Dr Richard C. Allen: ‘Scandalous lies and slanders’. The Society of Friends, Caribbean Slavery and the Barbados Declaration of 1671
The South Wales Centre for Historical and Interdisciplinary Research at the University of Wales, Newport, continues its series of public research lectures with a timely study of early attempts to end British involvement in the slave trade.
The history of slavery is coterminous with the Caribbean. Many historians have charted the colonisation of the region and the oppression of African slaves on the various islands. Inevitably, considerable emphasis has been placed on the development of abolitionist ideas and the hard-won campaign to persuade the British Government to overthrow slavery in its territories. Naturally, this grand narrative has stressed the economic as well as the psychological constraints that had to be overcome in order to secure such enlightened legislation as the Abolition of Slavery Act, 1807. This paper will investigate earlier attempts to address the issue of slave-holding, in particular the 1671 letter to the Governor of Barbados from the prominent Quaker spokesman, George Fox, and his attempt to exonerate ‘Friends from . . . false reports . . . [and the] many scandalous lies and slanders [which] have been cast upon us, to render us odious’. In this declaration, he was responding to the accusation that Friends on the island were deviant in their religious practices, social malcontents, and were inciting a slave rebellion. Quite simply, Fox was setting the record straight and outlined not only Friends’ view of themselves as a ‘peculiar people’, but also their wider responsibilities. It is clear that Fox’s Barbados declaration has had a great impact on American Quakerism, but this paper will seek to illuminate other more fundamental issues. In the first instance the origins of Barbadian Friends will be explored and consideration given to how were they perceived. It will then analyse the reasons why Fox visited the island and intervened on their behalf. The ambiguities of Fox’s declaration require close scrutiny, particularly the idea that his motives were more complex than might at first appear. The study will conclude with an assessment of the long-term impact of the visit on the Quaker islanders, their beliefs and way of life.
Dr Richard C. Allen is Reader in Early Modern Cultural History at Newport. He writes on early modern radical dissent, poor relief and emigration to the American colonies, particularly Pennsylvania.