and first clear the ground from bushes andweeds, which they burn. The field thus cleared, they dig it up a footdeep, and so let it remain for eight or ten days, till the rest of theirneighbours have disposed their ground in the same manner. They thenconsult about sowing, and for that end assemble at the King's Court thenext Fetish day. The King's grain must be sown first. They then go againto the field, and give the ground a second digging, and sow their seed. Whilst the King or Governor's land is sowing; he sends out wine andflesh ready dressed; enough to serve the labourers. Afterwards, they inlike manner sow the ground, allotted for their neighbours, as diligentlyas that of the King's, by whom they are also feasted; and so continue towork in a body for the public benefit, till every man's ground is tilledand sowed. None but the King, and a few great men, are exempted fromthis labour. Their grain soon sprouts out of the ground. When it isabout a man's height, and begins to ear, they raise a wooden house inthe centre of the field, covered with straw, in which they set theirchildren to watch their corn, and fright away the birds. "

[Footnote A: Collection, vol. 2, page 651. ]

Bosman[A] speaks in commendation of the civility, kindness, and greatindustry of the natives of Whidah; this is confirmed by Smith, [B] whosays, "The natives here seem to be the most gentleman-like Negroes inGuinea, abounding with good manners and ceremony to each other. Theinferior pay the utmost deference and, respect to the superior, as dowives to their husbands, and children to their parents. All here arenaturally industrious, and find constant employment; the men inagriculture, and the women in spinning and weaving cotton. The men, whose chief talent lies in husbandry, are unacquainted with arms;otherwise, being a numerous people, they could have made a betterdefence against the King of Dahome, who subdued them without muchtrouble. [C] Throughout the Gold Coast, there are regular markets in allvillages, furnished with provisions and merchandize, held every day inthe week, except Tuesday, whence they supply not only the inhabitants, but the European ships. The _Negro women_ are very expert in buying andselling, and extremely industrious; for they will repair daily to marketfrom a considerable distance, loaded like pack-horses, with a child, perhaps, at their back, and a heavy burden on their heads. After sellingtheir wares, they buy fish and other necessaries, and return home loadedas they came. 

[Footnote A: Bosman, page 317. ]

[Footnote B: Smith, page 195. ]

[Footnote C: Collect, vol. 2, p. 657. ]

"There is a market held at Sabi every, fourth day, [A] also a weekly onein the province of Aplogua, which is so resorted to, that there areusually five or six thousand merchants. Their markets are so wellregulated and governed, that seldom any disorder happens; each speciesof merchandize and merchants have a place allotted them by themselves. The buyers may haggle as much as they will, but it must be without noiseor fraud. To keep order, the King appoints a judge, who, with fourofficers well armed, inspects the markets, hears all complaints, and, ina summary way, decides all differences; he has power to seize, and sellas slaves, all who are catched in stealing, or disturbing the peace. Inthese markets are to be sold men, women, children, oxen, sheep, goats, and fowls of all kinds; European cloths, linen and woollen; printedcallicoes, silk, grocery ware, china, golddust, iron in bars, &c. In aword, most sorts of European goods, as well as the produce of Africa andAsia. They have other markets, resembling our fairs, once or twice ayear, to which all the country repair; for they take care to order theday so in different governments, as not to interfere with each other. "

[Footnote A: Collect. Vol. 3, p. 11. ]

With respect to government, William Smith says, [A] "That the Gold Coastand Slave Coast are divided into different districts, some of which aregoverned by their Chiefs, or Kings; the others, being more of the natureof a commonwealth are governed by some of the principal men, calledCaboceros, who, Bosman says, are properly denominated civil fathers, whose province is to take care of the welfare of the city or village, and to appease tumults. " But this order of government has been muchbroken since the coming of the Europeans. Both Bosman and Barbot mention_murther and adultery to be severely punished on the Coast, frequentlyby death; and robbery by a fine proportionable to the goods stolen_. 

[Footnote A: Smith, page 193. ]

The income of some of the Kings is large, Bosman says, "That the King ofWhidah's revenues and duties on things bought and sold are considerable;he having the tithe of all things sold in the market, or imported in thecountry. "[A] Both the abovementioned authors say, _The tax on slavesshipped off in this King's dominions, in some years, amounts to neartwenty thousand pounds_. 

[Footnote A: Bosman, page 337. Barbot, page 335. ]

Bosman tells us, "The Whidah Negroes have a faint idea of a true God, ascribing to him the attributes of almighty power and omnipresence; butGod, they say, is too high to condescend to think of mankind; whereforehe commits the government of the world to those inferior deities whichthey worship. " Some authors say, the wisest of these Negroes aresensible of their mistake in this opinion, but dare not forsake theirown religion, for fear of the populace rising and killing them. This isconfirmed by William Smith, who says, "That all the natives of thiscoast believe there is one true God, the author of them and all things;that they have some apprehension of a future state; and that almostevery village has a grove, or public place of worship, to which theprincipal inhabitants, on a set day, resort to make their offerings. "

In the Collection[A] it is remarked as an excellency in the Guineagovernment, "That however poor they may be in general, yet there are nobeggars to be found amongst them; which is owing to the care of theirchief men, whose province it is to take care of the welfare of the cityor village; it being part of their office, to see that such people mayearn their bread by their labour; some are set to blow the smith'sbellows, others to press palm oil, or grind colours for their matts, andsell provision in the markets. The young men are listed to serve assoldiers, so that they suffer no common beggar. "

[Footnote A: Astley's collection, vol. 2, page 619. ]

Bosman ascribes a further reason for this good order, viz. "That when aNegroe finds he cannot subsist, he binds himself for a certain sum ofmoney, and the master to whom he is bound is obliged to find himnecessaries; that the master sets him a sort of task, which is not inthe least slavish, being chiefly to defend his master on occasions; orin sowing time to work as much as he himself pleases. "[A]

[Footnote A: Bosman, page 119. ]

Adjoining to the kingdom of Whidah, are several small governments, asCoto, great and small Popo, Ardrah, &c. All situate on the Slave Coast, where the chief trade for slaves is carried on. These are governed bytheir respective Kings, and follow much the same customs with those ofWhidah, except that their principal living is on plunder, and the slavetrade. 

CHAP. III. 

_The kingdom of Benin_; its extent. Esteemed the most potent in Guinea. Fruitfulness of the soil. Good disposition of the people. Order ofgovernment. Punishment of crimes. Large extent of the town of GreatBenin. Order maintained. The natives honest and charitable. Theirreligion. The kingdoms of Kongo and Angola. Many of the natives professchristianity. The country fruitful. Disposition of the people. Theadministration of justice. The town of Leango. Slave trade carried on bythe Portugueze. Here the slave trade ends. 

Next adjoining to the Slave Coast, is the kingdom of Benin, which, though it extends but about 170 miles on the sea, yet spreads so farinland, as to be esteemed the most potent kingdom in Guinea. Byaccounts, the soil and produce appear to be in a great measure likethose before described; and the natives are represented as a reasonablegood-natured people. Artus says, [A] "They are a sincere, inoffensivepeople, and do no injustice either to one another, or to strangers. "William Smith[B] confirms this account, and says, "That the inhabitantsare generally very good-natured, and exceeding courteous and civil. Whenthe Europeans make them presents, which in their coming thither to tradethey always do, they endeavour to return them doubly. "

[Footnote A: Collection. Vol. 3, page 228. ]

[Footnote B: Smith, page 228. ]

Bosman tells us, [A] "That his countrymen the Dutch, who were oftenobliged to trust them till they returned the next year, were sure to behonestly paid their whole debts. "

[Footnote A: W. Bosman, page 405. ]

There is in Benin a considerable order in government. Theft, murther, and adultery, being severely punished. Barbot says, [A] "If a man and awoman of any quality be surprized in adultery, they are both put todeath, and their bodies are thrown on a dunghill, and left there a preyto wild beasts. " He adds, "The severity of the laws in Benin againstadultery, [B] amongst all orders of people, deters them from venturing, so that it is but very seldom any persons are punished for that crime. "Smith says, "Their towns are governed by officers appointed by the King, who have power to decide in civil cases, and to raise the public taxes;but in criminal cases, they must send to the King's court, which is heldat the town of Oedo, or Great Benin. This town, which covers a largeextent of ground, is about sixty mile from the sea. "[C] Barbot tells us, "That it contains thirty streets, twenty fathom wide, and almost twomiles long, commonly, extending in a straight line from one gate toanother; that the gates are guarded by soldiers; that in these streetsmarkets are held every day, for cattle, ivory, cotton, and many sorts ofEuropean goods. This large town is divided into several wards, ordistricts, each governed by its respective King of a street, as theycall them; to administer justice, and to keep good order. Theinhabitants are very civil and good natured, condescending to what theEuropeans require of them in a civil way. " The same author confirms whathas been said by others of their justice in the payment of their debts;and adds, "That they, above all other Guineans, are very honest and justin their dealings; and they have such an aversion for theft, that by thelaw of the country it is punished with death. " We are told by the sameauthor, [D] "That the King of Benin is able upon occasion to maintain anarmy of a hundred thousand men; but that, for the most part, he does notkeep thirty thousand. " William Smith says, "The natives are all freemen; none but foreigners can be bought and sold there. [E] They are verycharitable, the King as well as his subjects. " Bosman confirms this, [F]and says, "The King and great Lords subsist several poor at their placeof residence on charity, employing those who are fit for any work, andthe rest they keep for God's sake; so that here are no beggars. "

[Footnote A: Barbot, page 237. ]

[Footnote B: By this account of the punishment inflicted on adulterersin this and other parts of Guinea, it appears the Negroes are notinsensible of the sinfulness of such practices. How strange must it thenappear to the serious minded amongst these people, (nay, howinconsistent is it with every divine and moral law amongst ourselves)that those christian laws which prohibit fornication and adultery, arein none of the English governments extended to them, but that they areallowed to cohabit and separate at pleasure? And that even their mastersthink so lightly of their marriage engagements, that, when it suits withtheir interest, they will separate man from wife, and children fromboth, to be sold into different, and even distant parts, without regardto their sometimes grievous lamentations; whence it has happened, thatsuch of those people who are truly united in their marriage covenant, and in affection to one another, have been driven to such desperation, as either violently to destroy themselves, or gradually to pine away, and die with mere grief. It is amazing, that whilst the clergy of theestablished church are publicly expressing a concern, that theseoppressed people should be made acquainted with the christian religion, they should be thus suffered, and even forced, so flagrantly to infringeone of the principal injunctions of our holy religion!]

[Footnote C: J. Barbot, page 358, 359. ]

[Footnote D: Barbot, page 369. ]

[Footnote E: W. Smith, page 369. ]

[Footnote F: Bosman, page 409. ]

As to religion, these people believe there is a God, the efficient causeof all things; but, like the rest of the Guineans, they aresuperstitiously and idolatrously inclined. 

The last division of Guinea from which slaves are imported, are thekingdoms of Kongo and Angola: these lie to the South of Benin, extendingwith the intermediate land about twelve hundred miles on the coast. Great numbers of the natives of both these kingdoms profess thechristian religion, which was long since introduced by the Portugueze, who made early settlements in that country. 

In the Collection it is said, that both in Kongo and Angola, the soil isin general fruitful, producing great plenty of grain, Indian corn, andsuch quantities of rice, that it hardly bears any price, with fruits, roots, and palm oil in plenty. 

The natives are generally a quiet people, who discover a goodunderstanding, and behave in a friendly manner to strangers, being of amild conversation, affable, and easily overcome with reason. 

In the government of Kongo, the King appoints a judge in everyparticular division, to hear and determine disputes and civil causes;the judges imprison and release, or impose fines, according to the ruleof custom; but in weighty matters, every one may appeal to the King, before whom all criminal causes are brought, in which he givethsentence; but seldom condemneth to death. 

The town of Leango stands in the midst of four Lordships, which aboundin corn, fruit, &c. Here they make great quantities of cloth of diverskinds, very fine and curious; the inhabitants are seldom idle; they evenmake needle-work caps as they walk in the streets. 

The slave trade is here principally managed by the Portugueze, who carryit far up into the inland countries. They are said to send off fromthese parts fifteen thousand slaves each year. 

At Angola, about the 10th degree of South latitude, ends the trade forslaves. 

CHAP. IV. 

The antientest accounts of the Negroes is from the Nubian Geography, andthe writings of Leo the African. Some account of those authors. TheArabians pass into Guinea. The innocency and simplicity of the natives. They are subdued by the Moors. Heli Ischia shakes off the Moorish yoke. The Portugueze make the first descent in Guinea. From whence they carryoff some of the natives. More incursions of the like kind. ThePortugueze erect the first fort at D'Elmina. They begin the slave trade. Cada Mosto's testimony. Anderson's account to the same purport. De laCasa's concern for the relief of the oppressed Indians. Goes over intoSpain to plead their cause. His speech before Charles the Fifth. 

The most antient account we have of the country of the Negroes, particularly that part situate on and between the two great rivers ofSenegal and Gambia, is from the writings of two antient authors, one anArabian, and the other a Moor. The first[A] wrote in Arabic, about thetwelfth century. His works, printed in that language at Rome, wereafterwards translated into Latin, and printed at Paris, under thepatronage of the famous Thuanus, chancellor of France, with the title of_Geographica Nubiensis_, containing an account or all the nations lyingon the Senegal and Gambia. The other wrote by John Leo, [B] a Moor, bornat Granada, in Spain, before the Moors were totally expelled from thatkingdom. He resided in Africa; but being on a voyage from Tripoli toTunis, was taken by some Italian Corsairs, who finding him possessed ofseveral Arabian books, besides his own manuscripts, apprehended him tobe a man of learning, and as such presented him to Pope Leo the Tenth. This Pope encouraging him, he embraced the Romish religion, and hisdescription of Africa was published in Italian. From these writings wegather, that after the Mahometan religion had extended to the kingdom ofMorocco, some of the promoters of it crossing the sandy desarts ofNumidia, which separate that country from Guinea, found it inhabited bymen, who, though under no regular government, and destitute of thatknowledge the Arabians were favoured with, lived in content and peace. The first author particularly remarks, "That they never made war, ortravelled abroad, but employed themselves in tending their herds, orlabouring in the ground. " J. Leo says, page 65. "That they lived incommon, having no property in land, no tyrant nor superior lord, butsupported themselves in an equal state, upon the natural produce of thecountry, which afforded plenty of roots, game, and honey. That ambitionor avarice never drove them into foreign countries to subdue or cheattheir neighbours. Thus they lived without toil or superfluities. " "Theantient inhabitants of Morocco, who wore coats of mail, and used swordsand spears headed with iron, coming amongst these harmless and nakedpeople, soon brought them under subjection, and divided that part ofGuinea which lies on the rivers Senegal and Gambia into fifteen parts;those were the fifteen kingdoms of the Negroes, over which the Moorspresided, and the common people were Negroes. These Moors taught theNegroes the Mahometan religion, and arts of life; particularly the useof iron, before unknown to them. About the 14th century, a native Negro, called Heli Ischia, expelled the Moorish conquerors; but tho' theNegroes threw off the yoke of a foreign nation, they only changed aLibyan for a Negroe master. Heli Ischia himself becoming King, led theNegroes on to foreign wars, and established himself in power over a verylarge extent of country. " Since Leo's time, the Europeans have had verylittle knowledge of those parts of Africa, nor do they know what becameof his great empire. It is highly probable that it broke into pieces, and that the natives again resumed many of their antient customs; for inthe account published by William Moor, in his travels on the riverGambia, we find a mixture of the Moorish and Mahometan customs, joinedwith the original simplicity of the Negroes. It appears by accounts ofantient voyages, collected by Hackluit, Purchas, and others, that it wasabout fifty years before the discovery of America, that the Portuguezeattempted to sail round Cape Bojador, which lies between their countryand Guinea; this, after divers repulses occasioned by the violentcurrents, they effected; when landing on the western coasts of Africa, they soon began to make incursions into the country, and to seize andcarry off the native inhabitants. As early as the year 1434, AlonzoGonzales, the first who is recorded to have met with the natives, beingon that coast, pursued and attacked a number of them, when some werewounded, as was also one of the Portugueze; which the author records asthe first blood spilt by christians in those parts. Six years after, thesame Gonzales again attacked the natives, and took twelve prisoners, with whom he returned to his vessels; he afterwards put a woman onshore, in order to induce the natives to redeem the prisoners; but thenext day 150 of the inhabitants appeared on horses and camels, provokingthe Portugueze to land; which they not daring to venture, the nativesdischarged a volley of stones at them, and went off. After this, thePortugueze still continued to send vessels on the coast of Africa;particularly we read of their falling on a village, whence theinhabitants fled, and, being pursued, twenty-five were taken: "_He thatran best_, " says the author, "_taking the most_. In their way home theykilled some of the natives, and took fifty-five more prisoners. [C]Afterwards Dinisanes Dagrama, with two other vessels, landed on theisland Arguin, where they took fifty-four Moors; then running along thecoast eighty leagues farther, they at several times took fifty slaves;but here seven of the Portugueze were killed. Then being joined byseveral other vessels, Dinisanes proposed to destroy the island, torevenge the loss of the seven Portugueze; of which the Moors beingapprized, fled, so that no more than twelve were found, whereof onlyfour could be taken, the rest being killed, as also one of thePortugueze. " Many more captures of this kind on the coast of Barbary andGuinea, are recorded to have been made in those early times by thePortugueze; who, in the year 1481, erected their first fort at D'Elminaon that coast, from whence they soon opened a trade for slaves with theinland parts of Guinea. 

[Footnote A: See Travels into different parts of Africa, by FrancisMoor, with a letter to the publisher. ]

[Footnote B: Ibid. ]

[Footnote C: Collection, vol. 1, page 13. ]

From the foregoing accounts, it is undoubted, that the practice ofmaking slaves of the Negroes, owes its origin to the early incursions ofthe Portugueze on the coast of Africa, solely from an inordinate desireof gain. This is clearly evidenced from their own historians, particularly _Cada Mosto_, about the year 1455, who writes, [A] "Thatbefore the trade was settled for purchasing slaves from the Moors atArguin, sometimes four, and sometimes more Portugueze vessels, were usedto come to that gulph, well armed; and landing by night, would surprizesome fishermen's villages: that they even entered into the country, andcarried off Arabs of both sexes, whom they sold in Portugal. " And also, "That the Portugueze and Spaniards, settled on four of the Canaryislands, would go to the other island by night, and seize some of thenatives of both sexes, whom they sent to be sold in Spain. "

[Footnote A: Collection vol. 1, page 576. ]

After the settlement of America, those devastations, and the captivatingthe miserable Africans, greatly increased. 

Anderson, in his history of trade and commerce, at page 336, speaking ofwhat passed in the year 1508, writes, "That the Spaniards had by thistime found that the miserable Indian natives, whom they had made to workin their mines and fields, were not so robust and proper for thosepurposes as Negroes brought from Africa; wherefore they, about thattime, began to import Negroes for that end into Hispaniola, from thePortugueze settlements on the Guinea coasts; and also afterwards fortheir sugar works. " This oppression of the Indians had, even before thistime, rouzed the zeal, as well as it did the compassion, of some of thetruly pious of that day; particularly that of Bartholomew De las Casas, bishop of Chapia; whom a desire of being instrumental towards theconversion of the Indians, had invited into America. It is generallyagreed by the writers of that age, that he was a man of perfectdisinterestedness, and ardent charity; being affected with this sadspectacle, he returned to the court of Spain, and there made a truereport of the matter; but not without being strongly opposed by thosemercenary wretches, who had enslaved the Indians; yet being strong andindefatigable, he went to and fro between Europe and America, firmlydetermined not to give over his pursuit but with his life. After longsolicitation, and innumerable repulses, he obtained leave to lay thematter before the Emperor Charles the Fifth, then King of Spain. As thecontents of the speech he made before the King in council, are veryapplicable to the case of the enslaved Africans, and a lively evidencethat the spirit of true piety speaks the same language in the hearts offaithful men in all ages, for the relief of their fellow creatures fromoppression of every kind, I think it may not be improper here totranscribe the most interesting parts of it. "I was, " says this piousbishop, "one of the first who went to America; neither curiosity norinterest prompted me to undertake so long and dangerous a voyage; thesaving the souls of the heathen was my sole object. Why was I notpermitted, even at the expence of my blood, to ransom so many thousandsouls, who fell unhappy victims to avarice or lust? I have been an eyewitness to such cruel treatment of the Indians, as is too horrid to bementioned at this time. --It is said that barbarous executions werenecessary to punish or check the rebellion of the Americans;--but towhom was this owing? Did not those people receive the Spaniards, whofirst came amongst them, with gentleness and humanity? Did they not shewmore joy, in proportion, in lavishing treasure upon them, than theSpaniards did greediness in receiving it?--But our avarice was not yetsatisfied;--tho' they gave up to us their land and their riches, wewould tear from them their wives, their children and theirliberties. --To blacken these unhappy people, their enemies assert, thatthey are scarce human creatures?--but it is we that ought to blush, forhaving been less men, and more barbarous, than they. --What right have weto enslave a people who are born free, and whom we disturbed, tho' theynever offended us?--They are represented as a stupid people, addicted tovice?--but have they not contracted most of their vices from the exampleof the christians? And as to those vices peculiar to themselves, havenot the christians quickly exceeded them therein? Nevertheless it mustbe granted, that the Indians still remain untainted with many vicesusual amongst the Europeans; such as ambition, blasphemy, treachery, andmany like monsters, which have not yet took place with them; they havescarce an idea of them; so that in effect, all the advantage we canclaim, is to have more elevated notions of things, and our naturalfaculties more unfolded and more cultivated than theirs. --Do not let usflatter our corruptions, nor voluntarily blind ourselves; _all_ nationsare equally _free_; one nation has no right to infringe upon the freedomof any other; let us do towards these people as we would have them tohave done towards us, if they had landed upon our shore, with the samesuperiority of strength. And indeed, why should not things be equal onboth sides? How long has the right of the strongest been allowed to bethe balance of justice? What part of the gospel gives a sanction to sucha doctrine? In what part of the whole earth did the apostles and thefirst promulgators of the gospel ever claim a right over the lives, thefreedom, or the substance of the Gentiles? What a strange method this isof propagating the gospel, that holy law of grace, which, from being, slaves to Satan, initiates us into the freedom of the children ofGod!--Will it be possible for us to inspire them with a love to itsdictates, while they are so exasperated at being dispossessed of thatinvaluable blessing, _Liberty?_ The apostles submitted to chainsthemselves, but loaded no man with them. Christ came to free, not toenslave us. --Submission to the faith he left us, ought to be a voluntaryact, and should be propagated by persuasion, gentleness, and reason. "

"At my first arrival in Hispaniola, (added the bishop) it contained amillion of inhabitants; and now (viz. In the space of about twentyyears) there remains scarce the hundredth part of them; thousands haveperished thro' want, fatigue, merciless punishment, cruelty, andbarbarity. If the blood of _one_ man unjustly shed, calls loudly forvengeance; how strong must be the cry of that of so _many_ unhappycreatures which is shedding daily?"--The good bishop concluded hisspeech, with imploring the King's clemency for subjects so unjustlyoppressed; and bravely declared, that heaven would one day call him toan account, for the numberless acts of cruelty which he might haveprevented. The King applauded the bishop's zeal; promised to second it;but so many of the great ones had an interest in continuing theoppression, that nothing was done; so that all the Indians inHispaniola, except a few who had hid themselves in the most inaccessiblemountains, were destroyed. 

CHAP. V. 

First account of the English trading to Guinea. Thomas Windham andseveral others go to that coast. Some of the Negroes carried off by theEnglish. Queen Elizabeth's charge to Captain Hawkins respecting thenatives. Nevertheless he goes on the coast and carries off some of theNegroes. Patents are granted. The King of France objects to the Negroesbeing kept in slavery. As do the college of Cardinals at Rome. Thenatives, an inoffensive people; corrupted by the Europeans. Thesentiments of the natives concerning the slave-trade, from WilliamSmith: Confirmed by Andrew Brue and James Barbot. 

It was about the year 1551, towards the latter end of the reign of KingEdward the Sixth, when some London merchants sent out the first Englishship, on a trading voyage to the coast of Guinea; this was soon followedby several others to the same parts; but the English not having then anyplantations in the West Indies, and consequently no occasion forNegroes, such ships traded only for gold, elephants teeth, and Guineapepper. This trade was carried on at the hazard of losing their shipsand cargoes, if they had fallen into the hands of the Portuguese, whoclaimed an exclusive right of trade, on account of the severalsettlements they had made there. [A] In the year 1553, we find captainThomas Windham trading along the coast with 140 men, in three ships, andsailing as far as Benin, which lies about 3000 miles down the coast, totake in a load of pepper. [B] Next year John Lock traded along the coastof Guinea, as far as D'Elmina, when he brought away considerablequantities of gold and ivory. He speaks well of the natives, andsays, [C] "_That whoever will deal with them must behave civilly, forthey will not traffic if ill used_. " In 1555, William Towerson traded ina peaceable manner with the natives, who made complaint to him of thePortuguese, who were then settled in their castle at D'Elmina, saying, "_They were bad men, who made them slaves if they could take them, putting irons on their legs_. "

[Footnote A: Astley's collection, vol. 1. Page 139. ]

[Footnote B: Collection vol. 1. P. 148. ]

[Footnote C: Ibid. 257. ]

This bad example of the Portuguese was soon followed by some evildisposed Englishmen; for the same captain Towerson relates, [A] "That inthe course of his voyage, he perceived the natives, near D'Elmina, unwilling to come to him, and that he was at last attacked by them;which he understood was done in revenge for the wrong done them the yearbefore, by one captain Gainsh, who had taken away the Negro captain'sson, and three others, with their gold, &c. This caused them to join thePortuguese, notwithstanding their hatred of them, against the English. "The next year captain Towerson brought these men back again; whereuponthe Negroes shewed him much kindness. [B] Quickly after this, anotherinstance of the same kind occurred, in the case of captain GeorgeFenner, who being on the coast, with three vessels, was also attacked bythe Negroes, who wounded several of his people, and violently carriedthree of his men to their town. The captain sent a messenger, offeringany thing they desired for the ransom of his men: but they refused todeliver them, letting him know, "_That three weeks before, an Englishship, which came in the road, had carried off three of their people; andthat till they were brought again, they would not restore his men, eventho' they should give their three ships to release them_. " It wasprobably the evil conduct of these, and some other Englishmen, which wasthe occasion of what is mentioned in Hill's naval history, viz. "Thatwhen captain Hawkins returned from his first voyage to Africa, QueenElizabeth sent for him, when she expressed her concern, lest any of theAfrican Negroes should be carried off without their free consent; whichshe declared would be detestable, and would call down the vengeance ofheaven upon the undertakers. " Hawkins made great promises, whichnevertheless he did not perform; for his next voyage to the coastappears to have been principally calculated to procure Negro slaves, inorder to sell them to the Spaniards in the West Indies; which occasionedthe same author to use these remarkable words: "_Here began the horridpractice of forcing the Africans into slavery: an injustice andbarbarity, which, so sure as there is vengeance in heaven for the worstof crimes, will some time be the destruction of all who act or whoencourage it_. " This captain Hawkins, afterwards sir John Hawkins, seemsto have been the first Englishman who gave public countenance to thiswicked traffic: For Anderson, before mentioned, at page 401, says, "Thatin the year 1562, captain Hawkins, assisted by subscription of sundrygentlemen, now fitted out three ships; and having learnt that Negroeswere a very good commodity in Hispaniola, he sailed to the coast ofGuinea, took in Negroes, and sailed with them for Hispaniola, where hesold them, and his English commodities, and loaded his three vesselswith hides, sugar and ginger, &c. With which he returned home anno 1563, making a prosperous voyage. " As it proved a lucrative business, thetrade was continued both by Hawkins and others, as appears from thenaval chronicle, page 55, where it is said, "That on the 18th ofOctober, 1564, captain John Hawkins, with two ships of 700 and 140 tuns, sailed for Africa; that on the 8th of December they anchored to theSouth of Cape Verd, where the captain manned the boat, and sent eightymen in armour into the country, to see if they could take some Negroes;but the natives flying from them, they returned to their ships, andproceeded farther down the coast. Here they staid certain days, sendingtheir men ashore, in order (as the author says) to burn and spoil theirtowns and take the inhabitants. The land they observed to be wellcultivated, there being plenty of grain, and fruit of several sorts, andthe towns prettily laid out. On the 25th, being informed by thePortugueze of a town of Negroes called Bymba, where there was not only aquantity of gold, but an hundred and forty inhabitants, they resolved toattack it, having the Portugueze for their guide; but by mismanagementthey took but ten Negroes, having seven of their own men killed, andtwenty-seven wounded. They then went farther down the coast; when, having procured a number of Negroes, they proceeded to the West Indies, where they sold them to the Spaniards. " And in the same naval chronicle, at page 76, it is said, "That in the year 1567, Francis Drake, beforeperforming his voyage round the world, went with Sir John Hawkins in hisexpedition to the coast of Guinea, where taking in a cargo of slaves, they determined to steer for the Caribbee islands. " How Queen Elizabethsuffered so grievous an infringement of the rights of mankind to beperpetrated by her subjects, and how she was persuaded, about the 30thyear of her reign, to grant patents for carrying on a trade from theNorth part of the river Senegal, to an hundred leagues beyond SierraLeona, which gave rise to the present African company, is hard toaccount for, any otherwise than that it arose from the misrepresentationmade to her of the situation of the Negroes, and of the advantages itwas pretended they would reap from being made acquainted with thechristian religion. This was the case of Lewis the XIIIth, King ofFrance, who, Labat, in his account of the isles of America, tells us, "Was extremely uneasy at a law by which the Negroes of his colonies wereto be made slaves; but it being strongly urged to him as the readiestmeans for their conversion to christianity, he acquiesced therewith. "Nevertheless, some of the christian powers did not so easily give way inthis matter; for we find, [C] "That cardinal Cibo, one of the Pope'sprincipal ministers of state, wrote a letter on behalf of the college ofcardinals, or great council at Rome, to the missionaries in Congo, complaining that the pernicious and abominable abuse of selling slaveswas yet continued, requiring them to remedy the same, if possible; butthis the missionaries saw little hopes of accomplishing, by reason thatthe trade of the country lay wholly in slaves and ivory. "

[Footnote A: Collection, vol. 1. P. 148. ]

[Footnote B: Ibid. 157. ]

[Footnote C: Collection, vol. 3, page 164. ]

From the foregoing accounts, as well as other authentic publications ofthis kind, it appears that it was the unwarrantable lust of gain, whichfirst stimulated the Portugueze, and afterwards other Europeans, toengage in this horrid traffic. By the most authentic relations of thoseearly times, the natives were an inoffensive people, who, when civillyused, traded amicably with the Europeans. It is recorded of those ofBenin, the largest kingdom in Guinea, [A]_That they were a gentle, lovingpeople_; and Reynold says, [B] "_They found more sincere proofs of loveand good will from the natives, than they could find from the Spaniardsand Portugueze, even tho' they had relieved them from the greatestmisery_. " And from the same relations there is no reason to thinkotherwise, but that they generally lived in peace amongst themselves;for I don't find, in the numerous publications I have perused on thissubject, relating to these early times, of there being wars on thatcoast, nor of any sale of captives taken in battle, who would have beenotherwise sacrificed by the victors:[C] Notwithstanding some modernauthors, in their publications relating to the West Indies, desirous ofthrowing a veil over the iniquity of the slave trade, have been hardyenough, upon meer supposition or report, to assert the contrary. 

[Footnote A: Collection, vol. 1, page 202. ]

[Footnote B: Idem, page 245. ]

[Footnote C: Note, This plea falls of itself, for if the Negroesapprehended they should be cruelly put to death, if they were not sentaway, why do they manifest such reluctance and dread as they generallydo, at being brought from their native country? William Smith, at page28, says, "_The Gambians abhor slavery, and will attempt any thing, tho'never so desperate, to avoid it_, " and Thomas Philips, in his account ofa voyage he performed to the coast of Guinea, writes, "_They, theNegroes, are so loth to leave their own country, that they have oftenleaped out of the canoe, boat, or ship, into the sea, and kept underwater till they were drowned, to avoid being taken up_. "]

It was long after the Portugueze had made a practice of violentlyforcing the natives of Africa into slavery, that we read of thedifferent Negroe nations making war upon each other, and selling theircaptives. And probably this was not the case, till those bordering onthe coast, who had been used to supply the vessels with necessaries, hadbecome corrupted by their intercourse with the Europeans, and wereexcited by drunkenness and avarice to join them in carrying on thosewicked schemes, by which those unnatural wars were perpetrated; theinhabitants kept in continual alarms; the country laid waste; and, asWilliam Moor expresses it, _Infinite numbers sold into slavery_. Butthat the Europeans are the principal cause of these devastations, isparticularly evidenced by one, whose connexion with the trade wouldrather induce him to represent it in the fairest colours, to wit, William Smith, the person sent in the year 1726 by the African companyto survey their settlements, who, from the information he received ofone of the factors, who had resided ten years in that country, says, [A]"_That the discerning natives account it their greatest unhappiness, that they were ever visited by the Europeans. "--"That we christiansintroduced the traffick of slaves; and that before our coming they livedin peace_. "

[Footnote A: William Smith, page 266. ]

In the accounts relating to the African trade, we find this melancholytruth farther asserted by some of the principal directors in thedifferent factories; particularly A. Brue says, [A] "_That the Europeanswere far from desiring to act as peace-makers amongst the Negroes; whichwould be acting contrary to their interest, since the greater the wars, the more slaves were procured_, " And William Bosman also remarks, [B]"That one of the former commanders _gave large sums of money to theNegroes of one nation, to induce them to attack some of the neighbouringnations, which occasioned a battle which was more bloody than the warsof the Negroes usually are_. " This is confirmed by J. Barbot, who says, "_That the country of D'Elmina, which was formerly very powerful andpopulous, was in his time so much drained of its inhabitants by theintestine wars fomented amongst the Negroes by the Dutch, that there didnot remain inhabitants enough to till the country_. "

[Footnote A: Collection, vol. 2, page 98. ]

[Footnote B: Bosman, page 31. ]

CHAP. VI. 

The conduct of the Europeans and Africans compared. Slavery moretolerable amongst the antients than in our colonies. As christianityprevailed amongst the barbarous nations, the inconsistency of slaverybecame more apparent. The charters of manumission, granted in the earlytimes of christianity, founded on an apprehension of duty to God. Theantient Britons, and other European nations, in their original state, noless barbarous than the Negroes. Slaves in Guinea used with much greaterlenity than the Negroes are in the colonies. --Note. How the slaves aretreated in Algiers, as also in Turkey. 

Such is the woeful corruption of human nature, that every practice whichflatters our pride and covetousness, will find its advocates! This ismanifestly the case in the matter before us; the savageness of theNegroes in some of their customs, and particularly their deviating sofar from the feelings of humanity, as to join in captivating and sellingeach other, gives their interested oppressors a pretence forrepresenting them as unworthy of liberty, and the natural rights ofmankind. But these sophisters turn the argument full upon themselves, when they instigate the poor creatures to such shocking impiety, byevery means that fantastic subtilty can suggest; thereby shewing intheir own conduct, a more glaring proof of the same depravity, and, ifthere was any reason in the argument, a greater unfitness for the sameprecious enjoyment: for though some of the ignorant Africans may be thuscorrupted by their intercourse with the baser of the European natives, and the use of strong liquors, this is no excuse for high-professingchristians; bred in a civilized country, with so many advantages unknownto the Africans, and pretending to a superior degree of gospel light. Nor can it justify them in raising up fortunes to themselves from themisery of others, and calmly projecting voyages for the seizure of mennaturally as free as themselves; and who, they know, are no otherwise tobe procured than by such barbarous means, as none but those hardenedwretches, who are lost to every sense of christian compassion, can makeuse of. Let us diligently compare, and impartially weigh, the situationof those ignorant Negroes, and these enlightened christians; then liftup the scale and say, which of the two are the greater savages. 

Slavery has been of a long time in practice in many parts of Asia; itwas also in usage among the Romans when that empire flourished; but, except in some particular instances, it was rather a reasonableservitude, no ways comparable to the unreasonable and unnatural serviceextorted from the Negroes in our colonies. A late learned author, [A]speaking of those times which succeeded the dissolution of that empire, acquaints us, that as christianity prevailed, it very much removed thosewrong prejudices and practices, which had taken root in darker times:after the irruption of the Northern nations, and the introduction of thefeudal or military government, whereby the most extensive power waslodged in a few members of society, to the depression of the rest, thecommon people were little better than slaves, and many were indeed such;but as christianity gained ground, the gentle spirit of that religion, together with the doctrines it teaches, concerning the original equalityof mankind, as well as the impartial eye with which the Almighty regardsmen of every condition, and admits them to a participation of hisbenefits; so far manifested the inconsistency of slavery withchristianity, that to set their fellow christians at liberty was deemedan act of piety, highly meritorious and acceptable to God. [B]Accordingly a great part of the charters granted for the manumission orfreedom of slaves about that time, are granted _pro amore Dei, for thelove of God, pro mercede animae, to obtain mercy to the soul_. Manumission was frequently granted on death-beds, or by latter wills. Asthe minds of men are at that time awakened to sentiments of humanity andpiety, these deeds proceeded from religious motives. The same authorremarks, That there are several forms of those manumissions stillextant, all of them founded _on religious considerations_, and _in orderto procure the favour of God_. Since that time, the practice of keepingmen in slavery gradually ceased amongst christians, till it was renewedin the case before us. And as the prevalency of the spirit ofchristianity caused men to emerge from the darkness they then lay under, in this respect; so it is much to be feared that so great a deviationtherefrom, by the encouragement given to the slavery of the Negroes inour colonies, if continued, will, by degrees, reduce those countrieswhich support and encourage it but more immediately those parts ofAmerica which are in the practice of it, to the ignorance and barbarityof the darkest ages. 

[Footnote A: See Robertson's history of Charles the 5th. ]

[Footnote B: In the years 1315 and 1318, Louis X. And his brotherPhilip, Kings of France, issued ordonnances, declaring, "That as all menwere by nature free-born, and as their kingdom was called the kingdom ofFranks, they determined that it should be so in reality, as well as inname; therefore they appointed that enfranchisements should be grantedthroughout the whole kingdom, upon just and reasonable conditions. ""These edicts were carried into immediate execution within the royaldomain. "--"In England, as the spirit of liberty gained ground, the veryname and idea of personal servitude, without any formal interposition ofthe legislature to prohibit it, was totally banished. " "The effects ofsuch a remarkable change in the condition of so great a part of thepeople, could not fail of being considerable and extensive. Thehusbandman, master of his own industry, and secure of reaping forhimself the fruits of his labour, became farmer of the same field wherehe had formerly been compelled to toil for the benefit of another. Theodious name of master and of slave, the most mortifying and depressingof all distinctions to human nature, were abolished. New prospectsopened, and new incitements to ingenuity and enterprise presentedthemselves, to those who were emancipated. The expectation of betteringtheir fortune, as well as that of raising themselves to a morehonourable condition, concurred in calling forth their activity andgenius; and a numerous class of men, who formerly had no politicalexistence, and were employed merely as instruments of labour, becameuseful citizens, and contributed towards augmenting the force or richesof the society, which adopted them as members. " William Robertson'shistory of Charles the 5th, vol. 1, P. 35. ]

If instead of making slaves of the Negroes, the nations who assume thename and character of christians, would use their endeavours to make thenations of Africa acquainted with the nature of the christian religion, to give them a better sense of the true use of the blessings of life, the more beneficial arts and customs would, by degrees, be introducedamongst them; this care probably would produce the same effect uponthem, which it has had on the inhabitants of Europe, formerly as savageand barbarous as the natives of Africa. Those cruel wars amongst theblacks would be likely to cease, and a fair and honorable commerce, intime, take place throughout that vast country. It was by these meansthat the inhabitants of Europe, though formerly a barbarous people, became civilized. Indeed the account Julius Caesar gives of the ancientBritons in their state of ignorance, is not such as should make us proudof ourselves, or lead us to despise the unpolished nations of the earth;for he informs us, "That they lived in many respects like our Indians, being clad with skins, painting their bodies, &c. " He also adds, "Thatthey, brother with brother, and parents with children, had wives incommon. " A greater barbarity than any heard of amongst the Negroes. Nordoth Tacitus give a more honourable account of the Germans, from whomthe Saxons, our immediate ancestors, sprung. The Danes, who succeededthem (who may also be numbered among our progenitors) were full as bad, if not worse. 

It is usual for people to advance as a palliation in favour of keepingthe Negroes in bondage, that there are slaves in Guinea, and that thoseamongst us might be so in their own country; but let such consider theinconsistency of our giving any countenance to slavery, because theAfricans, whom we esteem a barbarous and savage people, allow of it, andperhaps the more from our example. Had the professors of christianityacted indeed as such, they might have been instrumental to convince theNegroes of their error in this respect; but even this, when inquiredinto, will be to us an occasion of blushing, if we are not hardened toevery sense of shame, rather than a _palliation_ of our iniquitousconduct; as it will appear that the slavery endured in Guinea, and otherparts of Africa, and in Asia, [A] is by no means so grievous as that inour colonies. William Moor, speaking of the natives living on the riverGambia, [B] says, "Tho' some of the Negroes have many house slaves, whichare their greatest glory; that those slaves live so well and easy, thatit is sometimes a hard matter to know the slaves from their masters ormistresses. And that though in some parts of Africa they sell theirslaves born in the family, yet on the river Gambia they think it a verywicked thing. " The author adds, "He never heard of but one that eversold a family slave, except for such crimes as they would have been soldfor if they had been free. " And in Astley's collection, speaking of thecustoms of the Negroes in that large extent of country further down thecoast, particularly denominated the coast of Guinea, it is said, [C]"They have not many slaves on the coast; none but the King or nobles arepermitted to buy or sell any; so that they are allowed only what arenecessary for their families, or tilling the ground. " The same authoradds, "_That they generally use their slaves well, and seldom correctthem_. "

[Footnote A: In the history of the piratical states of Barbary, printedin 1750, _said to be_ wrote by a person who resided at Algiers, in apublic character, at page 265 the author says, "The world exclaimsagainst the Algerines for their cruel treatment of their slaves, andtheir employing even tortures to convert them to mahometism: but this isa vulgar error, artfully propagated for selfish views. So far are theirslaves from being ill used, that they must have committed some verygreat fault to suffer any punishment. Neither are they forced to workbeyond their strength, but rather spared, lest they should fall sick. Some are so pleased with their situation, that they will not purchasetheir ransom, though they are able. " It is the same generally throughthe Mahometan countries, except in some particular instances, as that ofMuley Ishmael, late Emperor of Morocco, who being naturally barbarous, frequently used both his subjects and slaves with cruelty. Yet evenunder him the usage the slaves met with was, in general, much moretolerable than that of the Negroe slaves in the West Indies. CaptainBraithwaite, an author of credit, who accompanied consul general Russelin a congratulatory ambassy to Muley Ishmael's successor, upon hisaccession to the throne, says, "The situation of the christian slaves inMorocco was not near so bad as represented. --That it was true they werekept at labour by the late Emperor, but not harder than our dailylabourers go through. --Masters of ships were never obliged to work, norsuch as had but a small matter of money to give the Alcaide. --When sick, they had a religious house appointed for them to go to, where they werewell attended: and whatever money in charity was sent them by theirfriends in Europe, was their own. " Braithwaite's revolutions of Morocco. Lady Montague, wife of the English ambassador at Constantinople, in herletters, vol. 3. Page 20, writes, "I know you expect I should saysomething particular of the slaves; and you will imagine me half a Turk, when I do not speak of it with the same horror other christians havedone before me; but I cannot forbear applauding the humanity of theTurks to these creatures; they are not ill used; and their slavery, inmy opinion, is no worse than servitude all over the world. It is truethey have no wages, but they give them yearly cloaths to a higher valuethan our salaries to our ordinary servants. " ]

[Footnote B: W. Moor, p. 30]

[Footnote C: Collection vol. 2. P. 647. ]

CHAP. VII. 

Montesquieu's sentiments on slavery. Moderation enjoined by the Mosaiclaw in the punishment of offenders. Morgan Godwyn's account of thecontempt and grievous rigour exercised upon the Negroes in his time. Account from Jamaica, relating to the inhuman treatment of them there. Bad effects attendant on slave-keeping, as well to the masters as theslaves. Extracts from several laws relating to Negroes. Richard Baxter'ssentiments on slave-keeping. 

That celebrated civilian Montesquieu, in his treatise _on the spirit oflaws_, on the article of slavery says, "_It is neither useful to themaster nor slave; to the slave, because he can do nothing throughprinciple (or virtue); to the master, because he contracts with hisslave all sorts of bad habits, insensibly accustoms himself to want allmoral virtues; becomes haughty, hasty, hard-hearted, passionate, voluptuous, and cruel_. " The lamentable truth of this assertion wasquickly verified in the English plantations. When the practice ofslave-keeping was introduced, it soon produced its natural effects; itreconciled men, of otherwise good dispositions, to the most hard andcruel measures. It quickly proved, what, under the law of Moses, wasapprehended would be the consequence of unmerciful chastisements. Deut. Xxv. 2. "_And it shall be if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, thatthe judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number; forty stripes he may givehim, and not exceed_. " And the reason rendered, is out of respect tohuman nature, viz. "_Lest if he should exceed, and beat him above thesewith many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee_. " Asthis effect soon followed the cause, the cruelest measures were adopted, in order to make the most of the poor _wretches_ labour; and in theminds of the masters such an idea was excited of inferiority, in thenature of these their unhappy fellow creatures, that they soon esteemedand treated them as beasts of burden: pretending to doubt, and some ofthem even presuming to deny, that the efficacy of the death of Christextended to them. Which is particularly noted in a book, intitled _TheNegroes and Indians advocate_, dedicated to the then Archbishop ofCanterbury, wrote so long since as in the year 1680, by Morgan Godwyn, thought to be a clergyman of the church of England. [A] The same spiritof sympathy and zeal which stirred up the good Bishop of Chapia to pleadwith so much energy the kindred cause of the Indians of America, anhundred and fifty years before, was equally operating about a centurypast on the minds of some of the well disposed of that day; amongstothers this worthy clergyman, having been an eye witness of theoppression and cruelty exercised upon the Negro and Indian slaves, endeavoured to raise the attention of those, in whose power it might beto procure them relief; amongst other matters, in his address to theArchbishop, he remarks in substance, "That the people of the island ofBarbadoes were not content with exercising the greatest hardness andbarbarity upon the Negroes, in making the most of their labour, withoutany regard to the calls of humanity, but that they had suffered such aslight and undervaluement to prevail in their minds towards these theiroppressed fellow creatures, as to discourage any step being taken, whereby they might be made acquainted with the christian religion. Thattheir conduct towards their slaves was such as gave him reason tobelieve, that either they had suffered a spirit of infidelity, a spiritquite contrary to the nature of the gospel, to prevail in them, or thatit must be their established opinion that the Negroes had no more soulsthan beasts; that hence they concluded them to be neither susceptible ofreligious impressions, nor fit objects for the redeeming grace of God tooperate upon. That under this persuasion, and from a disposition ofcruelty, they treated them with far less humanity than they did theircattle; for, says he, they do not starve their horses, which they expectshould both carry and credit them on the road; nor pinch the cow, bywhose milk they are sustained; which yet, to their eternal shame, is toofrequently the lot and condition of those poor people, from whose labourtheir wealth and livelihood doth wholly arise; not only in their diet, but in their cloathing, and overworking some of them even to death(which is particularly the calamity of the most innocent and laborious)but also in tormenting and whipping them almost, and sometimes quite, todeath, upon even small miscarriages. He apprehends it was from thisprejudice against the Negroes, that arose those supercilious checks andfrowns he frequently met with, when using innocent arguments andpersuasions, in the way of his duty as a minister of the gospel, tolabour for the convincement and conversion of the Negroes; beingrepeatedly told, with spiteful scoffings, (even by some esteemedreligious) that the Negroes were no more susceptible of receivingbenefit, by becoming members of the church, than their dogs and bitches. The usual answer he received, when exhorting their masters to do theirduty in that respect, being, _What! these black dogs be made christians!what! they be made like us! with abundance more of the same_. Nevertheless, he remarks that the Negroes were capable, not only ofbeing taught to read and write, &c. But divers of them eminent in themanagement of business. He declares them to have an equal right with usto the merits of Christ; of which if through neglect or avarice they aredeprived, that judgment which was denounced against wicked Ahab, mustbefal us: _Our life shall go for theirs_. The loss of their souls willbe required at our hands, to whom God hath given so blessed anopportunity of being instrumental to their salvation. "

[Footnote A: "There is a principle which is pure, placed in the humanmind, which in different places or ages hath had different names; it is, however, pure, and proceeds from God. --It is deep and inward, confinedto no forms of religion, nor excluded from any, where the heart standsin perfect sincerity. In whomsoever this takes root and grows, of whatnation soever, they become brethren in the best sense of the expression. Using ourselves to take ways which appear most easy to us, wheninconsistent with that purity which is without beginning, we thereby setup a government of our own, and deny obedience to Him whose service istrue liberty. He that has a servant, made so wrongfully, and knows it tobe so, when he treats him otherwise than a free man, when he reaps thebenefit of his labour, without paying him such wages as are reasonablydue to free men for the like service; these things, though done incalmness, without any shew of disorder, do yet deprave the mind, in likemanner, and with as great certainty, as prevailing cold congeals water. These steps taken by masters, and their conduct striking the minds oftheir children, whilst young, leave less room for that which is good towork upon them. The customs of their parents, their neighbours, and thepeople with whom they converse, working upon their minds, and they fromthence conceiving wrong ideas of things, and modes of conduct, theentrance into their hearts becomes in a great measure shut up againstthe gentle movings of uncreated purity. 

"From one age to another the gloom grows thicker and darker, till errorgets established by general opinion; but whoever attends to perfectgoodness, and remains under the melting influence of it, finds a pathunknown to many, and sees the necessity to lean upon the arm of divinestrength, and dwell alone, or with a few in the right, committing theircause to him who is a refuge to his people. Negroes are our fellowcreatures, and their present condition among us requires our seriousconsideration. We know not the time, when those scales, in whichmountains are weighed, may turn. The parent of mankind is gracious, hiscare is over his smallest creatures, and a multitude of men escape nothis notice; and though many of them are trodden down and despised, yethe remembers them. He seeth their affliction, and looketh upon thespreading increasing exaltation of the oppressor. He turns the channelof power, humbles the most haughty people, and gives deliverance to theoppressed, at such periods as are consistent with his infinite justiceand goodness. And wherever gain is preferred to equity, and wrong thingspublickly encouraged, to that degree that wickedness takes root andspreads wide amongst the inhabitants of a country, there is a real causefor sorrow, to all such whose love to mankind stands on a trueprinciple, and wisely consider the end and event of things. "Consideration on keeping Negroes, by John Woolman, part 2. P. 50. ]

He complains, "That they were suffered to live with their women in nobetter way than direct fornication; no care being taken to oblige themto continue together when married; but that they were suffered at theirwill to leave their wives, and take to other women. " I shall concludethis sympathizing clergyman's observations, with an instance he gives, to shew, "that not only discouragements and scoffs at that timeprevailed in Barbadoes, to establish an opinion that the Negroes werenot capable of religious impressions, but that even violence and greatabuses were used to prevent any thing of the kind taking place. It wasin the case of a poor Negro, who having, at his own request, prevailedon a clergyman to administer baptism to him, on his return home thebrutish overseer took him to task, giving him to understand, that thatwas no sunday's work for those of his complexion; that he had otherbusiness for him, the neglect whereof would cost him an afternoon'sbaptism in blood, as he in the morning had received a baptism withwater, (these, says the clergyman, were his own words) which heaccordingly made good; of which the Negro complained to him, and he tothe governor; nevertheless, the poor miserable creature was ever afterso unmercifully treated by that inhuman wretch, the overseer, that, toavoid his cruelty, betaking himself to the woods, he there perished. "This instance is applicable to none but the cruel perpetrator; and yetit is an instance of what, in a greater or less degree, may frequentlyhappen, when those poor wretches are left to the will of such brutishinconsiderate creatures as those overseers often are. This is confirmedin a _History of Jamaica_, wrote in thirteen letters, about the year1740, by a person then residing in that island, who writes as follows, "I shall not now enter upon the question, whether the slavery of theNegroes be agreeable to the laws of nature or not; though it seemsextremely hard they should be reduced to serve and toil for the benefitof others, without the least advantage to themselves. Happy Britannia, where slavery is never known! where liberty and freedom chears everymisfortune. Here (_says the author_) we can boast of no such blessing;we have at least ten slaves to one freeman. I incline to touch thehardships which these poor creatures suffer, in the tenderest manner, from a particular regard which I have to many of their masters, but Icannot conceal their sad circumstances intirely: the most trivial erroris punished with terrible whipping. I have seen some of them treated inthat cruel manner, for no other reason but to satisfy the brutishpleasure of an overseer, who has their punishment mostly at hisdiscretion. I have seen their bodies all in a gore of blood, the skintorn off their backs with the cruel whip; beaten pepper and salt rubbedin the wounds, and a large stick of sealing wax dropped leisurely uponthem. It is no wonder, if the horrid pain of such inhuman torturesincline them to rebel. Most of these slaves are brought from the coastof Guinea. When they first arrive, it is observed, they are simple andvery innocent creatures; but soon turn to be roguish enough. And whenthey come to be whipt, urge the example of the whites for an excuse oftheir faults. "

These accounts of the deep depravity of mind attendant on the practiceof slavery, verify the truth of Montesquieu's remark of its perniciouseffects. And altho' the same degree of opposition to instructing theNegroes may not now appear in the islands as formerly, especially sincethe Society appointed for propagating the Gospel have possessed a numberof Negroes in one of them; nevertheless the situation of these oppressedpeople is yet dreadful, as well to themselves as in its consequence totheir hard task-masters, and their offspring, as must be evident toevery impartial person who is acquainted with the treatment theygenerally receive, or with the laws which from time to time have beenmade in the colonies, with respect to the Negroes; some of them beingabsolutely inconsistent with reason, and shocking to humanity. By the329th act of the assembly of Barbadoes, page 125, it is enacted, "That if any Negroe or other slave under punishment by his master, orhis order, for running away, or any other crime or misdemeanors towardshis said master, unfortunately shall suffer in life or member, (whichseldom happens) no person whatsoever shall be liable to any finetherefore. But if any man shall, _of wantonness, or only ofbloody-mindedness or cruel intention, wilfully kill a Negroe, or otherslave of his own, he shall pay into the public treasury, fifteen poundssterling_. " Now that the life of a man should be so lightly valued, asthat fifteen pounds should be judged a sufficient indemnification of themurder of one, even when it is avowedly done _wilfully, wantonly, cruelly, or of bloody-mindedness_, is a tyranny hardly to be paralleled:nevertheless human laws cannot make void the righteous law of God, orprevent the inquisition of that awful judgment day, when, "_at the handof every man's brother the life of man shall be required_. " By the lawof South Carolina, the person that killeth a Negroe is only subject to afine, or twelve months imprisonment. It is the same in most, if not allthe West-Indies. And by an act of the assembly of Virginia, (4 Ann. Ch. 49. Sect. 27. P. 227. ) after proclamation is issued against slaves, "that run away and lie out, _it is lawful for any person whatsoever tokill and destroy such slaves, by such ways and means as he, she, or theyshall think fit, without accusation or impeachment of any crime for thesame_. "--And lest private interest should incline the planter to mercy, it is provided, "_That every slave so killed, in pursuance of this act, shall be paid for by the public_. "

It was doubtless a like sense of sympathy with that expressed by MorganGodwyn before mentioned, for the oppressed Negroes, and like zeal forthe cause of religion, so manifestly trampled upon in the case of theNegroes, which induced Richard Baxter, an eminent preacher amongst theDissenters in the last century, in his _christian directory_, to expresshimself as follows, viz. "Do you mark how God hath followed you withplagues; and may not conscience tell you, that it is for your inhumanityto the souls and bodies of men?"--"To go as pirates; and catch up poorNegroes, or people of another land, that never forfeited life orliberty, and to make them slaves, and sell them, is one of the worstkinds of thievery in the world; and such persons are to be taken for thecommon enemies of mankind; and they that buy them and use them as beastsfor their mere commodity, and betray, or destroy, or neglect theirsouls, are fitter to be called devils incarnate than christians: It isan heinous sin to buy them, unless it be in charity to deliver them. Undoubtedly they are presently bound to deliver them, because by rightthe man is his own, therefore no man else can have a just title to him. "

CHAP. VIII. 

Griffith Hughes's account of the number of Negroes in Barbadoes. Cannotkeep up their usual number without a yearly recruit. Excessive hardshipswear the Negroes down in a surprising manner. A servitude without acondition, inconsistent with reason and natural justice. The generalusage the Negroes meet with in the West Indies. Inhuman calculations ofthe strength and lives of the Negroes. Dreadful consequences which maybe expected from the cruelty exercised upon this oppressed part ofmankind. 

We are told by Griffith Hughes, rector of St. Lucy in Barbadoes, in hisnatural history of that island, printed in the year 1750, "That therewere between sixty-five and seventy thousand Negroes, at that time, inthe island, tho' formerly they had a greater number. That in order tokeep up a necessary number, they were obliged to have a yearly supplyfrom Africa. That the hard labour, and often want of necessaries, whichthese unhappy creatures are obliged to undergo, destroy a greater numberthan are bred there. " He adds, "That the capacities of their minds incommon affairs of life are but little inferior, if at all, to those ofthe Europeans. If they fail in some arts, he says, it may be owing moreto their want of education, and the depression of their spirits byslavery, than to any want of natural abilities. " This destruction of thehuman species, thro' unnatural hardships, and want of necessarysupplies, in the case of the Negroes, is farther confirmed in _anaccount of the European settlements in America_, printed London, 1757, where it is said, par. 6. Chap. 11th, "The Negroes in our coloniesendure a slavery more compleat, and attended with far worsecircumstances, than what any people in their condition suffer in anyother part of the world, or have suffered in any other period of time:Proofs of this are not wanting. The prodigious waste which we experiencein this unhappy part of our species, is a full and melancholy evidenceof this truth. The island of Barbadoes, (the Negroes upon which do notamount to eighty thousand) notwithstanding all the means which they useto increase them by propagation, and that the climate is in everyrespect (except that of being more wholesome) exactly resembling theclimate from whence they come; notwithstanding all this, Barbadoes liesunder a necessity of an annual recruit of five thousand slaves, to keepup the stock at the number I have mentioned. This prodigious failure, which is at least in the same proportion in all our islands, shewsdemonstratively that some uncommon and unsupportable hardship lies uponthe Negroes, which wears them down in such a surprising manner. "

In an account of part of North America, published by Thomas Jeffery, 1761, the author, speaking of the usage the Negroes receive in the WestIndia islands, says, "It is impossible for a human heart to reflect uponthe servitude of these dregs of mankind, without in some measure feelingfor their misery, which ends but with their lives. --Nothing can be morewretched than the condition of this people. One would imagine, they wereframed to be the disgrace of the human species; banished from theircountry, and deprived of that blessing, liberty, on which all othernations set the greatest value, they are in a measure reduced to thecondition of beasts of burden. In general, a few roots, potatoesespecially, are their food, and two rags, which neither screen them fromthe heat of the day, nor the extraordinary coolness of the night, alltheir covering; their sleep very short; their labour almost continual;they receive no wages, but have twenty lashes for the smallest fault. "_A thoughtful_ person, who had an opportunity of observing the miserablecondition of the Negroes in one of our West India islands, writes thus, "I met with daily exercise to see the treatment which those miserablewretches met with from their masters; with but few exceptions. They whipthem most unmercifully on small occasions: you will see their bodies allwhealed and scarred; in short, they seem to set no other value on theirlives, than as they cost them so much money; and are restrained fromkilling them, when angry, by no worthier consideration, than that theylose so much. They act as though they did not look upon them as a raceof human creatures, who have reason, and remembrance of misfortunes, butas beasts; like oxen, who are stubborn, hardy, and senseless, fit forburdens, and designed to bear them: they won't allow them to have anyclaim to human privileges, or scarce indeed to be regarded as the workof God. Though it was consistent with the justice of our Maker topronounce the sentence on our common parent, and through him on allsucceeding generations, _That he and they should eat their bread by thesweat of their brows_: yet does it not stand recorded by the sameeternal truth, _That the labourer is worthy of his hire?_ It cannot beallowed, in natural justice, that there should be a servitude withoutcondition; a cruel, endless servitude. It cannot be reconcileable tonatural justice, that whole nations, nay, whole continents of men, should be devoted to do the drudgery of life for others, be dragged awayfrom their attachments of relations and societies, and be made to servethe appetite and pleasure of a race of men, whose superiority has beenobtained by illegal force. "

Sir Hans Sloane, in the introduction to his natural history of Jamaica, in the account he gives of the treatment the Negroes met with there, speaking of the punishments inflicted on them, says, page 56. "Forrebellion, the punishment is burning them, by nailing them down to theground with crooked sticks on every limb, and then applying the fire, bydegrees, from the feet and hands, burning them gradually up to the head, whereby _their pains are extravagant_. For crimes of a less nature, gelding or chopping off half the foot with an axe. --For negligence, theyare usually whipped by the overseers with lance-wood switches. --Afterthey are whipped till they are raw, some put on their skins pepper andsalt, to make them smart; at other times, their masters will drop meltedwax on their skins, and use several _very exquisite torments_. " In thatisland, the owners of the Negroe slaves set aside to each a parcel ofground, and allow them half a day at the latter end of the week, which, with the day appointed by the divine injunction to be a day of rest andservice to God, and which ought to be kept as such, is the only timeallowed them to manure their ground. This, with a few herrings, or othersalt fish, is what is given for their support. Their allowance forcloathing in the island, is seldom more than six yards of oznabrigs eachyear. And in the more northern colonies, where the piercing westerlywinds are long and sensibly felt, these poor Africans suffer much forwant of sufficient cloathing; indeed some have none till they are ableto pay for it by their labour. The time that the Negroes work in theWest Indies, is from day-break till noon; then again from two o'clocktill dark (during which time, they are attended by overseers, whoseverely scourge those who appear to them dilatory); and before they aresuffered to go to their quarters, they have still something to do, ascollecting herbage for the horses, gathering fuel for the boilers, &c. So that it is often past twelve before they can get home, when they havescarce time to grind and boil their Indian corn; whereby, if their foodwas not prepared the evening before, it sometimes happens that they arecalled again to labour before they can satisfy their hunger. And here nodelay or excuse will avail; for if they are not in the field immediatelyupon the usual notice, they must expect to feel the overseer's lash. Incrop time (which lasts many months) they are obliged, by turns, to workmost of the night in the boiling house. Thus their owners, from a desireof making the greatest gain by the labour of their slaves, lay heavyburdens on them, and yet feed and cloath them very sparingly, and somescarce feed or cloath them at all; so that the poor creatures areobliged to shift for their living in the best manner they can, whichoccasions their being often killed in the neighbouring lands, stealingpotatoes, or other food, to satisfy their hunger. And if they take anything from the plantation they belong to, though under such pressingwant, their owners will correct them severely for taking a little ofwhat they have so hardly laboured for; whilst many of themselves riot inthe greatest luxury and excess. It is matter of astonishment how apeople, who, as a nation, are looked upon as generous and humane, and somuch value themselves for their uncommon sense of the benefit ofliberty, can live in the practice of such extreme oppression andinhumanity, without seeing the inconsistency of such conduct, andfeeling great remorse. Nor is it less amazing to hear these men calmlymaking calculations about the strength and lives of their fellow men. InJamaica, if six in ten of the new imported Negroes survive theseasoning, it is looked upon as a gaining purchase. And in most of theother plantations, if the Negroes live eight or nine years, their labouris reckoned a sufficient compensation for their cost. If calculations ofthis sort were made upon the strength and labour of beasts of burden, itwould not appear so strange; but even then, a merciful man wouldcertainly use his beast with more mercy than is usually shewn to thepoor Negroes. Will not the groans, the dying groans, of this deeplyafflicted and oppressed people reach heaven? and when the cup ofiniquity is full, must not the inevitable consequence be, the pouringforth of the judgments of God upon their oppressors? But alas! is it nottoo manifest that this oppression has already long been the object ofthe divine displeasure? For what heavier judgment, what greatercalamity, can befal any people, than to become subject to that hardnessof heart, that forgetfulness of God, and insensibility to everyreligious impression, as well as that general depravation of manners, which so much prevails in these colonies, in proportion as they havemore or less enriched themselves at the expence of the blood and bondageof the Negroes. 

It is a dreadful consideration, as a late author remarks, that out ofthe stock of eighty thousand Negroes in Barbadoes, there die every yearfive thousand more than are born in that island; which failure isprobably in the same proportion in the other islands. _In effect, thispeople is under a necessity of being entirely renewed every sixteenyears. _ And what must we think of the management of a people, who, farfrom increasing greatly, as those who have no loss by war ought to do, must, in so short a time as sixteen years, without foreign recruits, beentirely consumed to a man! Is it not a christian doctrine, _that thelabourer is worthy of his hire?_ And hath not the Lord, by the mouth ofhis prophet, pronounced, _"Wo unto that man who buildeth his house byunrighteousness, and his chambers by wrong; who uses his neighbour'sservice without wages, and giveth him nought for his work?"_ And yet thepoor Negro slaves are constrained, like the beasts, by beating, to workhard without hire or recompence, and receive nothing from the hand oftheir unmerciful masters, but such a wretched provision as will scarcesupport them under their fatigues. The intolerable hardships many of theslaves undergo, are sufficiently proved by the shortness of theirlives. --And who are these miserable creatures, that receive suchbarbarous treatment from the planter? Can we restrain our justindignation, when we consider that they are undoubtedly _his brethren!his neighbours! the children of the same Father, and some of those forwhom Christ died, as truly as for the planter himself_. Let the opulentplanter, or merchant, prove that his Negro slave is not his brother, orthat he is not his neighbour, in the scripture sense of theseappellations; and if he is not able so to do, how will he justify thebuying and selling of his brethren, as if they were of no moreconsideration than his cattle? The wearing them out with continuallabour, before they have lived out half their days? The severe whippingand torturing them, even to death, if they resist his unsupportabletyranny? Let the hardiest slave-holder look forward to that tremendousday, when he must give an account to God of his stewardship; and let himseriously consider, whether, at such a time, he thinks he shall be ableto satisfy himself, that any act of buying and selling, or the fate ofwar, or the birth of children in his house, plantation, or territories, or any other circumstance whatever, can give him such an absoluteproperty in the persons of men, as will justify his retaining them asslaves, and treating them as beasts? Let him diligently consider whetherthere will not always remain to the slave a _superior_ property or rightto the fruit of his own labour; and more especially to his own person;that being which was given him by God, and which none but the Giver canjustly claim?

CHAP. IX. 

The advantage which would have accrued to the natives of Guinea, if theEuropeans had acted towards them agreeable to the dictates of humanityand christianity. _An inordinate_ desire of gain in the Europeans, thetrue occasion of the slave trade. Notice of the misrepresentations ofthe Negroes by most authors, in order to palliate the iniquity of theslave trade. Those misrepresentations refuted, particularly with respect_to the Hottentot Negroes_. 

From the foregoing accounts of the natural disposition of the Negroes, and the fruitfulness of most parts of Guinea, which are confirmed byauthors of candour, who have wrote from their own knowledge, it may wellbe concluded, that the Negroes acquaintance with the Europeans mighthave been a happiness to them, if these last had not only bore the name, but had also acted the part, of Christians, and used their endeavours byexample, as well as precept, to make them acquainted with the gladtidings of the gospel, which breathes peace and good will to man, andwith that change of heart, that redemption from sin, which christianityproposeth; innocence and love might then have prevailed, nothing wouldhave been wanting to complete the happiness of the simple Africans: butthe reverse has happened; the Europeans, forgetful of their duty as menand christians, have conducted themselves in so iniquitous a manner, asmust necessarily raise in the minds of the thoughtful and well-disposedNegroes, the utmost scorn and detestation of the very name ofchristians. All other considerations have given way to an infallibledesire of gain, which has been the principal and moving cause of themost _iniquitous and dreadful scene_ that was, perhaps, ever acted uponthe face of the earth; instead of making use of that superior knowledgewith which the Almighty, the common Parent of mankind, had favouredthem, to strengthen the principle of peace and good will in the breastsof the incautious Negroes, the Europeans have, by their bad example, ledthem into excess of drunkenness, debauchery, and avarice; whereby everypassion of corrupt nature being inflamed, they have been easilyprevailed upon to make war, and captivate one another; as well tofurnish means for the excesses they had been habituated to, as tosatisfy the greedy desire of gain in their profligate employers, who tothis intent have furnished them with prodigious quantities of arms andammunition. Thus they have been hurried into confusion, distress, andall the extremities of temporal misery; every thing, even the power oftheir Kings, has been made subservient to this wicked purpose; forinstead of being protectors of their subjects, some of those rulers, corrupted by the excessive love of spirituous liquors, and the temptingbaits laid before them by the factors, have invaded the liberties oftheir unhappy subjects, and are become their oppressors. 

Here it may be necessary to observe, that the accounts we have of theinhabitants of Guinea, are chiefly given by persons engaged in thetrade, who, from self-interested views, have described them in suchcolours as were least likely to excite compassion and respect, andendeavoured to reconcile so manifest a violation of the rights ofmankind to the minds of the purchasers; yet they cannot but allow theNegroes to be possessed of some good qualities, though they contrive asmuch as possible to cast a shade over them. A particular instance ofthis appears in Astley's collection, vol. 2. P. 73, where the author, speaking of the Mandingos settled at Galem, which is situated 900 milesup the Senegal, after saying that they carry on a commerce to all theneighbouring kingdoms, and amass riches, adds, "That excepting _thevices peculiar to the Blacks_, they are a good sort of people, honest, hospitable, just to their word, laborious, industrious, and very readyto learn arts and sciences. " Here it is difficult to imagine what vicescan be peculiarly attendant on a people so well disposed as the authordescribes these to be. With respect to the charge some authors havebrought against them, as being void of all natural affection, it isfrequently contradicted by others. In vol. 2. Of the Collection, p. 275, and 629, the Negroes of North Guinea, and the Gold Coast, are said _tobe fond of their children, whom they love with tenderness_. And Bosmansays, p. 340, "Not a few in his country (viz. Holland) fondly imagine, that parents here sell their children, men their wives, and one brotherthe other: but those who think so deceive themselves; for this neverhappens on any other account but that of necessity, or some greatcrime. " The same is repeated by J. Barbot, page 326, and also confirmedby Sir Hans Sloane, in the introduction to his natural history ofJamaica; where speaking of the Negroes, he says, "They are usuallythought to be haters of their own children, and therefore it is believedthat they sell and dispose of them to strangers for money: but this isnot true; for the Negroes of Guinea being divided into severalcaptainships, as well as the Indians of America, have wars; and besidesthose slain in battle, many prisoners are taken, who are sold as slaves, and brought thither: but the parents here, although their children areslaves for ever, yet have so great love for them, that no master daressell, or give away, one of their little ones, unless they care notwhether their parents hang themselves or no. " J. Barbot, speaking of theoccasion of the natives of Guinea being represented as a treacherouspeople, ascribes it to the Hollanders (and doubtless other Europeans)usurping authority, and fomenting divisions between the Negroes. At page110, he says, "It is well known that many of the European nationstrading amongst these people, have very unjustly and inhumanly, withoutany provocation, stolen away, from time to time, abundance of thepeople, not only on this coast, but almost every where in Guinea, whohave come on board their ships in a harmless and confiding manner: thesethey have in great numbers carried away, and sold in the plantations, with other slaves which they had purchased. " And although some of theNegroes may be justly charged with indolence and supineness, yet manyothers are frequently mentioned by authors _as a careful, industrious, and even laborious_ people. But nothing shews more clearly how unsafe itis to form a judgment of distant people from the accounts given of themby travellers, who have taken but a transient view of things, than thecase of the Hottentots, viz. Those several nations of Negroes whoinhabit the most southern part of Africa: _these people_ are representedby several authors, who appear to have very much copied their relationsone from the other, as so savage and barbarous as to have little ofhuman, but the shape: but these accounts are strongly contradicted byothers, particularly Peter Kolben, who has given a circumstantialrelation of the disposition and manners of those people. [A] He was a manof learning, sent from the court of Prussia solely to make astronomicaland natural observations there; and having no interest in the slavery ofthe Negroes, had not the same inducement as most other relators had, tomisrepresent the natives of Africa. He resided eight years at and aboutthe Cape of Good Hope, during which time he examined with great careinto the customs, manners, and opinions of the Hottentots; whence hesets these people in a quite different light from what they appeared informer authors, whom he corrects, and blames for the falsehoods theyhave wantonly told of them. At p. 61, he says, "The details we have inseveral authors, are for the most part made up of inventions andhearsays, which generally prove false. " Nevertheless, he allows they arejustly to be blamed for their sloth. --_The love of liberty and indolenceis their all; compulsion is death to them. While necessity obliges themto work, they are very tractable, obedient, and faithful; but when theyhave got enough to satisfy the present want, they are deaf to allfurther intreaty_. He also faults them for their nastiness, the effectof sloth; and for their love of drink, and the practice of someunnatural customs, which long use has established amongst them; which, nevertheless, from the general good disposition of these people, thereis great reason to believe they might be persuaded to refrain from, if atruly christian care had been extended towards them. He says, "They areeminently distinguished by many virtues, as their mutual benevolence, friendship, and hospitality; they breathe kindness and good will to oneanother, and seek all opportunities of obliging. Is a Hottentot'sassistance required by one of his countrymen? he runs to give it. Is hisadvice asked? he gives it with sincerity. Is his countryman in want? herelieves him to the utmost of his power. " Their hospitality extends evento European strangers: in travelling thro' the Cape countries, you meetwith a chearful and open reception, in whatsoever village you come to. In short, he says, page 339, "The integrity of the Hottentots, theirstrictness and celerity in the execution of justice, and their charity, are equalled by few nations. _In alliances, their word is sacred; therebeing hardly any thing they look upon as a fouler crime than breach ofengagements. Theft and adultery they punish with death_. " They firmlybelieve there is a God, the author of all things, whom they call the Godof gods; but it does not appear that they have an institution of worshipdirectly regarding this supreme Deity. When pressed on this article, they excuse themselves by a tradition, "_That their first parents sogrievously offended this great God, that he cursed them and theirposterity with hardness of heart; so that they know little about him, and have less inclination to serve him_. " As has been already remarked, these Hottentots are the only Negroe nations bordering on the sea, weread of, who are not concerned in making or keeping slaves. Those slavesmade use of by the Hollanders at the Cape, are brought from other partsof Guinea. Numbers of these people told the author, "That the vices theysaw prevail amongst christians; their avarice, their envy and hatred ofone another; their restless discontented tempers; their lasciviousnessand injustice, were the things that principally kept the Hottentots fromhearkening to christianity. "

[Footnote A: See Kolban's account of the Cape of Good Hope. ]

Father Tachard, a French Jesuit, famous for his travels in the EastIndies, in his account of these people, says, "The Hottentots have morehonesty, love, and liberality for one another, than are almost anywhereseen amongst christians. "

CHAP. X. 

Man-stealing esteemed highly criminal, and punishable by the laws ofGuinea: _No_ Negroes allowed to be sold for slaves there, but thosedeemed prisoners of war, or in punishment for crimes. _Some_ of theNegroe rulers, corrupted by the Europeans, violently infringe the lawsof Guinea. The King of Barsailay noted in that respect. 

By an inquiry into the laws and customs formerly in use, and still inforce amongst the Negroes, particularly on the Gold Coast, it will befound, that provision was made for the general peace, and for the safetyof individuals; even in W. Bosman's time, long after the Europeans hadestablished the slave-trade, the natives were not publicly enslaved, anyotherwise than in punishment for crimes, when prisoners of war, or by aviolent exertion of the power of their corrupted Kings. Where any of thenatives were stolen, in order to be sold to the Europeans, it was donesecretly, or at least, only connived at by those in power: this appearsFrom Barbot and Bosman's account of the matter, both agreeing thatman-stealing was not allowed on the Gold Coast. The first[A] says, "_Kidnapping or stealing of human creatures is punished there, and evensometimes with death. _" And, W. Bosman, whose long residence on thecoast, enabled him to speak with certainty, says, [B] "_That the lawswere severe against murder, thievery, and adultery. _" And adds, "_Thatman-stealing was punished on the Gold Coast with rigid severity andsometimes with death itself. _" Hence it may be concluded, that the saleof the greatest part of the Negroes to the Europeans is supported byviolence, in defiance of the laws, through the knavery of theirprincipal men, [C] who, (as is too often the case with those in Europeancountries) under pretence of encouraging trade, and increasing thepublic revenue, disregard the dictates of justice, and trample uponthose liberties which they are appointed to preserve. 

[Footnote A: Barbot, p. 303. ]

[Footnote B: Bosman, p. 143. ]

[Footnote C: Note. Barbot, page 270, says, the trade of slaves is in amore peculiar manner the business of Kings, rich men, and primemerchants, exclusive of the inferior sort of blacks. ]

Fr. Moor also mentions man-stealing as being discountenanced by theNegroe Governments on the river Gambia, and speaks of the inslaving thepeaceable inhabitants, as a violence which only happens under a corruptadministration of justice; he says, [A] "The Kings of that countrygenerally advise with their head men, scarcely doing any thing ofconsequence, without consulting them first, except the King ofBarsailay, who being subject to hard drinking, is very absolute. It isto this King's insatiable thirst for brandy, that his subjects freedomsand families are in so precarious a situation. [B] Whenever this Kingwants goods or brandy, he sends a messenger to the English Governor atJames Fort, to desire he would send a sloop there with a cargo: _thisnews, being not at all unwelcome_, the Governor sends accordingly;against the arrival of the sloop, the King goes and ransacks some of hisenemies towns, seizing the people, and selling them for such commoditiesas he is in want of, which commonly are brandy, guns, powder, balls, pistols, and cutlasses, for his attendants and soldiers; and coral andsilver for his wives and concubines. In case he is not at war with anyneighbouring King, he then falls upon one of his own towns, which arenumerous, and uses them in the same manner. " "He often goes with some ofhis troops by a town in the day time, and returning in the night, setsfire to three parts of it, and putting guards at the fourth, thereseizes the people as they run out from the fire; he ties their armsbehind them, and marches them either to Joar or Cohone, where he sellsthem to the Europeans. "

[Footnote A: Moor, page 61. ]

[Footnote B: Idem, p. 46. ]

A. Brue, the French director, gives much the same account, and says, [A]"That having received goods, he wrote to the King, that if he had asufficient number of slaves, he was ready to trade with him. ThisPrince, as well as the other Negroe monarchs, has always a sure way ofsupplying his deficiencies, by selling his own subjects, for which theyseldom want a pretence. The King had recourse to this method, by seizingthree hundred of his own people, and sent word to the director, that hehad the slaves ready to deliver for the goods. " It seems, the Kingwanted double the quantity of goods which the factor would give him forthese three hundred slaves; but the factor refusing to trust him, as hewas already in the company's debt, and perceiving that this refusal hadput the King much out of temper, he proposed that he should give him alicence for taking so many more of his people, as the goods he stillwanted were worth but this the King refused, saying "_It_ might occasiona disturbance amongst his subjects. "[B] Except in the above instance, and some others, where the power of the Negroe Kings is unlawfullyexerted over their subjects, the slave-trade is carried on in Guineawith some regard to the laws of the country, which allow of none to besold, but prisoners taken in their national wars, or people adjudged toslavery in punishment for crimes; but the largeness of the country, thenumber of kingdoms or commonwealths, and the great encouragement givenby the Europeans, afford frequent pretences and opportunities to thebold designing profligates of one kingdom, to surprize and seize uponnot only those of a neighbouring government, but also the weak andhelpless of their own;[C] and the unhappy people, taken on thoseoccasions, are, with impunity, sold to the Europeans. These practicesare doubtless disapproved of by the most considerate amongst theNegroes, for Bosman acquaints us, that even their national wars are notagreeable to such. He says, [D] "If the person who occasioned thebeginning of the war be taken, they will not easily admit him to ransom, though his weight in gold should be offered, for fear he should infuture form some new design against their repose. "

[Footnote A: Collection vol. 2. P. 29. ]

[Footnote B: Note, This Negroe King thus refusing to comply with thefactor's wicked proposal, shews, he was sensible his own conduct was notjustifiable; and it likewise appears, the factor's only concern was toprocure the greatest number of slaves, without any regard to theinjustice of the method by which they were procured. This Andrew Brue, was, for a long time, principal director of the French African factoryin those parts; in the management of which, he is in the collection saidto have had extraordinary success. The part he ought to have acted as achristian towards the ignorant Africans seems quite out of the question;the profit of his employers appears to have been his sole concern. Atpage 62, speaking of the country on the Senegal river, he says, "It wasvery populous, the soil rich; and if the people were industrious, theymight, of their own produce, carry on a very advantageous trade withstrangers; there being but few things in which they could be excelled;_but_ (he adds) _it is to be hoped, the Europeans will never let theminto the secret. _" A remark unbecoming humanity, much morechristianity!]

[Footnote C: This inhuman practice is particularly described by Brue, incollect. Vol. 2. Page 98, where he says, "That some of the natives are, on all occasions, endeavouring to surprize and carry off their countrypeople. They land (says he) without noise, and if they find a lonecottage, without defence, they surround it, and carry off all the peopleand effects to their boat, and immediately reimbark. " This seems to bemostly practised by some Negroes who dwell on the sea coast. ]

[Footnote D: Bosman, p. 155. ]

CHAP. XI. 

An account of the shocking inhumanity, used in the carrying on of theslave-trade, as described by factors of different nations, viz. ByFrancis Moor, on the river Gambia; and by John Barbot, A. Brue, andWilliam Bosman, through the coast of Guinea. _Note_. Of the largerevenues arising to the Kings of Guinea from the slave-trade. 

First, Francis Moor, factor for the English African company, on theriver Gambia, [A] writes, "That there are a number of Negro traders, called joncoes, or merchants, who follow the slave-trade as a business;their place of residence is so high up in the country as to be six weekstravel from James Fort, which is situate at the mouth of that river. These merchants bring down elephants teeth, and in some years twothousand slaves, most of which, they say, are prisoners taken in war. They buy them from the different Princes who take them; many of them areBumbrongs and Petcharies; nations, who each of them have differentlanguages, and are brought from a vast way inland. Their way of bringingthem is tying them by the neck with leather thongs, at about a yarddistant from each other, thirty or forty in a string, having generally abundle of corn or elephants teeth upon each of their heads. In their wayfrom the mountains, they travel thro' very great woods, where theycannot for some days get water; so they carry in skin bags enough tosupport them for a time. I cannot (adds Moor) be certain of the numberof merchants who follow this trade, but there may, perhaps, be about anhundred, who go up into the inland country, with the goods which theybuy from the white men, and with them purchase, in various countries, gold, slaves, and elephants teeth. Besides the slaves, which themerchants bring down, there are many bought along the river: These areeither taken in war, as the former are, or men condemned for crimes; _orelse people stolen, which is very frequent_. --Since the slave-trade hasbeen used, all punishments are changed into slavery; there being anadvantage on such condemnation, _they strain for crimes very hard, inorder to get the benefit of selling the criminal_. "

[Footnote A: Moor, page 28. ]

John Barbot, the French factor, in his account of the manner by whichthe slaves are procured, says, [A] "The slaves sold by the Negroes, arefor the most part prisoners of war, or taken in the incursions they makein their enemies territories; others are stolen away by theirneighbours, when found abroad on the road, or in the woods; or else inthe corn fields, at the time of the year when their parents keep themthere all the day to scare away the devouring small birds. " Speaking ofthe transactions on that part of Guinea called the Slave Coast, wherethe Europeans have the most factories, and from whence they bring awaymuch the greatest number of slaves, the same author, and also Bosman[B]says, "The inhabitants of Coto do much mischief, in stealing thoseslaves they sell to the Europeans, from the upland country. --That theinhabitants of Popo excell the former; being endowed with a much largershare of courage, they rob more successfully, by which means theyincrease their riches and trade, " The author particularly remarks, "_That they are encouraged in this practice by the Europeans_; sometimesit happens, according to the success of their inland excursions, thatthey are able to furnish two hundred slaves or more, in a few days. " Andhe says, [C] "The blacks of Fida, or Whidah, are so expeditious intrading for slaves, that they can deliver a thousand every month. "--"Ifthere happens to be no stock of slaves there, the factor must trust theblacks with his goods, to the value of one hundred and fifty, or twohundred pounds; which goods they carry up into the inland country, tobuy slaves at all markets, [D] for above six hundred miles up thecountry, where they are kept like cattle in Europe; the slaves soldthere being generally prisoners of war, taken from their enemies likeother booty, and perhaps some few sold by their own countrymen, inextreme want, or upon a famine, as also some as a punishment of heinouscrimes. " So far Barbot's account; that given by William Bosman is asfollows:[E] "When the slaves which are brought from the inland countriescome to Whidah, they are put in prison together; when we treatconcerning buying them, they are all brought out together in a largeplain, where, by our surgeons, they are thoroughly examined, and thatnaked, both men and women, without the least distinction or modesty. [F]Those which are approved as good, are set on one side; in the mean whilea burning iron, with the arms or name of the company, lies in the fire, with which ours are marked on the breast. When we have agreed with theowners of the slaves, they are returned to their prisons, where, fromthat time forward, they are kept at our charge, and cost us two pence aday each slave, which serves to subsist them like criminals on bread andwater; so that to save charges, we send them on board our ships the veryfirst opportunity; before which, their masters strip them of all theyhave on their backs, so that they come on board stark naked, as wellwomen as men. In which condition they are obliged to continue, if themaster of the ship is not so charitable (which he commonly is) as tobestow something on them to cover their nakedness. Six or seven hundredare sometimes put on board a vessel, where they lie as close together asit is possible for them to be crowded. "

[Footnote A: John Barbot, page 47. ]

[Footnote B: Bosman, page 310. ]

[Footnote C: Barbot, page 326. ]

[Footnote D: When the great income which arises to the Negroe Kings onthe Slave-Coast, from the slaves brought thro' their severalgovernments, to be shipped on board the European vessels, is considered, we have no cause to wonder that they give so great a countenance to thattrade: William Bosman says, page 337, "_That each ship which comes toWhidah to trade, reckoning one with another, either by toll, trade, orcustom, pays about four hundred pounds, and sometimes fifty ships comehither in a year. " Barbot confirms the same, and adds, page 350, "Thatin the neighbouring kingdom of Ardah, the duty to the King is the valueof seventy or eighty slaves for each trading ship_. " Which is near halfas much more as at Whidah; nor can the Europeans, concerned in thetrade, with any degree of propriety, blame the African Kings forcountenancing it, while they continue to send vessels, on purpose totake in the slaves which are thus stolen, and that they are permitted, under the sanction of national laws, to sell them to the colonies. ]

[Footnote E: Bosman, page 340. ]

[Footnote F: Note, from the above account of the indecent and shockingmanner in which the unhappy Negroes are treated, it is reasonable forpersons unacquainted with these people, to conclude them to be void ofthat natural modesty, so becoming a reasonable creature; but those whohave had intercourse with the Blacks in these northern colonies, knowthat this would be a wrong conclusion, for they are indeed assusceptible of modesty and shame as other people. It is the unparallel'dbrutality, to which the Europeans have, by long custom, been inured, which urgeth them, without blushing, to act so shameful a part. Suchusage is certainly grievous to the poor Negroes, particularly the women;but they are slaves, and must submit to this, or any other abuse that isoffered them by their cruel task-masters, or expect to be inhumanlytormented into acquiescence. That the Blacks are unaccustomed to suchbrutality, appears from an instance mentioned in Ashley's collection, vol. 2. Page 201, viz. "At an audience which Casseneuve had of the Kingof Congo, where he was used with a great deal of civility by the Blacks, some slaves were delivered to him. The King observing Casseneuve(according to the custom of the Europeans) to handle the limbs of theslaves, burst out a laughing, as did the great men about him: the factorasking the interpreter the occasion of their mirth, was told itproceeded from his so nicely examining the slaves. Nevertheless, _theKing was so ashamed of it, that he desired him, for decency's sake, todo it in a more private manner. _"]

CHAP. XII. 

Extracts of several Journals of Voyages to the coast of Guinea forslaves, whereby the extreme inhumanity of that traffick is described. _Melancholy_ account of a ship blown up on that coast, with a greatnumber of Negroes on board, _Instances_ of shocking barbarityperpetrated by masters of vessels towards their slaves. _Inquiry_ whythese scandalous infringements, both of divine and human laws, areoverlooked by the government. 

The misery and bloodshed attendant on the slave-trade, are set forth bythe following extracts of two voyages to the coast of Guinea for slaves. The first in a vessel from Liverpool, taken _verbatim_ from the originalmanuscript of the Surgeon's Journal, _viz. _

"Sestro, December the 29th, 1724, No trade to day, though many traderscame on board; they informed us, that the people are gone to war withinland, and will bring prisoners enough in two or three days, in hopes ofwhich we stay. "

The 30th. "No trade yet, but our traders came on board to day, andinformed us the people had burnt four towns of their enemies, so thatto-morrow we expect slaves off: another large ship is come in. Yesterdaycame in a large Londoner. "

The 31st. "Fair weather, but no trade yet; we see each night townsburning, but we hear the Sestro men are many of them killed by theinland Negroes, so that we fear this war will be unsuccessful. "

The 2d of January. "Last night we saw a prodigious fire break out abouteleven o'clock, and this morning see the town of Sestro burnt down tothe ground; (it contained some hundreds of houses) So that we find theirenemies are too hard for them at present, and consequently our tradespoiled here; therefore, about seven o'clock, we weighed anchor, as didlikewise the three other vessels, to proceed lower down. "

The second relation, also taken from the original manuscript Journal ofa person of credit, who went surgeon on the same trade, in a vessel fromNew-York, about twenty years past, is as follows; _viz. _ "Being on thecoast, the Commander of the vessel, according to custom, sent a personon shore with a present to the King, acquainting him with his arrival, and letting him know, they wanted a cargo of slaves. The King promisedto furnish them with the slaves; and, in order to do it, set out to goto war against his enemies; designing to surprise some town, and takeall the people prisoners. Some time after, the King sent them word, hehad not yet met with the desired success; having been twice repulsed, inattempting to break up two towns, but that he still hoped to procure anumber of slaves for them; and in this design he persisted, till he methis enemies in the field, where a battle was fought, which lasted threedays, during which time the engagement was so bloody that four thousandfive hundred men were slain on the spot. " The person who wrote theaccount, beheld the bodies, as they lay on the field of battle. "Think(says he in his Journal) what a pitiable sight it was, to see the widowsweeping over their lost husbands, orphans deploring the loss of theirfathers, &c. &c. " In he 6th vol. Of Churchill's collection of Voyages, page 219, we have the relation of a voyage performed by Captain Philips, in a ship of 450 tuns, along the coast of Guinea, for elephants teeth, gold, and Negroe slaves, intended for Barbadoes; in which he says, thatthey took "seven hundred slaves on board, the men being all put in ironstwo by two, shackled together to prevent their mutinying or swimmingashore. That the Negroes are so loth to leave their own country, thatthey often leap out of the canoe, boat, or ship, into the sea, and keepunder water till they are drowned, to avoid being taken up, and saved bythe boats which pursue them. "--They had about twelve Negroes whowillingly drowned themselves; others starved themselves todeath. --Philips was advised to cut off the legs and arms of some toterrify the rest, (as other Captains had done) but this he refused todo. From the time of his taking the Negroes on board, to his arrival atBarbadoes, no less than three hundred and twenty died of variousdiseases. [A]

[Footnote A: _The following relation is inserted at the request of theauthor. _

That I may contribute all in my power towards the good of mankind, byinspiring any individuals with a suitable abhorrence of that detestablepractice of trading in our fellow-creatures, and in some measure atonefor my neglect of duty as a Christian, in engaging in that wickedtraffic, I offer to their serious consideration some few occurrences, ofwhich I was an eye-witness; that being struck with the wretched andaffecting scene, they may foster that humane principle, which is thenoble and distinguished characteristic of man, and improve it to thebenefit of their children's children. 

About the year 1749, I sailed from Liverpool to the coast of Guinea. Some time after our arrival, I was ordered to go up the country aconsiderable distance, upon having notice from one of the Negroe Kings, that he had a parcel of slaves to dispose of. I received myinstructions, and went, carrying with me an account of such goods as wehad on board, to exchange for the slaves we intended to purchase. Uponbeing introduced, I presented him with a small case of English spirits, a gun, and some trifles; which having accepted, and understood by aninterpreter what goods we had, the next day was appointed for viewingthe slaves; we found about two hundred confined in one place. But herehow shall I relate the affecting sight I there beheld! How can Isufficiently describe the silent sorrow which appeared in thecountenance of the afflicted father, and the painful anguish of thetender mother, expecting to be for ever separated from their tenderoffspring; the distressed maid, wringing her hands in presage of herfuture wretchedness, and the general cry of the innocent from a dreadfulapprehension of the perpetual slavery to which they were doomed! Under asense of my offence to God, in the persons of his creatures, Iacknowledge I purchased eleven, whom I conducted tied two and two to theship. Being but a small ship, (ninety ton) we soon purchased our cargo, consisting of one hundred and seventy slaves, whom thou mayest, reader, range in thy view, as they were shackled two and two together, pent upwithin the narrow confines of the main deck, with the complicateddistress of sickness, chains, and contempt; deprived of every fond andsocial tie, and, in a great measure, reduced to a state of desperation. We had not been a fortnight at sea, before the fatal consequence of thisdespair appeared; they formed a design of recovering their naturalright, LIBERTY, by rising and murdering every man on board; but thegoodness of the Almighty rendered their scheme abortive, and his mercyspared us to have time to repent. The plot was discovered; thering-leader, tied by the two thumbs over the barricade door, at sun-risereceived a number of lashes: in this situation he remained till sun-set, exposed to the insults and barbarity of the brutal crew of sailors, withfull leave to exercise their cruelty at pleasure. The consequence ofthis was, that next morning the miserable sufferer was found dead, flayed from the shoulders to the waist. The next victim was a youth, who, from too strong a sense of his misery, refused nourishment, anddied disregarded and unnoticed, till the hogs had fed on part of hisflesh. Will not christianity blush at this impious sacrilege? May therelation of it serve to call back the struggling remains of humanity inthe hearts of those, who, from a love of wealth, partake in any degreeof this oppressive gain; and have such an effect on the minds of thesincere, as may be productive of peace, the happy effect of truerepentance for past transgressions, and a resolution to renounce allconnexion with it for the time to come. ]

Reader, bring the matter home to thy own heart, and consider whether anysituation can be more completely miserable than that of these distressedcaptives. When we reflect that each individual of this number hadprobably some tender attachment, which was broken by this cruelseparation; some parent or wife, who had not an opportunity of minglingtears in a parting embrace; perhaps some infants, or aged parents, whomhis labour was to feed, and vigilance protect; themselves under the mostdreadful apprehension of an unknown perpetual slavery; confined withinthe narrow limits of a vessel, where often several hundreds lie as closeas possible. Under these aggravated distresses, they are often reducedto a state of despair, in which many have been frequently killed, andsome deliberately put to death under the greatest torture, when theyhave attempted to rise, in order to free themselves from present misery, and the slavery designed them. Many accounts of this nature might bementioned; indeed from the vast number of vessels employed in the trade, and the repeated relations in the public prints of Negroes rising onboard the vessels from Guinea, it is more than probable, that many suchinstances occur every year. I shall only mention one example of thiskind, by which the reader may judge of the rest; it is in Astley'scollection, vol. 2. P. 449, related by John Atkins, surgeon on boardadmiral Ogle's squadron, of one "Harding, master of a vessel in whichseveral of the men-slaves and women-slaves had attempted to rise, inorder to recover their liberty; some of whom the master, of his ownauthority, sentenced to cruel death, making them first eat the heart andliver of one of those he had killed. The woman he hoisted by the thumbs, whipped, and slashed with knives before the other slaves, till shedied. "[A] As detestable and shocking as this may appear to such whosehearts are not yet hardened by the practice of that cruelty, which thelove of wealth by degrees introduceth into the human mind, it will notbe strange to those who have been concerned or employed in the trade. 

[Footnote A: A memorable instance of some of the dreadful effects of theslave-trade, happened about five years past, on a ship from this port, then at anchor about three miles from shore, near Acra Fort, on thecoast of Guinea. They had purchased between four and five hundredNegroes, and were ready to sail for the West Indies. It is customary onboard those vessels, to keep the men shackled two by two, each by oneleg to a small iron bar; these are every day brought on the deck for thebenefit of air; and lest they should attempt to recover their freedom, they are made fast to two common chains, which are extended on each sidethe main deck; the women and children are loose. This was the situationof the slaves on board this vessel, when it took fire by means of aperson who was drawing spirits by the light of a lamp; the caskbursting, the fire spread with so much violence, that in about tenminutes, the sailors, apprehending it impossible to extinguish it beforeit could reach a large quantity of powder they had on board, concludedit necessary to cast themselves into the sea, as the only chance ofsaving their lives; and first they endeavoured to loose the chains bywhich the Negroe men were fastened to the deck; but in the confusion thekey being missing, they had but just time to loose one of the chains bywrenching the staple; when the vehemence of the fire so increased, thatthey all but one man jumped over board, when immediately the fire havinggained the powder, the vessel blew up with all the slaves who remainedfastened to the one chain, and such others as had not followed thesailors examples. There happened to be three Portugueze vessels insight, who, with others from the shore, putting out their boats, took upabout two hundred and fifty of those poor souls who remained alive; ofwhich number, about fifty died on shore, being mostly of those who werefettered together by iron shackles, which, as they jumped into the sea, had broke their legs, and these fractures being inflamed by so long astruggle in the sea, probably mortified, which occasioned the death ofevery one that was so wounded. The two hundred remaining alive, weresoon disposed of, for account of the owners to other purchasers. ]

Now here arises a necessary query to those who hold the balance ofjustice, and who must be accountable to God for the use they have madeof it, That as the principles on which the British constitution isfounded, are so favourable to the common rights of mankind, how it hashappened that the laws which countenance this iniquitous traffic, haveobtained the sanction of the legislature? and that the executive part ofthe government should so long shut their ears to continual reports ofthe barbarities perpetrated against this unhappy people, and leave thetrading subjects at liberty to trample on the most precious rights ofothers, even without a rebuke? Why are the masters of vessels thussuffered to be the sovereign arbiters of the lives of the miserableNegroes, and allowed with impunity thus to destroy (may I not properlysay, _to murder_) their fellow-creatures; and that by means so cruel, ascannot be even related but with shame and horror?

CHAP. XIII. 

Usage of the Negroes, when they arrive in the West Indies. An hundredthousand Negroes brought from Guinea every year to the English colonies. The number of Negroes who die in the passage and seasoning. These are, properly speaking, murdered by the prosecution of this infamous traffic. Remarks on its dreadful _effects and tendency_. 

When the vessels arrive at their destined port in the colonies, the poorNegroes are to be disposed of to the planters; and here they are againexposed naked, without any distinction of sexes, to the brutalexamination of their purchasers; and this, it may well be judged, is, tomany, another occasion of deep distress. Add to this, that nearconnexions must now again be separated, to go with their severalpurchasers; this must be deeply affecting to all, but such whose heartsare seared by the love of gain. Mothers are seen hanging over theirdaughters, bedewing their naked breasts with tears, and daughtersclinging to their parents, not knowing what new stage of distress mustfollow their separation, or whether they shall ever meet again. And herewhat sympathy, what commiseration, do they meet with? Why, indeed, ifthey will not separate as readily as their owners think proper, thewhipper is called for, and the lash exercised upon their naked bodies, till obliged to part. Can any human heart, which is not become callousby the practice of such cruelties, be unconcerned, even at the relationof such grievous affliction, to which this oppressed part of our speciesare subjected. 

In a book, printed in Liverpool, called _The Liverpool Memorandum_, which contains, amongst other things, an account of the trade of thatport, there is an exact list of the vessels employed in the Guineatrade, and of the number of slaves imported in each vessel; by which itappears that in the year 1753, the number imported to America by onehundred and one vessels belonging to that port, amounted to upwards ofthirty thousand; and from the number of vessels employed by the Africancompany in London and Bristol, we may, with some degree of certainty, conclude, there are one hundred thousand Negroes purchased and broughton board our ships yearly from the coast of Africa. This is confirmed inAnderson's history of Trade and Commerce, lately printed; where it issaid, [A] "That England supplies her American colonies with Negroeslaves, amounting in number to above one hundred thousand every year. "When the vessels are full freighted with slaves, they sail for ourplantations in America, and may be two or three months in the voyage;during which time, from the filth and stench that is among them, distempers frequently break out, which carry off commonly a fifth, afourth, yea sometimes a third or more of them: so that taking all theslaves together, that are brought on board our ships yearly, one mayreasonably suppose, that at least ten thousand of them die on thevoyage. And in a printed account of the state of the Negroes in ourplantations, it is supposed that a fourth part, more or less, die at thedifferent islands, in what is called the seasoning. Hence it may bepresumed, that at a moderate computation of the slaves who are purchasedby our African merchants in a year, near thirty thousand die upon thevoyage, and in the seasoning. Add to this, the prodigious number who arekilled in the incursions and intestine wars, by which the Negroesprocure the number of slaves wanted to load the vessels. How dreadfulthen is this slave-trade, whereby so many thousands of our fellowcreatures, free by nature, endued with the same rational faculties, andcalled to be heirs of the same salvation with us, lose their lives, andare, truly and properly speaking, murdered every year! For it is notnecessary, in order to convict a man of murder, to make it appear thathe had an _intention_ to commit murder; whoever does, by unjust force orviolence, deprive another of his liberty, and, while he hath him in hispower, continues so to oppress him by cruel treatment, as eventually tooccasion his death, is actually guilty of murder. It is enough to make athoughtful person tremble, to think what a load of guilt lies upon ournation on this account; and that the blood of thousands of poor innocentcreatures, murdered every year in the prosecution of this wicked trade, cries aloud to Heaven for vengeance. Were we to hear or read of a nationthat destroyed every year, in some other way, as many human creatures asperish in this trade, we should certainly consider them as a verybloody, barbarous people; if it be alledged, that the legislature hathencouraged, and still does encourage this trade, It is answered, that nolegislature on earth can alter the nature of things, so as to make thatto be right which is contrary to the law of God, (the supreme Legislatorand Governor of the world) and opposeth the promulgation of the Gospelof _peace on earth, and good will to man_. Injustice may be methodizedand established by law, but still it will be injustice, as much as itwas before; though its being so established may render men moreinsensible of the guilt, and more bold and secure in the perpetration ofit. 

[Footnote A: Appendix to Anderson's history, p. 68. ]

CHAP. XIV. 

Observations on the disposition and capacity of the Negroes: Why thoughtinferior to that of the Whites. Affecting instances of the slavery ofthe Negroes. Reflections thereon. 

Doubts may arise in the minds of some, whether the foregoing accounts, relating to the natural capacity and good disposition of the inhabitantsof Guinea, and of the violent manner in which they are said to be tornfrom their native land, are to be depended upon; as those Negroes whoare brought to us, are not heard to complain, and do but seldom manifestsuch a docility and quickness of parts, as is agreeable thereto. Butthose who make these objections, are desired to note the manydiscouragements the poor Africans labour under, when brought from theirnative land. Let them consider, that those afflicted strangers, thoughin an _enlightened Christian country_, have yet but little opportunityor encouragement to exert and improve their natural talents: They areconstantly employed in servile labour; and the abject condition in whichwe see them, naturally raises an idea of a superiority in ourselves;whence we are apt to look upon them as an ignorant and contemptible partof mankind. Add to this, that they meet with very little encouragementof freely conversing with such of the Whites, as might impartinstruction to them. It is a fondness for wealth, for authority, orhonour, which prompts most men in their endeavours to excell; but thesemotives can have little influence upon the minds of the Negroes; few ofthem having any reasonable prospect of any other than a state ofslavery; so that, though their natural capacities were ever so good, they have neither inducement or opportunity to exert them to advantage:This naturally tends to depress their minds, and sink their spirits intohabits of idleness and sloth, which they would, in all likelihood, havebeen free from, had they stood upon an equal footing with the whitepeople. They are suffered, with impunity, to cohabit together, withoutbeing married; and to part, when solemnly engaged to one another as manand wife; notwithstanding the moral and religious laws of the land, strictly prohibiting such practices. This naturally tends to begetapprehensions in the most thoughtful of those people, that we look uponthem as a lower race, not worthy of the same care, nor liable to thesame rewards and punishments as ourselves. Nevertheless it may withtruth be said, that both amongst those who have obtained their freedom, and those who remain in servitude, some have manifested a strongsagacity and an exemplary uprightness of heart. If this hath not beengenerally the case with them, is it a matter of surprize? Have we notreason to make the same complaint of many white servants, whendischarged from our service, though many of them have had much greateropportunities of knowledge and improvement than the blacks; who, evenwhen free, labour under the same difficulties as before: having butlittle access to, and intercourse with, the most reputable white people, they remain confined within their former limits of conversation. And ifthey seldom complain of the unjust and cruel usage they have received, in being forced from their native country, &c. It is not to be wonderedat; it being a considerable time after their arrival amongst us, beforethey can speak our language; and, by the time they are able to expressthemselves, they have great reason to believe, that little or no noticewould be taken of their complaints: yet let any person enquire of thosewho were capable of reflection, before they were brought from theirnative land, and he will hear such affecting relations, as, if not lostto the common feelings of humanity, will sensibly affect his heart. Thecase of a poor Negroe, not long since brought from Guinea, is a recentinstance of this kind. From his first arrival, he appeared thoughtfuland dejected, frequently dropping tears when taking notice of hismaster's children, the cause of which was not known till he was able tospeak English, when the account he gave of himself was, "That he had awife and children in his own country; that some of these being sick andthirsty, he went in the night time, to fetch water at a spring, where hewas violently seized and carried away by persons who lay in wait tocatch men, from whence he was transported to America. The remembrance ofhis family, friends, and other connections, left behind, which he neverexpected to see any more, were the principal cause of his dejection andgrief. " Many cases, equally affecting, might be here mentioned; but onemore instance, which fell under the notice of a person of credit, willsuffice. One of these wretched creatures, then about 50 years of age, informed him, "That being violently torn from a wife and severalchildren in Guinea, he was sold in Jamaica, where never expecting to seehis native land or family any more, he joined himself to a Negroe woman, by whom he had two children: after some years, it suiting the interestof his owner to remove him, he was separated from his second wife andchildren, and brought to South Carolina, where, expecting to spend theremainder of his days, he engaged with a third wife, by whom he hadanother child; but here the same consequence of one man being subject tothe will and pleasure of another man occurring, he was separated fromthis last wife and child, and brought into this country, where heremained a slave. " Can any, whose mind is not rendered quite obdurate bythe love of wealth, hear these relations, without being deeply touchedwith sympathy and sorrow? And doubtless the case of many, very many ofthese afflicted people, upon enquiry, would be found to be attended withcircumstances equally tragical and aggravating. And if we enquire ofthose Negroes, who were brought away from their native country whenchildren, we shall find most of them to have been stolen away, whenabroad from their parents, on the roads, in the woods, or watching theircorn-fields. Now, you that have studied the book of conscience, and youthat are learned in the law, what will you say to such deplorable cases?When, and how, have these oppressed people forfeited their liberty? Doesnot justice loudly call for its being restored to them? Have they notthe same right to demand it, as any of us should have, if we had beenviolently snatched by pirates from our native land? Is it not the dutyof every dispenser of justice, who is not forgetful of his own humanity, to remember that these are men, and to declare them free? Whereinstances of such cruelty frequently occur, and are neither enquiredinto, nor redressed, by those whose duty it is _to seek judgment, andrelieve the oppressed_, Isaiah i. 17. What can be expected, but that thegroans and cries of these sufferers will reach Heaven; and what shall wedo _when God riseth up? and when he visiteth_, what will ye answer him?_Did not he that made them, make us; and did not one fashion us in thewomb_? Job xxxi. 14. 

CHAP XIV. 

The expediency of a general freedom being granted to the Negroesconsidered. _Reasons_ why it might be productive of advantage and_safety to the Colonies_. 

It is scarce to be doubted, but that the foregoing accounts will begetin the heart of the considerate readers an earnest desire to see a stopput to this complicated evil, but the objection with many is, What shallbe done with those Negroes already imported, and born in our families?Must they be sent to Africa? That would be to expose them, in a strangeland, to greater difficulties than many of them labour under at present. To let them suddenly free here, would be perhaps attended with no lessdifficulty; for, undiciplined as they are in religion and virtue, theymight give a loose to those evil habits, which the fear of a masterwould have restrained. These are objections, which weigh with many welldisposed people, and it must be granted, these are difficulties in theway; nor can any general change be made, or reformation effected, without some; but the difficulties are not so great but that they may besurmounted. If the government was so considerate of the iniquity anddanger attending on this practice, as to be willing to seek a remedy, doubtless the Almighty would bless this good intention, and such methodswould be thought of, as would not only put an end to the unjustoppression of the Negroes, but might bring them under regulations, thatwould enable them to become profitable members of society; for thefurtherance of which, the following proposals are offered toconsideration: That all farther importation of slaves be absolutelyprohibited; and as to those born among us, after serving so long as mayappear to be equitable, let them by law be declared free. Let every one, thus set free, be enrolled in the county courts, and be obliged to be aresident, during a certain number of years, within the said county, under the care of the overseers of the poor. Thus being, in some sort, still under the direction of governors, and the notice of those who wereformerly acquainted with them, they would be obliged to act the morecircumspectly, and make proper use of their liberty, and their childrenwould have an opportunity of obtaining such instructions, as arenecessary to the common occasions of life; and thus both parents andchildren might gradually become useful members of the community. Andfurther, where the nature of the country would permit, as certainly theuncultivated condition of our southern and most western colonies easilywould, suppose a small tract of land were assigned to every Negroefamily, and they obliged to live upon and improve it, (when not hiredout to work for the white people) this would encourage them to exerttheir abilities, and become industrious subjects. Hence, both plantersand tradesmen would be plentifully supplied with chearful andwilling-minded labourers, much vacant land would be cultivated, theproduce of the country be justly increased, the taxes for the support ofgovernment lessened to individuals, by the increase of taxables, and theNegroes, instead of being an object of terror, [A] as they certainly mustbe to the governments where their numbers are great, would becomeinterested in their safety and welfare. 

[Footnote A: The hard usage the Negroes meet with in the plantations, and the great disproportion between them and the white people, willalways be a just cause of terror. In Jamaica, and some parts ofSouth-Carolina, it is supposed that there are fifteen blacks to onewhite. ]

CHAP. XV. 

Answer to a mistaken opinion, that the warmth of the climate in theWest-Indies, will not permit white people to labour there. No complaintof disability in the whites, in that respect, in the settlement of theislands. Idleness and diseases prevailed, as the use of slavesincreased. _The great_ advantage which might accrue to the Britishnation, if the slave trade was entirely laid aside, and a fair andfriendly commerce established through the whole coast of Africa. 

It is frequently offered as an argument, in vindication of the use ofNegroe slaves, that the warmth of the climate in the West Indies willnot permit white people to labour in the culture of the land: but uponan acquaintance with the nature of the climate, and its effects uponsuch labouring white people, as are prudent and moderate in labour, andthe use of spirituous liquors, this will be found to be a mistakenopinion. Those islands were, at first, wholly cultivated by white men;the encouragement they then met with, for a long course of years, wassuch as occasioned a great increase of people. Richard Ligon, in hishistory of Barbadoes, where he resided from the year 1647 to 1650, about24 years after his first settlement, writes, "that there were then fiftythousand souls on that island, besides Negroes; and that though theweather was very hot, yet not so scalding but that servants, bothchristians and slaves, laboured ten hours a day. " By other accounts wegather, that the white people have since decreased to less than one halfthe number which was there at that time; and by relations of the firstsettlements of the other islands, we do not meet with any complaints ofunfitness in the white people for labour there, before slaves wereintroduced. The island of Hispaniola, which is one of the largest ofthose islands, was at first planted by the Buccaneers, a set of hardylaborious men, who continued so for a long course of years; tillfollowing the example of their neighbours, in the purchase and use ofNegroe slaves, idleness and excess prevailing, debility and diseasenaturally succeeded, and have ever since continued. If, under properregulations, liberty was proclaimed through the colonies, the Negroes, from dangerous, grudging, half-fed slaves, might become able, willing-minded labourers. And if there was not a sufficient number ofthese to do the necessary work, a competent number of labouring peoplemight be procured from Europe, which affords numbers of poor distressedobjects, who, if not overlooked, with proper usage, might, in severalrespects, better answer every good purpose in performing the necessarylabour in the islands, than the slaves now do. 

A farther considerable advantage might accrue to the British nation ingeneral, if the slave trade was laid aside, by the cultivation of afair, friendly, and humane commerce with the Africans; without which, itis not possible the inland trade of that country should ever be extendedto the degree it is capable of; for while the spirit of butchery andmaking slaves of each other, is promoted by the Europeans amongst theNegroes, no mutual confidence can take place; nor will the Europeans beable to travel with safety into the heart of their country, to form andcement such commercial friendships and alliances, as might be necessaryto introduce the arts and sciences amongst them, and engage theirattention to instruction in the principles of the christian religion, which is the only sure foundation of every social virtue. Africa hasabout ten thousand miles of sea coast, and extends in depth near threethousand miles from east to west, and as much from north to south, stored with vast treasures of materials, necessary for the trade andmanufactures of Great-Britain; and from its climate, and thefruitfulness of its soil, capable, under proper management, of producingin the greatest plenty, most of the commodities which are imported intoEurope from those parts of America subject to the English government;[A]and as, in return, they would take our manufactures, the advantages ofthis trade would soon become so great, that it is evident this subjectmerits the regard and attention of the government. 

[Footnote A: See note, page 109. ]

EXTRACT

FROM A

REPRESENTATION

OF THE

INJUSTICE

AND

DANGEROUS TENDENCY

OF TOLERATING

SLAVERY;

OR

Admitting the least CLAIM of private Property in the Persons of Men in_England_. 

By GRANVILLE SHARP. 

FIRST PRINTED IN LONDON. 

MDCCLXIX. 

CONTENTS. 

_The occasion of this Treatise. All Persons during their residence in_Great Britain _are subjects; and as such, bound to the laws, and underthe Kings protection. By the English laws, no man, of what conditionsoever, to be imprisoned, or any way deprived of his_ LIBERTY, _withouta legal process. The danger of_ Slavery _taking place in England. Prevails in the Northern Colonies, notwithstanding the people's plea infavour of_ Liberty. _Advertisements in the New-York Journal for the saleof_ SLAVES. _Advertisements to the same purpose in the public prints inEngland. The danger of confining any person without a legal warrant. Instances of that nature. Note, Extract of several American laws, Reflexions thereon. _

EXTRACT, &C. 

Some persons respectable in the law, having given it as their opinion, "_That a slave, by coming from the West Indies to Great Britain orIreland, either with or without his master, doth not become free, orthat his master's property or right in him is not thereby determined orvaried;--and that the master may legally compel him to return again tothe plantations_, "--this causes our author to remark, that theselawyers, by thus stating the case merely on one side of the question, (Imean in favour of the master) have occasioned an unjust presumption andprejudice, plainly inconsistent with the laws of the realm, and againstthe other side of the question; as they have not signified that theiropinion was only conditional, and not absolute, and must be understoodon the part of the master, "_That he can produce an authentic agreementor contract in writing, by which it shall appear, that the said slavehath voluntarily bound himself, without compulsion or illegal duress_. "

Page 5. Indeed there are many instances of persons being freed fromslavery by the laws of England, but (God be thanked) there is neitherlaw, nor even a precedent, (at least I have not been able to find one)of a legal determination to justify a master in claiming or detainingany person whatsoever as a slave in England, who has not voluntarilybound himself as such by a contract in writing. 

Page 20. An English subject cannot be made a slave without his own freeconsent: but--a foreign slave is made a subject with or without his ownconsent: there needs no contract for this purpose, as in the other case;nor any other act or deed whatsoever, but that of his being landed inEngland; For according to statute 32d of Henry VIII. C. 16. Sect. 9. "_Every alien or stranger born out of the King's obeisance, not beingdenizen, which now or hereafter shall come into this realm, or elsewherewithin the King's dominions, shall, after the said first of Septembernext coming, be bounden by and unto the laws and statutes of this realm, and to all and singular the contents of the same. _"

Now it must be observed, that this law makes no distinction of _bond orfree_, neither of colours or complexions, whether of _black, brown_, or_white_; for "_every alien or stranger_ (without exception) _are boundenby and unto the law_, &c. "

This binding, or obligation, is properly expressed by the English word_ligeance, (à ligando_) which may be either perpetual or temporary. Wood, b. I. C. 3. P. 37. But one of these is indispensably due to theSovereign from all ranks and conditions of people; their being boundenunto the laws, (upon which the Sovereign's right is founded) expressesand implies this subjection to the laws; and therefore to alledge, thatan alien is not a subject, because he is in bondage, is not only a pleawithout foundation, but a contradiction in terms; for every person who, in any respect, is in subjection to the laws, must undoubtedly be asubject. 

I come now to the main point--"_That every man, woman, or child, thatnow is, or hereafter shall be, an inhabitant or resiant of this kingdomof England, dominion of Wales, or town of Berwick upon Tweed, _" is, insome respect or other, the _King's subject_, and, as such, is absolutelysecure in his or her _personal liberty_, by virtue of a statute, 31stCar. II. Ch. 11. And particularly by the 12th Sect. Of the same, whereinsubjects of all conditions are plainly included. 

This act is expressly intended for the better securing the liberty ofthe subject, and for prevention of imprisonment beyond the seas. Itcontains no distinction of "_natural born, naturalized, denizen, oralien subject; nor of white or black, freemen, or even of bond-men_, "(except in the case already mentioned _of a contract in writing_, bywhich it shall appear, _that the said slave has voluntarily boundhimself, without compulsion or illegal duress_, allowed by the 13thSect. And the exception likewise in the 14th Sect. Concerning felons)but they are all included under the general titles of "_the subject, anyof the said subjects, every such person_" &c. Now the definition of theword "_person_, " in its relative or civil capacity (according to Wood. B. I. C. 11. P. 27. ) _is either the King, or a subject_. These are the_only capital distinctions_ that can be made, tho' the latter consistsof a variety of denominations and degrees. 

But if I were even to allow, that a _Negroe slave_ is not a subject, (though I think I have clearly proved that he is) yet it is plain thatsuch an one ought not to be denied the benefit of the King's court, unless the slave-holder shall be able to prove likewise that he is not, a _Man_; because _every man_ may be _free_ to sue for, and _defend hisright in our courts_, says a stat. 20th Edw. III. C. 4. And elsewhere, according to law. And _no man, of what estate or condition_ that he be, (here can be no exception whatsoever) _shall be put out of land ortenement, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disinherited, nor put to death, without being brought in answer by due process of the law_. 28th Edw. III, c. 3, _No man_ therefore, _of what estate or condition that he be_, can lawfully be detained in England _as a slave_; because we have no lawwhereby a man _may be_ condemned to _slavery_ without his own consent, (for even convicted felons must "_in open court pray to transported_. ")(See Habeas Corpus act, Sect. 14. ) and therefore there cannot be any"_due process of the law_" tending to so base a purpose. It followstherefore, that every man, who presumes to detain _any person_whatsoever as a slave, otherwise than by virtue of a written contract, acts manifestly without "_due process of the law_, " and consequently isliable to the slave's "_action of false imprisonment_, " because "_everyman may be free to sue_, " &c. So that the slave-holder cannot availhimself of his imaginary _property_, either by the assistance of thecommon law, or of a court of equity, (_except it appears that the saidslave has voluntarily bound himself, without compulsion or illegalduress_) for in both his suit will certainly appear both unjust andindefensible. The former cannot assist him, because the statute law atpresent is so far from supposing any man in a state of slavery, that itcannot even permit such a state, except in the two cases mentioned inthe 13th and 14th Section of the Habeas Corpus act; and the courts ofequity likewise must necessarily decide against him, because his meremercenary plea of _private property_ cannot equitably, in a case between_man and man_, stand in competition with that _superior property_ whichevery man must necessarily be allowed to have in his own _properperson_. 

How then is the slave-holder to secure what he esteems his _property?_Perhaps he will endeavour clandestinely to seize the supposed slave, inorder to transport him (with or without _his consent_) to the colonies, where such property is allowed: but let him take care what he does, thevery attempt is punishable; and even the making over his property toanother for that purpose, renders him equally liable to the severepenalties of the law, for a bill of sale may certainly be included underthe terms expressed in the Habeas Corpus act, 12th Sect. Viz. "_Anywarrant or writing for such commitment, detainer, imprisonment, ortransportation, " &c. _ It is also dangerous for a counsellor, or anyother person _to advise_ (see the act "shall be advising") suchproceedings, by saying, "_That a master may legally compel him_ (theslave) _to return again to the plantations_. " Likewise an attorney, notary-public, or any other person, who shall presume to draw up, negotiate, of even to witness a bill of sale, or other instrument forsuch commitment, &c. Offends equally against the law, because "_All, orany person or persons, that shall frame, contrive, write, seal, orcountersign any warrant or writing for such commitment, detainer, imprisonment, or transportation; or shall be advising, aiding, orassisting in the same, or any of them_, " are liable to all the penaltiesof the act. "_And the plaintiff, in every such action, shall havejudgment to recover his treble costs, besides damages; which damages soto be given shall not be less than five hundred pounds_;" so that theinjured may have ample satisfaction for their sufferings: and even ajudge may not direct or instruct a jury contrary to this statute, whatever his private opinion may be concerning property in slaves;because _no order or command, nor no injunction_, is allowed tointerfere with this _golden act of liberty_. 

--I have before observed, that the general term, "_every alien_, "includes _all strangers whatsoever_, and renders them _subject_ to theKing, and the laws, during their residence in this kingdom; and this iscertainly true, whether the aliens be Turks, Moors, Arabians, Tartars, or even savages, from any part of the world. --Men are rendered obnoxiousto the laws by their offences, and not by the particular denomination oftheir rank, order, parentage, colour, or country; and therefore, thoughwe should suppose that any particular body of people whatsoever were notknown, or had in consideration by the legislature at the different timeswhen the severe penal laws were made, yet no man can reasonablyconceive, that such men are exempted on this account from the penaltiesof the said laws, when legally convicted of having offended againstthem. 

Laws calculated for the moral purpose of preventing oppression, arelikewise usually supposed to be everlasting, and to make up a part ofour happy constitution; for which reason, though the kind of oppressionto be guarded against, and the penalties for offenders, are minutelydescribed therein, yet the persons to be protected are comprehended interms as general as possible; that "_no person who now is, or hereaftershall be, an inhabitant or resiant in this kingdom_, " (see Habeas Corpusact, Sect. 12th) may seem to be excluded from protection. The generalterms of the several statutes before cited, are so full and clear, thatthey admit of no exception whatsoever; for all persons (Negroes as wellas others) must be included in the terms "the subject;"--"_no subject ofthis realm that now is, or hereafter shall be, an inhabitant, &c. Anysubject; every such person_;" see Habeas Corpus act. Also _every man_may be _free_ to sue, &c. 20th Edward III. Cap. 4. And _no man, of whatestate or condition that he be_, shall be taken or imprisoned, &c. Truejustice makes no respect of persons, and can never deny, to any one thatblessing to which all mankind have an undoubted right, their _naturalliberty_: though the law makes no mention of Negroe slaves, yet this isno just argument for excluding them from the general protection of ourhappy constitution. 

Neither can the objection, that Negroe slaves were not "had inconsideration or contemplation, " when these laws were made, prove anything against them; but, on the contrary, much in their favour; for boththese circumstances are strong presumptive proofs, that the practice ofimporting slaves into this kingdom, and retaining them as such, is aninnovation entirely foreign to the spirit and intention of the laws nowin force. 

--Page 79. A toleration of slavery is, in effect, a toleration ofinhumanity; for there are wretches in the world who make no scruple togain, by wearing out their slaves with continual labour, and a scantyallowance, before they have lived out half their natural days. It isnotorious, that this is too often the case in the unhappy countrieswhere slavery is tolerated. 

See the account of the European settlements in America, Part VI. Chap. 11. Concerning the "_misery of the Negroes, great waste of them_, " &c. Which informs us not only of a most scandalous profanation of the Lord'sday, but also of another abomination, which must be infinitely moreheinous in the sight of God, viz. Oppression carried to such excess, asto be even destructive of the human species. 

At present, the inhumanity of constrained labour in excess, extends nofarther in England than to our beasts, as post and hackney-horses, sand-asses, &c. 

But thanks to our laws, and not to the general good disposition ofmasters, that it is so; for the wretch who is bad enough to maltreat ahelpless beast, would not spare his fellow man if he had him as much inhis power. 

The maintenance of civil liberty is therefore absolutely necessary toprevent an increase of our national guilt, by the addition of the horridcrime of tyranny. --Notwithstanding that the plea of necessity cannothere be urged, yet this is no reason why an increase of the practice isnot to be feared. 

Our North American colonies afford us a melancholy instance to thecontrary; for though the climate in general is so wholesome andtemperate, that it will not authorise this plea of necessity for theemployment of slaves, any more than our own, yet the pernicious practiceof slave-holding is become almost general in those parts. At New-York, for instance, the infringement on civil or domestic liberty is becomenotorious, notwithstanding the political controversies of theinhabitants in praise of liberty; but no panegyric on this subject(howsoever elegant in itself) can be graceful or edifying from the mouthor pen of one of those provincials, because men who do not scruple todetain others in slavery, have but a very partial and unjust claim tothe protection of the laws of liberty; and indeed it too plainly appearsthat they have no real regard for liberty, farther than their ownprivate interests are concerned; and (consequently) that they have solittle detestation of despotism and tyranny, that they do not scruple toexercise them whenever their caprice excites them, or their privateinterest seems to require an exertion of their power over theirmiserable slaves. 

Every petty planter, who avails himself of the service of slaves, is anarbitrary monarch, or rather a lawless Bashaw in his own territories, notwithstanding that the imaginary freedom of the province wherein heresides, may seem to forbid the observation. 

The boasted liberty of our American colonies, therefore, has so littleright to that sacred name, that it seems to differ from the arbitrarypower of despotic monarchs only in one circumstance, viz. That it is a_many-headed monster of tyranny_, which entirely subverts our mostexcellent constitution; because liberty and slavery are so opposite toeach other, that they cannot subsist in the same community. "_Politicalliberty (in mild or well regulated governments) makes civil libertyvaluable; and whosoever is deprived of the latter, is deprived also ofthe former_. " This observation of the learned Montesquieu, I hopesufficiently justifies my censure of the Americans for their notoriousviolation of civil liberty;--The New-York Journal, or, The GeneralAdvertiser, for Thursday, 22d October, 1767, gives notice byadvertisement, of no less than eight different persons who have escapedfrom slavery, or are put up to public sale for that horrid purpose. 

That I may demonstrate the indecency of such proceedings in a freecountry, I shall take the liberty of laying some of these advertisementsbefore my readers, by way of example. 

"_To be SOLD for want of Employment_, A likely strong active Negroe man, of about 24 years of age, this country born, (_N. B. _ A natural bornsubject) understands most of a baker's trade, and a good deal of farmingbusiness, and can do all sorts of house-work. --Also a healthy Negroewench, of about 21 years old, is a tolerable cook, and capable of doingall sorts of house-work, can be well recommended for her honesty andsobriety: she has a female child of nigh three years old, which will besold with the wench if required, &c. " Here is not the leastconsideration, or scruple of conscience, for the inhumanity of partingthe mother and young child. From the stile, one would suppose theadvertisement to be of no more importance than if it related merely tothe sale of a cow and her calf; and that the cow should be sold with orwithout her calf, according as the purchaser should require. --But notonly Negroes, but even American Indians, are detained in the sameabominable slavery in our colonies, though there cannot be anyreasonable pretence whatsoever for holding one of these as privateproperty; for even if a written contract should be produced as a voucherin such a case, there would still remain great suspicion, that someundue advantage had been taken of the Indian's ignorance concerning thenature of such a bond. 

"_Run away, on Monday the 21st instant, from J----n T----, Esq. OfWest-Chester county, in the province of New-York_, An Indian slave, named Abraham, he may have changed his name, about 23 years of age, about five feet five inches. "

Upon the whole, I think I may with justice conclude, that thoseadvertisements discover a shameless prostitution and infringement on thecommon and natural rights of mankind--But hold! perhaps the Americansmay be able, with too much justice, to retort this severe reflexion, andmay refer us to news-papers published even in the free city of London, which contain advertisements not less dishonourable than their own. Seeadvertisement in the Public Ledger of 31st December, 1761. 

"_For SALE, A healthy NEGROE GIRL_, aged about fifteen years; speaksgood English, works at her needle, washes well, does houshold work, andhas had the small-pox. By J. W. &c. "

Another advertisement, not long ago, offered a reward for stopping afemale slave who had left her mistress in Hatton-garden. And in theGazetteer of 18th April, 1769, appeared a very extraordinaryadvertisement with the following title;

"_Horses, Tim Wisky, and black Boy_, To be sold at the Bull and GateInn. Holborn, _A very good Tim Wisky_, little the worse for wear, &c. "Afterwards, "_A Chesnut Gelding_;" then, "_A very good grey Mare_;" andlast of all, (as if of the least consequence) "_A well-madegood-tempered black Boy_, he has lately had the small-pox, and will besold to any gentleman. Enquire as above. "

Another advertisement in the same paper, contains a very particulardescription of a Negroe man, called _Jeremiah_, --and concludes asfollows:--"Whoever delivers him to Capt. M---- U----y, on board theElizabeth, at Prince's Stairs, Rotherhithe, on or before the 31stinstant, shall receive thirty guineas reward, or ten guineas for suchintelligence as shall enable the Captain, or his master, effectually tosecure him. The utmost secrecy may be depended on. " It is not on accountof shame, that men, who are capable of undertaking the desperate andwicked employment of kidnappers, are supposed to be tempted to such abusiness, by a promise "_of the utmost secrecy_;" but this must be froma sense of the unlawfulness of the act proposed to them, that they mayhave less reason to fear a prosecution. And as such a kind of people aresupposed to undertake any thing for money, the reward of thirty guineaswas tendered at the top of the advertisement, in capital letters. No mancan be safe, be he white or black, if temptations to break the laws areso shamefully published in our news-papers. 

_A Creole Black boy_ is also offered to sale, in the Daily Advertiser ofthe same date. 

Besides these instances, the Americans may, perhaps, taunt us with theshameful treatment of a poor Negroe servant, who not long ago was put upto sale by public auction, together with the effects of his bankruptmaster. --Also, that the prisons of this free city have been frequentlyprostituted of late, by the tyrannical and dangerous practice ofconfining Negroes, under the pretence of slavery, though there have beenno warrants whatsoever for their commitment. 

This circumstance of confining a man without a warrant, has so great aresemblance to the proceedings of a Popish inquisition, that it is buttoo obvious what dangerous practices such scandalous innovations, ifpermitted to grow more into use, are liable to introduce. No person canbe safe, if wicked and designing men have it in their power, under thepretence of private property as a slave, to throw a man clandestinely, without a warrant, into goal, and to conceal him there, until they canconveniently dispose of him. 

A free man may be thus robbed of his liberty, and carried beyond theseas, without having the least opportunity of making his case known;which should teach us how jealous we ought to be of all imprisonmentsmade without the authority, or previous examination, of a civilmagistrate. 

The distinction of colour will, in a short time, be no protectionagainst such outrages, especially as not only Negroes, but Mulatoes, andeven American Indians, (which appears by one of the advertisementsbefore quoted) are retained in slavery in our American colonies; forthere are many honest weather-beaten Englishmen, who have as littlereason to boast of their complexion as the Indians. And indeed, the morenorthern Indians have no difference from us in complexion, but such asis occasioned by the climate, or different way of living. The plea ofprivate property, therefore, cannot, by any means, justify a privatecommitment of any person whatsoever to prison, because of the apparentdanger and tendency of such innovation. This dangerous practice ofconcealing in prison was attempted in the case of Jonathan Strong; forthe door-keeper of the P----lt----y C----pt----r (or some person whoacted for him) absolutely refused, for two days, to permit this poorinjured Negro to be seen or spoke with, though a person went on purpose, both those days, to demand the same. --All laws ought to be founded uponthe principle of "_doing as one would be done by_;" and indeed thisprinciple seems to be the very basis of the English constitution; forwhat precaution could possibly be more effectual for that purpose, thanthe right we enjoy of being judged by our Peers, creditable persons ofthe vicinage; especially, as we may likewise claim the right ofexcepting against any particular juryman, who might be suspected ofpartiality. 

This law breathes the pure spirit of liberty, equity, and social love;being calculated to maintain that consideration and mutual regard whichone person ought to have for another, howsoever unequal in rank orstation. 

But when any part of the community, under the pretence of privateproperty, is deprived of this common privilege, it is a violation ofcivil liberty, which is entirely inconsistent with the social principlesof a free state. 

True liberty protects the labourer as well as his Lord; preserves thedignity of human nature, and seldom fails to render a province rich andpopulous; whereas, on the other hand, a toleration of slavery is thehighest breach of social virtue, and not only tends to depopulation, buttoo often renders the minds of both masters and slaves utterly depravedand inhuman, by the hateful extremes of exaltation and depression. 

If such a toleration should ever be generally admitted in England, (which God forbid) we shall no longer deserve to be esteemed a civilizedpeople; because, when the customs of uncivilized nations, and the_uncivilized customs which disgrace our own colonies_, are become sofamiliar as to be permitted amongst us with impunity, we ourselves mustinsensibly degenerate to the same degree of baseness with those fromwhom such bad customs were derived; and may, too soon, have themortification to see the _hateful extremes of tyranny and slaveryfostered under every roof_. 

Then must the happy medium of a well regulated liberty be necessarilycompelled to find shelter in some more civilized country: where socialvirtue, and that divine precept, "_Thou shalt love thy neighbour asthyself_, " are better understood. 

An attempt to prove the dangerous tendency, injustice, and disgrace oftolerating slavery amongst Englishmen, would, in any former age, havebeen esteemed as superfluous and ridiculous, as if a man shouldundertake, in a formal manner, to prove, that darkness is not light. 

Sorry am I, that the depravity of the present age has made ademonstration of this kind necessary. 

Now, that I may sum up the amount of what has been said in a singlesentence, I shall beg leave to conclude in the words of the great SirEdward Coke, which, though spoken on a different occasion, are yetapplicable to this; see Rushworth's Hist. Col. An. 1628. 4 Caroli. Fol. 450. 

"It would be no honour to a King or kingdom, to be a King of bondmen orslaves: the end of this would be both _dedecus_[A] and _damnum_[B] bothto King and kingdom, that in former times have been so renowned. "

[Footnote A: Disgrace. ]

[Footnote B: Loss. ]

 * * * * *

Note, at page 63; According to the laws of Jamaica, printed in London, in 1756, "If any slave having been one whole year in this island, (saysan act, No 64, clause 5, p. 114) shall run away, and continue absentfrom his owner's service for the space of thirty days, upon complaintand proof, &c. Before any two justices of the peace, and threefreeholders, &c. It shall and may be lawful for such justices andfreeholders to order such slave to be punished, by _cutting off one ofthe feet of such slave_, or inflict such other corporal punishment asthey _shall think fit_. " Now that I may inform my readers, what corporalpunishments are sometimes thought fit to be inflicted, I will refer tothe testimony of Sir Hans Sloane, (see voyage to the islands of Madeira, Barbadoes, &c. And Jamaica, with the natural history of the last ofthese islands, &c. London 1707. Introduction, p. 56, and 57. ) "Thepunishment for crimes of slaves (says he) are usually, for _rebellions_, burning them, by nailing them down to the ground with crooked sticks onevery limb, and then applying the fire, by degrees, from the feet andhands, and burning them gradually up to the head, whereby _the pains areextravagant_; for crimes of a lesser nature, _gelding_, or _chopping offhalf the foot_ with an axe. These punishments are suffered by them withgreat constancy. --For negligence, they are usually whipped by theoverseers with lance-wood switches, till they be bloody, and several ofthe switches broken, being first tied up by their hands in the millhouses. --After they are whipped till they are raw, some put on theirskins pepper and salt, to make them smart; at other times, their masterswill drop melted wax on their skins, and use several _very exquisitetorments_. " Sir Hans adds, "These punishments are sometimes merited bythe Blacks, who are a very perverse generation of people; and thoughthey appear very harsh, yet are scarce equal to some of their crimes, and inferior to what punishments other European nations inflict on theirslaves in the East-Indies, as may be seen by Moquet, and othertravellers. " Thus Sir Hans Sloane endeavours to excuse those shockingcruelties, but certainly in vain, because no crimes whatsoever can meritsuch severe punishments, unless I except the crimes of those who deviseand inflict them. Sir Hans Sloane, indeed, mentions _rebellion_ as theprincipal crime; and certainly it is very justly esteemed a most heinouscrime, in a land of liberty, where government is limited by equitableand just laws, if the same are tolerably well observed; but in countrieswhere arbitrary power is exercised with such intolerable cruelty as isbefore described, if resistance be a crime, it is certainly the mostnatural of all others. 

But the 19th clause of the 38th act, would indeed, on a slight perusal, induce us to conceive, that the punishment for rebellion is not sosevere as it is represented by Sir Hans Sloane; because a slave, though_deemed rebellious_, is thereby condemned to no greater punishment thantransportation. Nevertheless, if the clause be thoroughly considered, weshall find no reason to commend the mercy of the legislature; for itonly proves, that the Jamaica law-makers will not scruple to charge theslightest and most natural offences with the most opprobrious epithets;and that a poor slave, who perhaps has no otherwise incurred hismaster's displeasure than by endeavouring (upon the just and warrantableprinciples of self-preservation, ) to escape from his master's tyranny, without any criminal intention whatsoever, is liable to be _deemedrebellious_, and to be arraigned as a capital offender. "For every slaveand slaves that shall run away, and continue but for the space of twelvemonths, except such slave or slaves as shall not have been three yearsin this island, shall be _deemed rebellious_, " &c. (see act 38, clause19. P. 60. ) Thus we are enabled to define what a West Indian tyrantmeans by the word _rebellious_. But unjust as this clause may seem, yetit is abundantly more merciful and considerate than a subsequent actagainst the same poor miserable people, because the former assigns noother punishment for persons so _deemed rebellious_, than that they, "_Shall be transported_ by order of two justices and three freeholders, "&c. Whereas the latter spares not the blood of these poor injuredfugitives: For by the 66th act, a reward of 50 pounds is offered tothose who "shall kill or bring in alive any _rebellious slaves_, " thatis, any of these unfortunate people whom the law has "_deemedrebellious_, " as above; and this premium is not only tendered tocommissioned parties (see 2d. Clause) but even to any private "_hunter, slave, or other person_, " (see 3d. Clause. ) Thus it is manifest, thatthe law treats these poor unhappy men with as little ceremony andconsideration as if they were merely wild beasts. But the innocent bloodthat is shed in consequence of such a detestable law, must certainlycall for vengeance on the murderous abettors and actors of suchdeliberate wickedness: And though many of the guilty wretches shouldeven be so hardened and abandoned as never afterwards to be capable ofsincere remorse, yet a time will undoubtedly come, when they willshudder with dreadful apprehensions, on account of the insufficiency ofso wretched an excuse, as that their poor murdered brethren were by law"_deemed rebellious_" But bad as these laws are, yet in justice to thefreeholders of Jamaica, I must acknowledge, that their laws are not nearso cruel and inhuman as the laws of Barbadoes and Virginia, and seem atpresent to be much more reasonable than they have formerly been; manyvery oppressive laws being now expired, and others less severe enactedin their room. 

But it is far otherwise in Barbadoes; for by the 329th act, p. 125. "Ifany Negro or other slave, under punishment by his master, or his order, for running away, or any other crimes or misdemeanors towards his saidmaster, unfortunately shall suffer in life, or member, (which seldomhappens) (but it is plain by this law that it does sometimes happen) _noperson whatever shall be liable to any fine therefore; but if any manshall, of wantonness or only of bloody-mindedness, or cruel intention, wilfully kill a Negroe or other slave of his own_;"--now the reader, tobe sure, will naturally expect, that some very severe punishment must inthis case be ordained, to deter the _wanton, bloody-minded, and cruel_wretch, from _wilfully killing_ his fellow creatures; but alas! theBarbadian law-makers have been so far from intending to curb suchabandoned wickedness, that they have absolutely made this law on purposeto skreen these enormous crimes from the just indignation of anyrighteous person, who might think himself bound in duty to prosecute abloody-minded villain; they have therefore presumptuously taken uponthem to give a sanction, as it were, by law, to the horrid crime ofwilful murder; and have accordingly ordained, that he who is guilty ofit in Barbadoes, though the act should be attended with all theaggravating circumstances before-mentioned--"_shall pay into the publictreasury_ (no more than) _fifteen pounds sterling_, " but if he shallkill another man's, he shall pay the owner of the Negroe double thevalue, and into the public treasury _twenty-five pounds sterling_; andhe shall further, by the next justice of the peace, be bound to his goodbehaviour during the pleasure of the governor and council, _and not beliable to any other punishment or forfeiture for the same_. 

The most consummate wickedness, I suppose, that any body of people, under the specious form of a legislature, were ever guilty of! This actcontains several other clauses which are shocking to humanity, thoughtoo tedious to mention here. 

According to an act of Virginia, (4 Anne, ch. 49. Sec. 37. P. 227. )"after proclamation is issued against slaves that run away and lie out, it is lawful for any person whatsoever, _to kill and destroy suchslaves, by such ways and means as he, she, or they, shall think fit_, without accusation or impeachment of any crime for the same, " &c. Andlest private interest should incline the planter to mercy, (to which wemust suppose such people can have no other inducement) it is providedand enacted in the succeeding clause, (No 28. ) "That for _every slavekilled_, in pursuance of this act, or _put to death by law_, the masteror owner of such slave _shall be paid by the public_. "

Also by an act of Virginia, (9 Geo. I. Ch. 4. Sect. 18. P. 343. ) it isordained, "That, where any slave shall hereafter be found notoriouslyguilty of going abroad in the night, or running away, and lying out, andcannot be reclaimed from _such_ disorderly courses by the common methodof punishment, it shall and may be lawful to and for the court of thecounty, upon complaint and proof thereof to them made by the owner ofsuch slave, to order and direct every such slave to be punished by_dismembering, or any other_ way, not touching life, as the said countycourt _shall think fit_. "

I have already given examples enough of the horrid cruelties which aresometimes _thought fit_ on such occasions. But if the innocent and mostnatural act of "_running away_" from intolerable tyranny, deserves suchrelentless severity, what kind of punishment have these law-makersthemselves to expect hereafter, on account of their own enormousoffences! Alas! to look for mercy (without a timely repentance) willonly be another instance of their gross injustice! "_Having theirconsciences seared with a hot iron_, " they seem to have lost allapprehensions that their slaves are men, for they scruple not to numberthem with beasts. See an act of Barbadoes, (No 333. P. 128. ) intituled, "An act for the better regulating of _outcries_ in open market:" here weread of "_Negroes, cattle, coppers, and stills, and other chattels_, brought by execution to open market to be outcried, and these (as if allof equal importance) are ranged together _in great lots or numbers to besold_. "

--Page 70. In the 329th act of Barbadoes, (p. 122. ) it is asserted, that"brutish slaves deserve not, for the baseness of their condition, to _betried by a legal trial of twelve men of their peers, or neighbourhood_, which neither truly can be rightly done, as the subjects of Englandare;" (yet slaves also are subjects of England, whilst they remainwithin the British dominions, notwithstanding this insinuation to thecontrary) "nor is execution to be delayed towards them, in case of suchhorrid crimes committed, " &c. 

A similar doctrine is taught in an act of Virginia, (9 Geo. I. Ch. 4. Sect. 3. P. 339. ) wherein it is ordained, "that every slave, committingsuch offence as by the laws ought to be punished by death, or loss ofmember, shall be forthwith committed to the common goal of the county, &c. And the sheriff of such county, upon such commitment, shallforthwith certify the same, with the cause thereof, to the governor orcommander in chief, &c. Who is thereupon desired and impowered to issuea commission of Oyer and Terminer, _To such persons as he shall thinkfit_; which persons, forthwith after the receipt of such commission, areimpowered and required to cause the offender to be publicly arraignedand tried, &c. Without the solemnity of a jury, " &c. Now let us considerthe dangerous tendency of those laws. As Englishmen, we strenuouslycontend for this absolute and immutable necessity of trials by juries:but is not the spirit and equity of this old English doctrine entirelylost, if we partially confine that justice to ourselves alone, when wehave it in our power to extend it to others? The natural right of allmankind, must principally justify our insisting upon this necessaryprivilege in favour of ourselves in particular; and therefore if we donot allow that the judgment of an impartial jury is indispensablynecessary in all cases whatsoever, wherein the life of man is depending, we certainly undermine the equitable force and reason of those laws, bywhich _we ourselves are protected_, and consequently are unworthy to beesteemed either Christians or Englishmen. 

Whatever right the members of a provincial assembly may have to enact_bye laws_, for particular exigences among themselves, yet in so doingthey are certainly bound, in duty to their sovereign, to observe moststrictly the fundamental principles of that constitution, which hisMajesty is sworn to maintain; for wheresoever the bounds of the Britishempire are extended, there the common law of England must of course takeplace, and cannot be safely set aside by any _private law_ whatsoever, because the introduction of an unnatural tyranny must necessarilyendanger the King's dominions. The many alarming insurrections of slavesin the several colonies, are sufficient proofs of this. The common lawof England ought therefore to be so established in every province, as toinclude the respective _bye laws_ of each province; instead of being bythem _excluded_, which latter has been too much the case. 

Every inhabitant of the British colonies, black as well as white, bondas well as free, are undoubtedly the _King's subjects_, during theirresidence within the limits of the King's dominions; and as such, areentitled to personal protection, however bound in service to theirrespective masters; therefore, when any of these are put to death, "_without the solemnity of a jury_, " I fear that there is too muchreason to attribute _the guilt of murder_ to every person concerned inordering, the same, or in consenting thereto; and all such persons arecertainly responsible _to the King and his laws, for the loss of asubject_. The horrid iniquity, injustice, and dangerous tendency of theseveral plantation laws which I have quoted, are so apparent, that it isunnecessary for me to apologize for the freedom with which I havetreated them. If such laws are not absolutely necessary for thegovernment of slaves, the law-makers must unavoidably allow themselvesto be the most cruel and abandoned tyrants upon earth; or, perhaps, thatever were on earth. On the other hand, if it be said, that it isimpossible to govern slaves without such inhuman severity, anddetestable injustice, the same will certainly be an invincible argumentagainst the least toleration of slavery amongst christians, because thetemporal profit of the planter or master, however lucrative, cannotcompensate the forfeiture of his everlasting welfare, or (at least I maybe allowed to say) the apparent danger of such a forfeiture. 

Oppression is a most grievous crime, and the cries of these much injuredpeople, (though they are only poor ignorant heathens) will certainlyreach heaven! The scriptures (_which are the only true foundation of alllaws_) denounce a tremendous judgment against the man who should offendeven one little-one; _"It were better for him_ (even the mercifulSaviour of the world hath himself declared) _that a millstone werehanged about his neck, and be cast into the sea, than that he shouldoffend one of these little ones. "_ Luke xvii. 2. Who then shall attemptto vindicate those inhuman establishments of government, under which, even our own countrymen so grievously _offend_ and _oppress_ (not merely_one_, or a few little ones, but) an immense multitude of _men, women, children_, and the _children of their children_, from generation togeneration? May it not be said with like justice, it were better for theEnglish nation that these American dominions had never existed, or eventhat they should have been sunk into the sea, than that the kingdom ofGreat Britain should be loaded with the horrid guilt of tolerating suchabominable wickedness! In short, if the _King's prerogative_ is notspeedily exerted for the relief of his Majesty's oppressed and muchinjured subjects in the British colonies, (because to _relieve thesubject_ from the oppression of petty tyrants is the principal use ofthe royal prerogative, as well as the principal and most natural meansof maintaining the same) and for the extension of the Britishconstitution to the most distant colonies, whether in the East or WestIndies, it must inevitably be allowed, that great share of this enormousguilt will certainly rest on this side the water. 

I hope this hint will be taken notice of by those whom it may concern;and that the freedom of it will be excused, as from a _loyal anddisinterested_ adviser. 

Extracts from the writings

of several _noted authors_, on the subject of the, _slavery of the Negroes_, viz. 

George Wallace, Francis Hutcheson, James Foster. 

George Wallace, in his _System of the Principles of the Laws ofScotland_, speaking of the slavery of the Negroes in our colonies, says, "We all know that they (the Negroes) are purchased from their Princes, who pretend to have a right to dispose of them, and that they are, likeother commodities, transported, by the merchants who have bought them, into America, in order to be exposed to sale. If this trade admits of amoral or a rational justification, every crime, even the most atrocious, may be justified. Government was instituted for the good of mankind;kings, princes, governors, are not proprietors of those who are subjectto their authority; they have not a right to make them miserable. On thecontrary, their authority is vested in them, that they may, by the justexercise of it, promote the happiness of their people. Of course, theyhave not a right to dispose of their liberty, and to sell them forslaves. Besides no man has a right to acquire, or to purchase them; menand their liberty are not _in commercio_; they are not either saleableor purchaseable. One, therefore, has no body but himself to blame, incase he shall find himself deprived of a man, whom he thought he had, bybuying for a price, made his own; for he dealt in a trade which wasillicit, and was prohibited by the most obvious dictates of humanity. For these reasons, every one of those unfortunate men who are pretendedto be slaves, has a right to be declared to be free, for he never losthis liberty; he could not lose it; his Prince had no power to dispose ofhim. Of course, the sale was _ipso jure_ void. This right he carriesabout with him, and is entitled every where to get it declared. As soon, therefore, as he comes into a country in which the judges are notforgetful of their own humanity, it is their duty to remember that he isa man, and to declare him to be free. I know it has been said, thatquestions concerning the state of persons ought to be determined by thelaw of the country to which they belong; and that, therefore, one whowould be declared to be a slave in America, ought, in case he shouldhappen to be imported into Britain, to be adjudged, according to the lawof America, to be a slave; a doctrine than which nothing can be morebarbarous. Ought the judges of any country, out of respect to the law ofanother, to shew no respect to their kind, and to humanity? out ofrespect to a law, which is in no sort obligatory upon them, ought theyto disregard the law of nature, which is obligatory on all men, at alltimes, and in all places? Are any laws so binding as the eternal laws ofjustice? Is it doubtful, whether a judge ought to pay greater regard tothem, than to those arbitrary and inhuman usages which prevail in adistant land? Aye, but our colonies would be ruined if slavery wasabolished. Be it so; would it not from thence follow, that the bulk ofmankind ought to be abused, that our pockets may be filled with money, or our mouths with delicacies? The purses of highwaymen would be empty, in case robberies were totally abolished; but have men a right toacquire money by going out to the highway? Have men a right to acquireit by rendering their fellow-creatures miserable? Is it lawful to abusemankind, that the avarice, the vanity, or the passions of a few may begratified? No! There is such a thing as justice to which the most sacredregard is due. It ought to be inviolably observed. Have not theseunhappy men a better right to their liberty, and to their happiness, than our American merchants have to the profits which they make bytorturing their kind? Let, therefore, our colonies be ruined, but let usnot render so many men miserable. Would not any of us, who should--besnatched by pirates from his native land, think himself cruelly abused, and at all times entitled to be free? Have not these unfortunateAfricans, who meet with the same cruel fate, the same right? Are theynot men as well as we, and have they not the same sensibility? Let usnot, therefore, defend or support a usage which is contrary to all thelaws of humanity. 

"But it is false, that either we or our colonies would be ruined by theabolition of slavery. It might occasion a stagnation of business for ashort time. Every great alteration produces that effect; because mankindcannot, on a sudden, find ways of disposing of themselves, and of theiraffairs; but it would produce many happy effects. It is the slaverywhich is permitted in America, that has hindered it from becoming sosoon populous as it would otherwise have done. Let the Negroes be free, and, in a few generations, this vast and fertile continent would becrowded with inhabitants; learning, arts, and every thing would flourishamongst them; instead of being inhabited by wild beasts, and by savages, it would be peopled by philosophers, and by men. "

Francis Hutcheson, professor of philosophy at the university of Glasgow, in his _System of Moral Philosophy_, page 211, says "He who detainsanother by force in slavery, is always bound to prove his title. Theslave sold, or carried into a distant country, must not be obliged toprove a negative, that _he never forfeited his liberty_. The violentpossessor must, in all cases, shew his title, especially where the oldproprietor is well known. In this case, each man is the originalproprietor of his own liberty. The proof of his losing it must beincumbent on those who deprive him of it by force. The Jewish laws hadgreat regard to justice, about the servitude of Hebrews, founding itonly on consent, or some crime or damage, allowing them always a properredress upon any cruel treatment, and fixing a limited time for it;unless upon trial the servant inclined to prolong it. The laws aboutforeign slaves had many merciful provisions against immoderate severityof the masters. But under christianity, whatever lenity was due from anHebrew towards his countryman, must be due towards all; since thedistinctions of nations are removed, as to the point of humanity andmercy, as well as natural right; nay, some of these rights granted overforeign slaves, may justly be deemed only such indulgences as those ofpoligamy and divorce, granting only external impunity in such practice, and not sufficient vindication of them in conscience. "

_Page_ 85. It is pleaded, that "In some barbarous nations, unless thecaptives were bought for slaves, they would be all murthered. They, therefore, owe their lives, and all they can do, to their purchasers;and so do their children, who would not otherwise have come into life. "But this whole plea is no more than that of _negotium utile gestum_ towhich any civilized nation is bound by humanity; it is a prudentexpensive office, done for the service of others without a gratuitousintention; and this founds no other right, than that to fullcompensation of all charges and labour employed for the benefit ofothers. 

A set of inaccurate popular phrases blind us in these matters; "Captivesowe their lives, and all to the purchasers, say they. Just in the samemanner, we, our nobles, and princes, often owe our lives to midwives, chirurgeons, physicians, " &c. One who was the means of preserving aman's life, is not therefore entitled to make him a slave, and sell himas a piece of goods. Strange, that in a nation where the sense ofliberty prevails, where the christian religion is professed, custom andhigh prospects of gain can so stupify the conscience of men, and allsense of natural justice, that they can hear such computations madeabout the value of their fellow-men, and their liberty, withoutabhorrence and indignation. 

_James Foster_, D. D. In his _discourses on natural religion_ and _socialvirtue_ also shews his just indignation at this wicked practice; whichhe declares to be "_a criminal and outrageous violation of the naturalright of mankind_. " At _page_ 156, vol. 2 he says, "Should we have readconcerning the Greeks or Romans of old, that they traded with a view tomake slaves of their own species, when they certainly knew that thiswould involve in schemes of blood and murder, of destroying, orenslaving each other; that they even fomented wars, and engaged wholenations and tribes in open hostilities, for their own private advantage;that they had no detestation of the violence and cruelty, but onlyfeared the ill success of their inhuman enterprises; that they carriedmen like themselves, their brethren, and the off-spring of the samecommon parent, to be sold like beasts of prey, or beasts of burden, andput them to the same reproachful trial, of their soundness, strength, and capacity for greater bodily service; that quite forgetting andrenouncing the original dignity of human nature, communicated to all, they treated them with more severity, and ruder discipline, than eventhe _ox_ or the _ass_, who are _void of understanding_--should we not, if this had been the case, have naturally been led to despise all their_pretended refinements of morality_; and to have concluded, that as theywere not nations destitute of politeness, they must have been _entirestrangers to virtue and benevolence_?

"But notwithstanding this, we ourselves (who profess to be christians, and boast of the peculiar advantage we enjoy, by means of an expressrevelation of our duty from heaven) are, in effect, these very untaughtand rude heathen countries. With all our superior light, we instill intothose, whom we call savage and barbarous, the most despicable opinion ofhuman nature. We, to the utmost of our power, weaken and dissolve theuniversal tie, that binds and unites mankind. We practise what we shouldexclaim against, as the utmost excess of cruelty and tyranny, if nationsof the world, differing in colour, and form of government, fromourselves, were so possessed of empire, as to be able to reduce us to astate of unmerited and brutish servitude. Of consequence, we sacrificeour reason, our humanity, our christianity, to an unnatural sordid gain. We teach other nations to despise, and trample under foot, all theobligations of social virtue. We take the most effectual method toprevent the propagation of the gospel, by representing it as a scheme ofpower and barbarous oppression, and an enemy to the natural privilegesand rights of men. 

"Perhaps all that I have now offered, may be of very little weight torestrain this enormity, this aggravated iniquity; however, I still havethe satisfaction of having entered my private protest against apractice, which, in my opinion, bids that God, who is the God and Fatherof the Gentiles, unconverted to christianity, most daring and bolddefiance, and spurns at all the principles both of natural and revealedreligion. "

EXTRACT

From an ADDRESS

in the

VIRGINIA _GAZETTE_, of MARCH 19, 1767. 

Mr. RIND, Permit me, in your paper, to address the members of our assembly on twopoints, in which the public interest is very nearly concerned. 

The abolition of slavery, and the retrieval of specie in this colony, are the subjects on which I would bespeak their attention. --

Long and serious reflections upon the nature and consequences of slaveryhave convinced me, that it is a violation both of justice and religion;that it is dangerous to the safety of the community in which itprevails; that it is destructive to the growth of arts and sciences; andlastly, that it produces a numerous and very fatal train of vices, bothin the slave and in his master. 

To prove these assertions, shall be the purpose of the following essay. 

That slavery then is a violation of justice, will plainly appear, whenwe consider what justice is. It is truly and simply defined, as by_Justinian, constans et perpetua voluntas ejus suum cuique tribuendi_; aconstant endeavour to give every man his right. 

Now, as freedom is unquestionably the birth-right of all mankind, _Africans_ as well as _Europeans_, to keep the former in a state ofslavery, is a constant violation of that right, and therefore ofjustice. 

The ground on which the civilians who favour slavery, admit it to bejust, namely, consent, force, and birth, is totally disputable; forsurely a man's own will and consent cannot be allowed to introduce soimportant an innovation into society, as slavery, or to make himself anoutlaw, which is really the state of a slave; since neither consentingto, nor aiding the laws of the society in which he lives, he is neitherbound to obey them, nor entitled to their protection. 

To found any right in force, is to frustrate all right, and involveevery thing in confusion, violence, and rapine. With these two, the lastmust fall; since, if the parent cannot justly be made a slave, neithercan the child be born in slavery. "The law of nations, says Baron_Montesquieu_, has doomed prisoners to slavery, to prevent their beingslain; the _Roman_ civil law permitted debtors, whom their creditorsmight treat ill, to sell themselves. And the law of nature requires thatchildren, whom their parents, being slaves, cannot maintain, should beslaves like them. These reasons of the civilians are not just; it is nottrue that a captive may be slain, unless in a case of absolutenecessity; but if he hath been reduced to slavery, it is plain that nosuch necessity existed, since he was not slain. It is not true that afree man can sell himself, for sale supposes a price; but a slave andhis property becomes immediately that of his master; the slave cantherefore receive no price, nor the master pay, &c. And if a man cannotsell himself, nor a prisoner of war be reduced to slavery, much less canhis child. " Such are the sentiments of this illustrious civilian; hisreasonings, which I have been obliged to contract, the reader interestedin this subject will do well to consult at large. 

Yet even these rights of imposing slavery, questionable, nay, refutableas they are, we have not to authorise the bondage of the _Africans_. Forneither do they consent to be our slaves, nor do we purchase them oftheir conquerors. The _British_ merchants obtain them from _Africa_ byviolence, artifice, and treachery, with a few trinkets to prompt thoseunfortunate people to enslave one another by force or stratagem. Purchase them indeed they may, under the authority of an act of theBritish parliament. An act entailing upon the _Africans_, with whom weare not at war, and over whom a British parliament could not of rightassume even a shadow of authority, the dreadful curse of perpetualslavery, upon them and their children for ever. _There cannot be innature, there is not in all history, an instance in which every right ofmen is more flagrantly violated. _ The laws of the antients neverauthorised the making slaves, but of those nations whom they hadconquered; yet they were heathens, and we are christians. They weremisled by a monstrous religion, divested of humanity, by a horrible andbarbarous worship; we are directed by the unerring precepts of therevealed religion we possess, enlightened by its wisdom, and humanizedby its benevolence; before them, were gods deformed with passions, andhorrible for every cruelty and vice; before us, is that incomparablepattern of meekness, charity, love and justice to mankind, which sotranscendently distinguished the Founder of christianity, and his everamiable doctrines. 

Reader, remember that the corner stone of your religion, is to do untoothers as you would they should do unto you; ask then your own heart, whether it would not abhor any one, as the most outrageous violater ofthat and every other principle of right, justice, and humanity, whoshould make a slave of you and your posterity for ever! Remember, thatGod knoweth the heart; lay not this flattering unction to your soul, that it is the custom of the country; that you found it so, that notyour will; but your necessity, consents. Ah! think how little such anexcuse will avail you in that aweful day, when your Saviour shallpronounce judgment on you for breaking a law too plain to bemisunderstood, too sacred to be violated. If we say we are christians, yet act more inhumanly and unjustly than heathens, with what dreadfuljustice must this sentence of our blessed Saviour fall upon us, "_Notevery one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom ofheaven, but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven. "_Matth. Vii. 21. Think a moment how much your temporal, your eternalwelfare depends upon an abolition of a practice which deforms the imageof your God, tramples on his revealed will, infringes the most sacredrights, and violates humanity. 

Enough, I hope, has been asserted, to prove that slavery is a violationof justice and religion. That it is dangerous to the safety of the statein which it prevails, may be as safely asserted. 

What one's own experience has not taught; that of others must decide. From hence does history derive its utility; for being, when trulywritten, a faithful record of the transactions of mankind, and theconsequences that flowed from them, we are thence furnished with themeans of judging what will be the probable effect of transactions, similar among ourselves. 

We learn then from history, that slavery, wherever encouraged, hassooner or later been productive of very dangerous commotions. I will nottrouble my reader here with quotations in support of this assertion, butcontent myself with referring those, who may be dubious of its truth, tothe histories of Athens, Lacedemon, Rome, and Spain. 

How long, how bloody and destructive was the contest between the Moorishslaves and the native Spaniards? and after almost deluges of blood hadbeen shed, the Spaniards obtained nothing more than driving them intothe mountains. --Less bloody indeed, though, not less alarming, have beenthe insurrections in Jamaica; and to imagine that we shall be for everexempted from this calamity, which experience teaches us to beinseparable from slavery, so encouraged; is an infatuation asastonishing as it will be surely fatal:--&c. &c. 

EXTRACT

OF A

SERMON

PREACHED BY THE

BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER, Before the SOCIETY For the PROPAGATION of the GOSPEL, at the anniversarymeeting on the 21st of _February_, 1766. 

From the free-savages, I now come (the last point I propose to consider)to the savages in bonds. By these I mean the vast multitudes yearlystolen from the opposite continent, and sacrificed by the colonists totheir great idol, the GOD OF GAIN. But what then? say these sincereworshippers of _Mammon_; they are our own property which we offer up. Gracious God! to talk (as in herds of cattle) of property in rationalcreatures! creatures endowed with all our faculties; possessing all ourqualities but that of colour; our brethren both by nature and grace, shocks all the feelings of humanity, and the dictates of common sense. But, alas! what is there in the infinite abuses of society which doesnot shock them? Yet nothing is more certain in itself, and apparent toall, than that the infamous traffic for slaves directly infringes bothdivine and human law. Nature created man free, and grace invites him toassert his freedom. In excuse of this violation, it hath been pretended, that though indeed these miserable out-casts of humanity be torn fromtheir homes and native country by fraud and violence, yet they therebybecome the happier, and their condition the more eligible. But who areYou, who pretend to judge of another man's happiness? That state, whicheach man, under the guidance of his Maker, forms for himself, and notone man for another? To know what constitutes mine or your happiness, isthe sole prerogative of Him who created us, and cast us in so variousand different moulds. Did your slaves ever complain to you of theirunhappiness amidst their native woods and deserts? Or, rather, let meask, did they ever cease complaining of their condition under you theirlordly masters? where they see, indeed, the accommodations of civillife, but see them all pass to others, themselves unbenefited by them. Be so gracious then, ye petty tyrants over human freedom, to let yourslaves judge for themselves, what it is which makes their own happiness. And then see whether they do not place it in the return to their owncountry, rather than in the contemplation of your grandeur, of whichtheir misery makes so large a part. A return so passionately longed for, that despairing of happiness here, that is, of escaping the chains oftheir cruel task-masters, they console themselves with feigning it to bethe gracious reward of heaven in their future state, which I do not findtheir haughty masters have as yet concerned themselves to invade. Theless hardy, indeed, wait for this felicity till over-wearied nature setsthem free; but the more resolved have recourse even to self-violence, toforce a speedier passage. 

But it will be still urged, that though what is called human happinessbe of so fantastic a nature, that each man's imagination creates it forhimself, yet human misery is more substantial and uniform throughout allthe tribes of mankind. Now, from the worst of human miseries, the savageAfricans, by these forced emigrations, are intirely secured; such as thebeing perpetually hunted down like beasts of prey or profit, by theirmore savage and powerful neighbours--In truth, a blessed change!--frombeing hunted to being caught. But who are they that have set on footthis general HUNTING? Are they not these very civilized violaters ofhumanity themselves? who tempt the weak appetites, and provoke the wildpassions of the fiercer savages to prey upon the rest. 

THE END. 

INDEX. 

A

_Adanson_ (M. ) his account of the country on the rivers _Senegal_ and_Gambia_, 14. Extraordinary fertility, _ibid. _ Surprising vegetation, 15. Beautiful aspect of the country, 16. Good disposition of thenatives, _ibid. _

_Advertisements in the New-York Journal_, for the sale of slaves, 158. Also in the news-papers of _London_, 160. 

_Africa_, that part from whence the Negroe slaves are brought, howdivided, 6. Capable of a considerable trade, 143. 

Alien (every) or stranger coming within the King's dominion, becomes asubject, 148. 

Antientest account of the Negroes, 41. Were then a simple innocentpeople, 43. 

_Angola_, a plentiful country, 39. Character of the natives, 40. Government, _ibid. _

B

_Barbadoes_ (laws of) respecting Negroe slaves, 170. 

_Barbot (John)_ agent general of the _French African Company_, hisaccount of the _Gold Coast_, 25. Of the _Slave Coast_, 27. 

_Bosman (William)_ principal factor for the _Dutch_ at _D'Elmina_, hisaccount of the _Gold Coast_, 23. Of the _Slave Coast_, 27. 

_Brue (Andrew)_ principal factor of the _French African Company_, hisaccount of the country on the river _Senegal_, 7. And on the river_Gambia_, 8. 

_Benin_ (kingdom of) good character of the natives, 35. Punishment ofcrimes, 36. Order of government, _ibid. _ Largeness and order of the cityof _Great Benin_, 37. 

_Britons_ (antient) in their original state no less barbarous than the_African_ Negroes, 68. 

_Baxter (Richard)_ his testimony against slavery, 83. 

C

Corruption of some of the Kings of _Guinea_, 107. 

D

_De la Casa_ (bishop of _Chapia_) his concern for the _Indians_, 47. Hisspeech to _Charles_ the Fifth Emperor of _Germany_ and King of _Spain_, 48. Prodigious destruction of the _Indians_ in _Hispaniola_, 51. 

_Divine principle_ in every man, its effects on those who obey itsdictates, 14. 

E

_Elizabeth_ (Queen) her caution to captain Hawkins not to enslave any ofthe Negroes, 55. 

_English_, their first trade on the coast of Guinea, 52. 

_Europeans_ are the principal cause of the wars which subsist amongstthe Negroes, 61. 

_English_ laws allow no man, of what condition soever, to be deprived ofhis liberty, without a legal process, 150. The danger of confining anyperson without a warrant, 162. 

F

Fishing, a considerable business on the Guinea coast, 26. How carriedon, _ibid. _

_Foster (James)_ his testimony against slavery, 186. 

_Fuli_ Negroes good farmers, 10. Those on the _Gambia_ particularlyrecommended for their industry and good behaviour, _ibid. _

_France_ (King of) objects to the Negroes in his dominions being reducedto a state of slavery, 58. 

G

_Gambia (river)_8, 14. 

_Gloucester_ (bishop of) extract of his sermon, 195. 

_Godwyn (Morgan)_ his plea in favour of the Negroes and Indians, 75. Complains of the cruelties exercised upon slaves, 76. A false opinionprevailed in his time, that the Negroes were not objects of redeeminggrace, 77. 

_Gold Coast_ has several European factories, 22. Great trade for slaves, _ibid. _ Carried on far in the inland country, _ibid. _ Natives morereconciled to the Europeans, and more diligent in procuring slaves, _ibid. _ Extraordinarily fruitful and agreeable, 22, 25. The nativesindustrious, 24. 

_Great Britain_, all persons during their residence there are the King'ssubjects, 148. 

_Guinea_ extraordinarily fertile, 2. Extremely unhealthy to theEuropeans, 4. But agrees well with the natives, _ibid. _ Prodigiousrising of waters, _ibid. _ Hot winds, _ibid. _ Surprising vegetation, 15. 

H

_Hawkins_ (captain) lands on the coast of Guinea and seizes on a numberof the natives, which he sells to the Spaniards, 55. 

_Hottentots_ misrepresented by authors, 101. True account given of thesepeople by Kolben, 102. Love of liberty and sloth their prevailingpassions, 102. Distinguished by several virtues, 103. Firm in alliances, _ibid. _ Offended at the vices predominant amongst christians, 104. Makenor keep no slaves, _ibid. _

_Hughes (Griffith)_ his account of the number of Negroes in Barbadoes, 85. Speaks well of their natural capacities, 86. 

Husbandry of the Negroes carried on in common, 28. 

_Hutcheson (Francis)_ his declaration against slavery, 184. 

I

_Jalof_ Negroes, their government, 9. 

_Indians_ grievously oppressed by the Spaniards, 47. Their cause pleadedby Bartholomew De la Casa, 48. Inland people, good account of them, 25. 

_Ivory Coast_ fertile, &c. 18. Natives falsely represented to be atreacherous people, _ibid. _ Kind when well used, 19. Have no Europeanfactories amongst them, 21. And but few wars; therefore few slaves to behad there, 22. 

J

Jury, Negroes tried and condemned without the solemnity of a jury, 174. Highly repugnant to the English constitution, 176. Dangerous to thoseconcerned therein, _ibid. _

L

Laws in Guinea severe against man-stealing, and other crimes, 106. 

M

_Mandingoe_ Negroes a numerous nation, 11. Great traders, _ibid. _Laborious, 11. Their government, 13. Their worship, _ibid_. Manner oftillage, _ibid. _ At Galem they suffer none to be made slaves butcriminals, 20. 

_Maloyans_ (a black people) sometimes sold amongst Negroes brought fromvery distant parts, 27. 

Markets regularly kept on the Gold and Slave Coasts, 30. 

_Montesquieu's_ sentiments on slavery, 72. 

_Moor (Francis)_ factor to the African company, his account of theslave-trade on the river Gambia, 111. 

Mosaic law merciful in its chastisements, 73. Has respect to humannature, _ibid. _

N

National wars disapproved by the most considerate amongst the Negroes, 110. 

_Negroes_ (in Guinea) generally a humane, sociable people, 2. Simplicityof their way of living, 5. Agreeable in conversation, 16. Sensible ofthe damage accruing to them from the slave-trade, 61. Misrepresented bymost authors, 98. Offended at the brutality of the European factors, 116. Shocking cruelties exercised on them by masters of vessels, 124. How many are yearly brought from Guinea by the English, 129. The numberswho die on the passage and in the seasoning, 120. 

_Negroe_ slaves (in the colonies) allowed to cohabit and separate atpleasure, 36. Great waste of them thro' hard usage in the islands, 86. Melancholy case of two of them, 136. Proposals for setting them free, 129. Tried and condemned without the solemnity of a jury, 174. 

_Negroes_ (free) discouragement they met with, 133. 

P

_Portugueze_ carry on a great trade for slaves at Angola, 40. Make thefirst incursions into Guinea, 44. From whence they carry off some of thenatives, _ibid. _ Beginners of the slave-trade, 46. Erect the first fortat D'Elmina, _ibid. _

R

_Rome_ (the college of cardinals at) complain of the abuse offered tothe Negroes in selling them for slaves, 58. 

S

_Senegal_ (river) account of, 7, 14. 

Ship (account of one) blown up on the coast of Guinea with a number ofNegroes on board, 125. 

Slave-trade, how carried on at the river Gambia, 111. And in other partsof Guinea, 113. At Whidah, 115. 

Slaves used with much more lenity in Algiers and in Turkey than in ourcolonies, 70. Likewise in Guinea, 71. Slavery more tolerable amongst theantient Pagans than in our colonies, 63. Declined, as christianityprevailed, 65. Early laws in France for its abolishment, 66. If put anend to, would make way for a very extensive trade through Africa, 143. The danger of slavery taking place in England, 164. 

_Sloane_ (Sir Hans) his account of the inhuman and extravagantpunishments inflicted on Negroes, 89. 

_Smith (William)_ surveyor to the African company, his account of theIvory Coast, 20. Of the Gold Coast, 24. 

V

VIRGINIA (laws), respecting Negro slaves, 172. _Virginia_ (address tothe assembly) setting forth the iniquity and danger of slavery, 189. 

W

WALLACE (_George_) his testimony against slavery, 180. 

_West Indies_, white people able to perform the necessary work there, 141. 

_Whidah_ (kingdom of) agreeable and fruitful, 27. Natives treat oneanother with respect, 29.