JOHN RALPH WILLIS
A SHORT
4 G C O U N :T,, '
Of that Part of
A F R I C A.
Inhabited by the
2
Q
,i Lv $
With-Refpe£t to the Fertility of the Country, the good
Difpojition of many of the Natives, and the liLanier
by which the SLAVE TRADE is carried on,
Extracted from divers Authors, in order to faew the 7/.-.v
quity of 'hat Trade, and the Falfity of the Ar'g u ri a n t 3
ufually advanced in its Vindic'citio
With Quotation? from the Writings of fevcral Perfons of
Note, i'i.i. George Wali-is, Francis Hutcheson*
and James Foster, and a large Extraft from a Pain-,
phlet, lately publiihed in London, on the Subje£t of the
Slave Trade.
The THIRD EDITION.
Do you the neighb'ring blamelcis Indian aid j
Culture what he negie£ls, nor his ir.vade,
Dare not, Oh ! dare not, with ambitious View
Force or demand Subjidtion, never (iue.
»#***•**#***»*
#*##*#♦#****#
Whv rnuft: I Africli s fab!? Children fee
"Vended for Slaves, though form'd b/ Nature free ?
The narnelefs Tortures cruel .Mir.dsinvent,
Thofe to fubjeift whom Nature equal meant ?
.If thefe you dare, although urijuft Succefs
Impow'rs you now, unpunifh'd, toopprefs.
Revolving Empire you and yours mav doom ;
Rome all lubdued, yet Vandals vanqjifli'd Rume.
Richard Savage, on pub lick Spirit.
PHILADELPHIA:
Printed by \V. Dunlap, in the Year, mdcclxii#
LONDON:
Reprinted by W. Baker, and J. W. Galasinj
N°. 19,'Cullum-Street, mdcclxviu.
And fold by R. Horsfield in Ludgate-Street, B. "Whits
in Fleet-Street, and J. Allix in Glanville-Street,
Rathbone-Place,
t 3 ]
A SHORT
ACCOUNT
OF THE
S L A V E-T R A D E, &c.
IT is a Truth, as forrowftil as obvious, that
Mankind too generally are aftuated by falfe
Motives, andfubftitute an imaginary Intereft:
in the Room of that which is real and per¬
manent: And it muft be acknowledged by every
Man, who is fmcerely defirous of becoming ac¬
quainted with himfelf, and impartially infpects his
own Heart, that Weaknefs and inbred Corruption
attend human Nature; which cannot be reftored
to its original Purity, but through the Efficacy of
the Blood of Jesus Christ, our bleffed Saviour.
So that notwithftanding the imagined moral Rec¬
titude pleaded for, and the boafted Pretences of
the prefent Age, to refined Conceptions of Things
beyond our Forefathers, till this Divine Help is
embraced, the Heart of Man will remain corrupt,
and its Powei^ftf diftinguifhing between Good and
Evil willftill beobfcured by Prejudice, PafTion and
Interefb. Covetoufnefs and Pride have introduced
many iniquitous Practices into civil Society, which
A 2 though
t 4 3
though odious in themfelves, and moft pernicious
jn their Confequences, yet being calculated to
gratify our favorite Paffions, have been adopted
through Cuftopn, and enforced fo ftrongly by
Example, as to become familiar to us ; fo that
by Degrees we filence the Di&ates of Confcience,
and reconcile onrfelves to fuch Things as would,
when firft propofed to our unprejudiced Minds,
bavfc ftruck us wirh Amazement and Horror.
A lamentable and fhocking Inftance of the In¬
fluence which the Love of Gain has upon the
Minds ct thofe who yield to its Allurements, even
wheri contrary to the Didates ofReafon, and the
common Feelings of Humanity, appears in the
Profecution of the Negroe Trade, ia which the En-
glijh Nation has long been deeply concerned, and
feme in this Province have lately engaged. An
Evil effi deep 4 Dye, and attended with fuch
dreadful Confequences, that no well-difpofed Per-
fbn (anxious for the Welfare of himfelf, hisCoun-
try, orPofterity) who knows the Tyranny, Op-
preffion and Cruelty with which this iniquitous
Trade is carried on, can be a filent and innocent
Spe&ator. How many Thoufanda of our harm-
kfspellow Creatures have, for a long Courfe of
Tears, fallen a Sacrifice to that felfilh Avarice,
"ivhich gives Life to this complicated Wiikednfcfs!
The Iniquity of being engaged iri a Trade, by
which fo great a Number of innocent Pecpleare
yearly destroyed, in an untimely and miferabie
Manner, is greatly aggravated frcrU^he Confide-
ration that as a People, have been peculiarly
Savoured with the Light of the Gofpel; that Re¬
velation of Divine Love, which the Angels intro*
dijped :,o the World, by a Declaration of Peace q t
flanb%
t 5 ]
'Earth, and Good Will to Men of every'Nati^
Kindred,- tongue and People. How miferable muft
be our Condition, if, for filthy Lucre, we fhould
continue to adt fo contrary to the Nature of this
Divine Call, the Purpcfe of which is to introduce
an univerfal and affedtionate Brotherhood in the
whole human Species ; by removing from the
Heart of every Individual, whofubmits to its Ope¬
ration, the Darknefs and Corruption of Naierej
:.and transforming the felfifb, wrathful, proud Spi¬
rit, into Meeknefs, Purity and Love : For this
End the Son of God became Man, fuffered, and
died ; and the whole Tenor of the Gofpel de¬
clares, that for thofe who refufe, or negledt the
Offers of this gfceat Salvation, the Son of God
has fuffered in vain.
TheEnd propofed by thisEffay, is to lay before
the candid Reader, the Depth of Evil attending
this iniquitous Pra&ice, in the Profecution of
which, our Duty to God, the common Father of
the Family of the whole Earth, and our Duty of
Love toourFellow Creatures, is totally disregard¬
ed j. all focial Connexion and tender Ties of Nature
being broken, and Defolation and Bloodlhed con¬
tinually fomented in thofeunhappyPeople'sCoun-
try. It is alfo intended to invalidate the falfe Ar¬
guments, which are frequently advanced, for the
■Palliation of this Trade, in Plopes it may be lbme
Inducement to thofe who are not defiled therewith
to keep themfelves clear; and to lay beforefuchas
have unwarily engaged in it, their Danger of total*
ly lofing that tender Senfibility to the Sufferings
of their Fellow Creatures, the Want whereof'fets
Men beneath the Brure Creation : A Trade by,
which many Thouiands of innocent People are
brought
o
1 6 1
brought under the greateft Anxiety and Suffering,
by being violently rent from their Native Country,
in the moft cruel Manner, and brought to our Co¬
lonies, to be employed in hard Labour, in Cli¬
mates unfuited to their Nature, or in a State of
the moft abje£t and barbarous Slavery, fubjeft to
the Humours and inhuman Lafh of fome of the
moft hard hearted and inconiiderate of Mankind,
without any Hopes of ever returning to their Na¬
tive Land, or feeing an End to their Mifery : Nor
muft we omit, in this difmal Account, the Weight
of Blood which lies on the Promotersof this Trade,
from the great Numbers that are yearly butchered
in the Incurfions and Battles which happen be¬
tween the Negroes, in order to procure the Num¬
ber delivered to the Europeans and the many
poor Creatures, who, deprefied with Mifery and
Grief, perifti broken hearted, in their Paffage.
May the Almighty preferve the Inhabitants
of Pennfyhania from being further defiled by
a Trade, which is entered upon from fuch fenfual
Motives, and carried on by fuch devilifh Means.
Perfons whofe Minds are engroflfed by the Plea-
furesand Profits of this Life, are generally fo taken
up with prefent Objeds, that they are but little af¬
fected with the diftant Sufferings of their Fellow
Creatures, efpecially when their Wealth is thereby
increafed. Neverthelefs every one who, is in any
refpeft concerned in this wicked Trafique, if not fo
hardned by the Love of Wealth, as to be void of
Feeling, muft upon aferious Recolle&ion, be im-
prefled with Surprize and Terror, froma Senfethat
there is a righteous God, and a State of Retributi¬
on which will lall for ever. It is frequently al-
ledgeds inExcuie for this Trade, that the Negroes
fold
[ 7 I
fold in our Plantations, are moftly Perfons who
have been taken Prifoners in thofe Wars which arife
amongft themfelves, from their mutual Animofi-
ties; and that thefe Prifoners would be facrificed
to the Refentment of thofe who have taken them
captive, if they were not purchafed and brought
away by tht Europeans. It is alfo reprefented, that
the Negroes are generally a ftupid, favage People,
whofe Situation in their own Country is neceffitous
and unhappy, which has induced many to believe,
that the bringing them from their Native Land
is rather a Kindnefs than an Injury.
To confute thefe falfe Reprefentations, the fol¬
lowing Extracts are propofed to the candid Read¬
er's Confideration ; they are taken from the Wri¬
tings of the principal Officers, not only in the En-
glijh, but in the French 3.nd Dutch Fa&ories, or Set¬
tlements in Guiney, fome of whom have lived many
Years in thofe Countries, and have been Eye«wit-
neffes to theTranfa&ions they relate. By which it
will appear, thatthzNegroes are generally afenfible,
humane and focial People, and that their Capacity
is as good, and as capable of Improvement as that
of the Whites. That their Country, though un¬
friendly to the Europeans, yet appears peculiarly
agreeable, and well adapted to the Nature of the
Blacks, and fo fruitful as to furnifh its Inhabitants
plentifully with theNecefiaries of Life, with much
lefs Labour than in our more northern Climates.
And as to the common Arguments alledged in
Defence of the Trade, viz. That the Slaves fold
to the Europeans are Captives taken in War, who
wouldbedeftroyedby their Conquerors if not thus
purchafed v it is without Foundation : For altho*
there were doubtlefs Wars amongft tht Negroes
before
I 8;, ■%
before the Europeans begah totrade vvjtb them, yeS'
certain it is, that fince that Time, thofe Calamities
have prodigioufly encreafed, which is principally
owing to the .Solicitations of the white People,
who have inftigated the poor Africans by every
Method, even the mo ft iniquitous and crtiel, ta
procure Slaves to load their VefTels, which they
freely and gladly purchale without any Regard tor
the Precepts of the Gofpel, the Feelings of Hu¬
manity, or the common Dictates of Reafon and
Equity.
Thisplainly appears from the Account given by
Andrew Brue, General Director of the French Fac-
tory at Senegal, who travelled much in and about
the two great Rivers of Senegal, and Gambia. In
AJtley's Colle&ion of Voyages, he is fpoken of as a
Perfon of Judgment, and one who had had iufficient
Opportunities by his long Refiderice * there, of
gaining a thorough Knowledge of the Manners,
Cuftoms and Difpofitions of the People inhabiting
the Country, for about four hundred Miles along
the Coafl, extending on each Side thebefore men¬
tioned Rivers. Speaking of the Papel Negroes-f
(amongft whom he was then endeavouring toeredt
aFa&ory) he fays c They are at continual Wars
' with their Neighbours, whom they invade as
' often
* The Time of Brue's Abodein Guinea cannot be afcertained,
as he appears to have gone backwards and forwards to France
feveral Times. When he returned the fecond Time, he had
lived eleven Year? in Africa ; and by fome Writings he ap¬
pears co have been at Senegal many Years after. Thro' Mis¬
take in the former Edition the Time was fixed to twenty-frx
Years. .
f Thefe Eapel Negroes inhabit about the River St. Ds-
?ningo, the If]and BiJ/ao, &c. from whence the Europe^;
jhave brought great Numbers of Slifves. '
. E.* ] .
6 often as they think it for their Advantage——-
< Thefe "Wars of theirs are never long,
generally fpeaking, they are Incurfions or Ex-
* peditions of five or fix Days. He adds,'
' The Europeans are far from defiring to
5 a5i as Peace-Makers amongft them, i. e. (the
* Negroes) which would be contrary to their
e Inter eft, Jince the greater the Wars are, the
' more Slaves/
William Bofman, Fadtor for the Dutch, at Delmi-t
na, where he refided fixteen Years, relates, 'That
c one of the former Commanders hired an Army
' of the Negroes, of Jafferia and Cabejleriay for a
* large Sum of Money, to fight the Negroes of
' Commany, which occafioned a Battle, which was
6 more bloody than the Wars of the Negroes ufu-
4 ally are : And that another Commander gave, at
* one Time, Five Hundred Pounds, and at another
' Time Eight Hundred Pounds, to two other Negroe
' Nations, to induce them to take up Arms againft
6 their Country People.' This is confirmed by
Barbot, Agent General of the French African Com¬
pany, who favs-, ' The Hollanders, a People very
' zealous for their Commerce at the Coaft, were
6 very ftudious to have the War carried on
' amongft the Blacks, to diftrafb, as long as pof*
4 fible, the Trade of the other Europeans j and to
* that Effect were very ready to allift upon all Oo
B ' cafions,
[ i c* T
e cafion?, the Blacks, their Allies, that they might
4 beat their Enemies, and fo the Commerce fall
4 into their Hands.' But nothing fhews more
plainly, that the Europeans are the chief Inftrti-
nients in inciting the Negroes to the Preparation
of thofe unnatural Wars, by which they are kept
in continual Alarms* their Country laid wade, and
iuch great Numbers carried into Captivity, than
the Account given by William Smith, who was fent
by< the African Company to vifittheir Settlements,
in the Year 1726, from the Information he receiv¬
ed of oneof theFa&ors, whohadrefided ten Years
in that Country, viz. ' That the difcerning Na-
' tives account it their greatefl Unhappinefs that
' they were ever vifited by the Europeans:—That
4 we Chriftians introduced theTraffick of Slaves,
4 and that before our coming they lived in Peace j
* but, fay they, it is obfervable, that wherever1
' Chriftianity comes, there comes with it a Sword,
* a Gun, Powder and Ball.5
This is farther confirmed by two Occurrences
related by Andrew Brue, the Dire£tor at Senegal,
before mentioned : The firft at Page 30. viz. That
having acquainted the King he was ready to trade
with him, if he had a fufficient Quantity of Slaves,
the King procured three Hundred Slaves, buc
wanting Goods to double the Value of what the
Company would allow for thofe Slaves., and they
refufing to trull him, as he was already irr their
Debt, the Director prcpofed having a Licence for
i e i z i n g u p o n fo m a n y of h i s Peo p 1 e, "as wo u 1 d p a y fo r
what more Goods he wanted; but this the Kins;
refufed to content to, faying it might occafion a
Dil'turbance amongft his Subjedh ; and fo was
forced, fays the Author, to want the Goods he
defired
[ II ]
defired for that Time; which Difappointmentput
the King greatly out of Humour. The fecond
Occurrence is mentioned at Page 150, viz. The
Dire&or received Complaints of the continual
Jnfults the Company's Servants fuffered at Fort
St. Jefeph, from one Babel the King's Alkair, *
by forbidding the Trade, in order to oblige the
Fadtor to pay the King as high Duties as thofe
paid to the neighbouring King, or to force the
French to quit the Country. Upon this Com¬
plaint, the general Director Brue, fent Orders to
the Commander of that Fort, to provide the Place
with proper NecefTaries for its Defence, and then
to punifli Babel rigoroufly, not only by burning
his Village, but alfo by feizing himfelf, Wives
and Children, if he found Opportunity.
Thus the Matter remained for fome Time,
when the Author fays, the Negroes recommenced
t'heir Jll-ufage to the French, which went fo far,
that a Faftor was murdered : Upon which, the
Commander having afiembled all his Forces, at¬
tacked the Village, which he plundered and burnt;
killed near fixty of the Negroes, who had taken up
Arms, wounded double the Number, carried off
all the Cattle, and made four Hundred Slaves.
The Author adds, ' So fevere and feafonable a
c Punifhment, threw a Terror on all the Country,
* and obliged the King and his Bakerris to fue
e for Mercy.'
The Commander fuffered himfelf to be long in-
treated before he would grant them Peace, and in
the mean Time fent down his Slaves and Booty
by the Barks to Fort St. Lcuis. Little need be
faid to (hew the unjuft and barbarous Conduft of
the French Officers in thefe Transitions, the Truth
B 2 of
* The Governor of the Village,
r
&f which cannot be queftioned, as they Are takeft
from the Relation given by Brue. himfelf. In the
Brft Inftance, the Head of a Chriftian Fadbory en¬
deavours to perfuade a Heathen King to break
thro' every facred and human Tie; which fhews,
that fo he could but procure Slaves, he was quite
indifferent as to the Means, be they ever fo crimi¬
nal. And in the fecond, this Chriftian Fa&or
himfelf Ihewsthe greateftDifregard to theRight of
Mankind, and the Feelings of Humanity, on fo
flight a Pretence as the Demand of Duties, by his
own Confeflion, no greater than they paid elfe-
where *, gives to his Officers the mod cruel and un-
reafonable Orders, which on the Death of a Fadtor
(which might be occafioned by his own Rafhnefs
or Imprudence) are executed with the utmoft Se¬
verity. And what makes it look likely, that pro¬
curing a Number of Slaves was his chief Mqtive,
is, that after this Treatment the Officer gives no
Ear to their Intreaties for Peace* till he has fent
off the Booty of four Hundred Slaves he had made
in the Encounter. But fuppofing the Negroe
Officer to have been to blame, what had the com¬
mon People done to be thus cruelly butchered and
dragged into Captivity ? What an Example was
this to be given from Chriftidns to Heathens.
Could any Thing be more likely to confirm the
Negroes m the deteftable Practice of enflaving their
unhappy Countrymen ?
As to the Account of the natural D'ifpofition of
many of the Negroes, arnd of the Fruitfulnefs of
theirCountryj the forementioned Authors, as well
as many others, have wrote largely upon ir. M.
Adanfon, in his Account of the Country and Na¬
tives of Gmes where he was fo lately as the Year
*754*
I *3 1
*^54, after giving an Account of the delightful'
Afpeft of the Country, fays-, 4 The Simplicity of
6 the Natives, their Drefs and Manners, revived
« in my Mind theldea of our firft Parents; and I
4 feemed tocontemplatetheWorldinits primitive
4 State •,—they (theNegroes) are, generally fpeak-
4 ing, very good natured, focial and obliging.
* I was nota little pleafed (fays-he) with this my
firft Reception ;—it convinced me, that there
* ought to be a confiderable Abatement made in
4 the Accounts I had read and heard every where
e of the favage Charadter of the Africans.—1 ob-
4- ferved, both in Negrvesand Moors, great Hu-
4 manity and Sociablenefs, which gave me ftrong
4 Hopes that I Ihould be very fafe amongft them,
4 and meet with the Succefs I defired in my En-
4 quiries after the Curiofities of the Country.9
■ Bofma% fpeaking of the Negroes of that Part of
Guiney where he then was, fays ; 4 They are gene-
* rally a good Sort of People, honeft in their Deal-
4 ings •, others he defcribes as being generally
4 friendly to Strangers4 of a mild Converfation,
6 courteous, affable, and eafy to be overcome
4 with Reafon ; in Converfation they difcover a
4 great Quicknefs of Parts and Underftanding.'
He adds, 4 That fome Negroes, who have had an
4 agreeable Education, have manifefted a Bright-
4 nefs of Underftanding equal to any of us/
William Smith's Account of theNatives is, That
4 he found them a civil good natured People, in-
4 duftrious to the laft Degree, and their Country
4 exceeding fertile -Ic is eafy (fays he) toper-
4 ceive what happy Memories they are bleffed
4 with, and how great Progrefs they would make
* in the Sciences, in Cafe their Genius was culti-
4 vated
t u 1
* vated with Study: They explain themfelves in
* choice Terms, their Expreffions noble, and
c Manners polite •, this (he adds) is to be un-
* derftood of the People of Diftin£tion, as OfFcers,
* Merchantmen, and the like; for Peafants,
4 Workmen and Shepherds, afe as ignorant in
4 thefe Parts as elfewhere.'
Bar hi fays, 4 The Inhabitants of Oedo are, for
* the Generality, very civil, good natured People,
4 eafy to be dealt with, condefcending to what the
* Europeans require of them, in a civil Way; but
4 if treated with Haughtinefs and rudely, they
4 are ftiff and high, and will not yield on any
4 Account.'
A. Brue, fpeaking of the People of Benin, fays,
4 They are generally good natured and civil, and
4 may be brought to any Thing by fair and foft
4 Means. If you make them Prefents, they will
4 recompenfe them double. If you want any
* Thing of them, and afk it, they feldom deny it,
4 even tho' they had Occafion for it themfelves :
4 But to treat them harfhly, or think to gain any
4 Thing of them by Force, is to difpute with the
4 Moon.' Artus, fpeaking of the fame People,
fays, 4 They are a fincere inoffenfive People, and
4 do no Injuftice either to one another or Strang-
4 ers. He adds, that it is a capital Crime there to
4 injure a Foreigner, which is feverely punifhed/
In the Collection of Voyages, we are told,
6 That fome Writers have reprefented the Natives
4 of Cape Mefurado, as faithlefs and cruel ; but it
4 is very likely this Reprefentation of their Difpa-
4 fitions was occafioned by the Refentment they
4 had fhewn for the Ill-nfao;e received from the
4 Europeans \ for Capt. Philips declared them to he
4 civil
t ]
' civil and courteous.' And Snoek lays," 4 Hd
* found them a civil good natured People •, buc
' that the late Injury they had received from the
c Englijh, who had carried off fome of their Peo-
* pie,* had fo exafperated them, that it was to
4 be feared fome Englijh they had in their Power,
4 would fall a Sacrifice to their Refentment/
Altho* the extream Heat in many Parts of Gui-
nea> is fuch, as is neither agreeable nor healthy to
the Europeans5 yet it is well-fuited to the Conftitu-
tion
* It is thefe Abufes> which the Africans have fo often
fuffere&from the Europeans, that have given Rife to the fre¬
quent Contractions we meet with in Authors, with refpedl
to the Temper and Difpofition of the Negroes; one Author
fpeaking well of fbme Nations, whilftanother Author repre-
fents the fame Nation as barbafous and favage. And,indeed,
when it is confidered how often the Europeans have moftgrie-
voufly provoked them, by treacheroufly carrying away fome
of their Country-men, Friends or Relations, it is not to be
wondered that fome iWgrof Nations fhouldhave appear'd fired
with Anger and Refentment, againil thofe who have done
them Injuries of fo affefting a Nature. In the Collection of
Voyages it is faid, 4 The frequent Injuries done to the Qua
" Qua Negroes by the Europeans, in carrying fome off, have
* made them extremely Ihy and fufpicious. The Ship in
* which Capt. Smith went on the Coaft, often lay before the
* Town, and fired a Gun for the Blacks to come off, but not
* a Soul came near them. At length they were informed the
* Natives feldom ventured on board an Englijh Ship, for Fear
4 of being carried away. After this Intelligence they
4 fhewed nothing but French Colours, by which Means the
4 Natives were brought to trade with them. Smith gives
4 theie Negroes a bad Character ; but in the Colle&ion of
4 Voyages it is faid that other Authors agree, that? altho'
4 they are in Appearance the moft barbarous of all Guinea,
4 yet are they, in the main, polite and rational, and fo
4 reputed among their Neighbours.'
Marchais fays, 4 They appear rude and favage, but on
* dealing with them, you find them a good Sort of People,
4 frank, civil, and the faireft Traders on t^ie Coaft.'
[ MS i ]
tion of the Negroes: And it is to thofe Heats that
they are indebted f<?,r thpFertility of their Land,
which in faoft Placed fo great, that with little
Labour Grain and Fruit will grow in the greateft
Plenty.
Andrew Bruei fpeaking of the great River Sene¬
gal, which runs many Hundred Miles within Land,
fays, 4 The farther you go from the Sea, the
* Country on the J&iver feems more fruitful, and
4 well improved. It abounds in Indian Corn,
* which is a never failing Commodity here
4 The Ifland of Bifejha, which is formed by an
' Arm of that River, abounds in Indian and Gui-
' mz'Corn, Rice, Pulfe, Tobacco and Indigo.
V Wheat thrives well after the fecond Crop. Cot-
V ton-trees in Plenty—Here are vafl: Meadows,
« < which feed large Herds of great and fmallCat-
« tie Poultry are numerous, as well as wild
« Fowl.' Yet it fometimes happens that there is
greatScarcity in particular Places, arifipg from the
unprovident Difpofition of fome of the Negroes,
who have little Thought of making any Provifion
but from , one Harveft to another* fo that they are
liable to fuffer when th^t fails, or when theLocufts
devour the Produce ; thefe Infers fometimes
come in fuch Swarms as to darken the Air, and
deftroy every green Thing that lies in their Way.
The farn t Author, in his Travels to the South of
the River Gambia, exprefles his Snrprife to fee
« The.Land fo well cultivated, as he obferved it
4 to be,;! fcarce a Spot iay unimproved ; the low
« Ground, divided by fmali Canals, was all fowed
£ with Rice the higher Ground planted with In-
* dim Corn and Millet, and Peafe of different
t Sorts.
t »7 1
k Sorts. Beef and Mutton very cheap, as well as
* all other NeceflaridSi^f Life.
Bofman fays, 4 The Indian and Guinea Corn is
1 here fown and reaped twice every Year-, the firft
* Harveft is in dugujl^ arid|the other the latter
* End of the Year, though but fmall \ Corn
* grows with little Trouble* very fpeedily taking
' Root. Indian Corn grows in the upper Lands*
* in prodigious Quantities* and where Corn won't
* grow* there Rice increafes in Abundance, and
* Yamms and Potatoes are in the greateft Plenty.'
Speaking of the Kingdom of Fida, he fays*
* The Country was very populous j many large
* Villages* befides innumerable fmall Ones*
* through the whole Country, plentifully provid-
' ed with Corn* Potatoes and Fruit, which grew
* clofeto each other; in fome Places a Foot-path
c is the only Ground that is not covered with
* them, the Negroes leaving no Place* which is
* thought-fertile, uncultivated* even within the
' Hedges which inclofe their Viliages i and the
* very next Day after they have reaped they are
* fure to fow again.' This fine Country is now
very much depopulated, which, it is likely,
was owing to the IncurOons made upon them by
their Neighbours, in order to get Slaves to fell
to the Europeans. For the fame Bofman, fpeak-
ing of the neighbouring Nation of Pope, fays ,;
' They depend on Plunder and the Slave-Trade,
4 in which they exceed lorrie of their Neigh-
' bours.'
Other Parts of the Country he defcribes, as
4 being full of Towns and Villages •, the Soil ve-
c ry rich, and fo well cultivated* as to look like
* an entire Garden, abounding in Rice, Corn9
C ' Oxen,
r >s i
« Oxen, Goats and Poultry ; and the Negroes t&
4 be laborious.'
W. Smithy ives much the fame Account of the
Country of Delmina, and Cape Corfey &c. for
Beauty and Goodnefs •, and adds,6 The more you
4 come downward towards that Part called the
4 Slave-Co aft, the more delightful an-d rich the
' Soil appears.'
Barbot fays,4 The Inland People employ them-
4 felves in Tillage and Trade, and fupply the
4 Markets with Corn, Fruit, and Palm Wine; the
4 Country producing fuch va:ft Plenty of Indian
4 Wheat, that Abundance is daily exported, as
4 well by Europeans as Blacks, referring theither
4 from other Parts.' He adds, 4 That the
4 Country of Delminav (which was formerly very
4 powerful and populous, though now fo much'
4 drained of its Inhabitants, by the rnteftine Wars
4 fomented amongfi: the Negroes by the Dutch,
4 that there does not remain Inhabitants enough
4 to till the Country ;) abounded with fine well-
4 built and populous Towns,, enriched with vaft
4 Fields of Corn, Cattle, Palm Wine, and Oil.
4 The Inhabitants all applying themfelves, with-
4 out Diftin&ion, to Agriculture, fowing Corn,
' preffing Oil, and drawing Wine from Palm,
6 Trees, with both of which it is,plentifully ftor-
* ed •, others to fithing, and boiling Salr, and:
« other Trades, on their own Account, or as
4 Brokers for the Inland Blacks
Many more Accounts could be given of the
good Difpofnion of the Generality of the Negroes,
and of the Plenty their Country affords ; but the
foregoing are fufficient to fhew them to be entirely'
differ en tiirotn the ftupified and malicious People,
[ i9 1
fome would have them thought to be. They have
Judgment and Induftry fufficient to cultivate their
Country, which in moft Parts abounds in the Ne-
ceflaries of Life, and are fo far from being incapa¬
ble of Society, that they are generally a kind and
well-diipofed People. Neither are they to be de-
fpifed, with refpe£t to the Manner in which Juftice
is adminiftered, in feveral of the Negroe Govern¬
ments, which, from the Accounts given by divers
Authors, appears to be done with fo much Equity
and Difpatch, as might well be worthy the Imita¬
tion of fome more civilized People.
Collec. Page 259, Le Maire, fpeaking of the
Government of the Jalofs (whofe Country is of a
large Extent) fays, 4 The King has under him fe-
' veral Minifters of State, who aftift him in the
6 Government and Exercife of Juftice. The
' grand Jerafo is the chief Juftice thro' all the
1 King's Dominion, and goes his Circuit from
c Time toTime to he&Complaints and determine
* Controverfies. The King's Treafurer exercifes
* the fame Employ, but with a more limited Pow-
' er, and has under him Alkairs, who are Gover-
* nors of Towns or Villages.' ——Barbot con¬
firms the above Account, and adds", ' That the
* chief Juftice infpe£ts the Behaviour of the Al-
6 kairs of the feveral Diftrifts.'
Vafconfelas, quoted by Barbot, fays, c That the
c Negroei on this Coaft, much excel the Senegas in
' their civil Government, as much better obferv-
V ing diftributive and communa'tive Juftice, and
' proceeding with much Prudence and Secrecy in
' the Affairs which concern the Prefervation or
* aggrandizing of theirState, being very impartial
6 in diftributing Rewards, and inflicting Punifh-
C 2 ' ment.
f 20 ]
* ment. The Antienteft are preferred to be the
* Prince's Counfellors, who keep always abou?
* his Perfon ; and the Men of moft Judgment
4 and Experience are the Judges, fitting every
* where in Oyer and Terminer. They order
* Juftice to be done on the Spot.*
A. Bruey fpeaking of the Fuli, whofe Country
joins to the Jalofs, fays, ' That being curious to
* fee the Method by which they adminifter Juf-"
■* tice, he was carried to a Place where he could
* obferve what pafled incognito. The King was
4 furrounded by ten of his oldeft Officers, who
* heard the Parties feparately, and after caufing
* them to retire, confulted his Officers, as to the
* Decifion ; after which the Parties were called in,
* and the Sentence pronounced, and put imme-
* diately in Execution. He faw none here who
* afted either as Counfel or Attorney, each pleads
* ed his ownCaufe in very proper Terms.'
The fame Author, at Page i io, fpeaking of the
Country of Cabo, fituate on a Branch of the Gam-
tia, fays, 'TheKing was much regretted at his
* Death, Equally by his Subjefts and Strangers,
* He had fettled fo good a Policy through all his.
4 Dominions, that the Merchants might have left
« their Goods on the High-way, without being
* floien. Whenever a White Man vifited him,
* as foon as he reached the Frontiers of the King-
* dom his Charges were defrayed ; nor durft the
« People exaft any Thing of Strangers, under
6 Pain of being fold? for Slaves.'
Peter Holben, who was fent from the Court of
Prujfia to make agronomical Obfervations at tjie
Cape of Good-hope^ which is fituate on thefouthmoft
of 4friwx fpeaking of the Government and
pifpofuiofl*
[ 21 ]
D'lfpofition of theNegroe Inhabitants of thatCoun-
try, commonly called Hottentots, fays, 'Every
* Village or Kraal has a Court of Juftice, for ci-
( vil and criminal Affairs, compofed of the Cap-
* tain and all the Men of the Kraal, who meet
( for this Purpofe in the open Field, fitting in a
* Circle. Jultice among the Hottentots never fuf-
* fersas in Europe, either by Corruption, or, which
* is as bad, Delay. They have no Lawyer, thank
* Heaven : The Plaintiff and Defendant plead
* their own Caufe. The Court hears them, and
* by a Majority of Votes decrees Poffeffion or Da^
* mage in cafe of Affault or Battery, or other
* Trefpafs, without Appeal or Obftacle. In cri-
* minal Matters, as Murders, Adulteries and
* Robberies, the Guilty find no Prote&ion or
e Favour, either from their Wealth or Rank.
* When a Difference happens between two Villages
* of the fame Nation, it is referred to the Judg-
* ment of a national Court, who, when they form
* their Refolutions, execute them with as much
4 Steadinefs and Vigour as a Roman Senate/ The
Author adds : 'The Europeans may boaft of their
* Learning, Arts and Politenefs ; but where
* among them can they (hew fo wife, fo happy a
* Government as that of the Hottentots ? owing
' entirely to this, that it has for its Bafis the moft
* perfect Liberty of the People.' They are the
only NegroeNation that we know of, that are not
engaged in making and felling Slavesthis wicked
Pradtice appears to be unknown amongft thefe
People.* From
* ' The Hottentots firmly belteve there is a God, the Au-
f tlror of all Things, whom they call the God of Gods :
I But it does noc appear that they have any lnftitution of
* Worlhips
[ 22 }
Prom what has been faid, it may be concluded
that the Negroes might have been happy, if the
Europeans had not borne the Name only, but had,
indeed, afted the Part of Chriftians, in ufing their
Endeavours, by Example as well as Precept, to
make them acquainted with the glad Tidings of
the Gofpel, and with that Change of Heart, and
Redemption
* Worfhip, dire&ly regarding this fupreme Deity-' When
preffed on this Article, they excufe themfelves by a Tradi¬
tion, ' That their firft Parents fo grievoufly offended this
c great God, that he cur fed them and their Pofterity with
* Hardnefs of Heart : So that they know little about him,
' and have lefs Inclination to fervehim.'
Holben, wholived eight Years in that Country, andexamin?
ed with the greateft Precaution into all the Cuftoms, Manners
and-Opinions of the Hottentots, fets thefe People in a quite
different Light from what they appear in former Authors,
whom te corrects and blames for the Fallhoods they have
wantonly told of them He allows they are juftly blametj
for their Sloth ' The Love of Indolenee and Liberty,
4 he fays is their All : Compulfion is Death to "them. While
* Neceffity obliges them to work, they are very tradable,
* obedient and faithful; but when thip have got enough to
* fatisfy the prefent Want, they are deaf to all farther Entrea-
ty.' He farther blames them for their Naftinefs,the Effedls
of Sloth, and for their love of Drink, as alfo for the Prac¬
tice of fome unnatural Cuftoms, which long Ufe has fo
eftablifhed amongft them that it is difficult to convince them
of their Unreafonablenefs: Which, neverthelefs, from the
Account he gives of the general good Difpofition of this
People, there is great Reafon to hope they might be per-
fuaded to refrain from, if a truly Chriftian Care Was ex¬
tended towards them. At Page 349 of the 3d. Vol. the
Author fays, ' r~J'hey are eminently diftingui(heflv by many
* Virtues ; as their mutual Benevolence, Friendship and
* Hofpitality j they breathe Kindnefs and Good-will to one
* another; and feek all Opportunities of obliging. Is a
* Hittenlofs Affiftance required by one of his Country-men ?
4 he rpns to give it : Is his Advice afeed ? he gives, it
* with Sincerity : Is his Country-man in Want? he reti£ve§
* him to the'utmoft of his Power; their Hofpitality^ex-,
' tends
[«3 1
Redemption from Sin, which Chriftianity propofb i
this, if attended to, would have necefiarily been
produdtive of the peaceable Fruits of Righteouf*
nefs ; Innocence and Love would have reigned in
the Room of Anrmofities andBloodfaed. Thus the
Ohriftians, inftead of provoking the Vengeance of
a Jealous God, would have been the happy Ln-
ftruments of compleating thefe poor Africans Hzp-
pinefs. But the Reverfe has happened ; the Euro-
peanSy forgetful of their Profeflion and Duty, as Men
and Chriftians, have conduced thernfelves infucfi.
a Manner, as muft necefiarily raife in the Minds of
the thoughtful and well-difpofed Negroes, the ut-
mofirScorn and Deteftation of theChriltian Name.
T,hey have made all other Confiderations give way
to an infatiable Defire of Gain, and are become
the principal and moving Caufe of the moft abo¬
minable and dreadful Scene, that was, perhaps,
ever adted upon this Globe: Every Thing, even
the Power of the Negroe Kings, has been made,
fubfervient to anfwer this wicked Purpofe; inftead
of being Prote&ors of their People, thefe Rulers,
allured by the tempting Baits laid before them by
the Fadtors, &c. have invaded the Liberties of
their
' tends even to European Strangers. In travelling thro' the
' Cape Countries, you meet with a chearful and open Recep'-
1 tion, in whatfoever Village you come to. In fhort, theJn-
' tegrity of the Hottentots; their Stridlnefs and Celerity in
. * theExecutxon of Juftice, and their Chaftity, are equalled by
' few Nations. An amiable Simplicity of Manners adorns
* all their Aftions.'
' Numbers of thefe People have given itasfe Reafon for
' their not harkening to Chriftianity, that they were hindered
4 by the Envy, Avarice, Luft and Injuftice, which they faw
* to prevalent amongft thofe who profefs it.'
t *4 1
their unhappy Subjects, and become their &p*
preffors ; as is fully evidenced by the following
Account, viz.
Francis Moore, Fa&or to the African Company*
in 1750, tells his Readers, 'That when the King
6 of Barfalli wants Goods or Brandy, he fends a
* Mefienger to the JLngliJk Governor at James's
4 Fort, to defire he would fend up a Sloop with a
4 Cargo of Goods, which, fays the Author, the
4 Governor never fails to do : Againft the Time
4 the Vefiel arrives, the King plunders fome of
* his Enemies Towns, felling the People for fuch
4 Goods as he wants, which commonly are Brandy
* or Rum, Gunpowder, Ball, Fire-arms, Piftols
4 and Cutlaffes for his Soldiers, &c. and Coral
4 and Silver for his Wives and MiftrefTes. If
* he is at War with no neighbouring King, he
* falls upon one of his own Tiwns, and makes
6 bold to fell his own miferable Subjects. He of-
* ten goes with fome of his Troops by a Town in
* the Day-time, and returns in the Night, and
4 fets Fire to three Parts of it, placing Guards at
4 the Fourth, to feize the People that run out of
4 the Fire, then ties their Arms behind thems
4 and marches them to Joar or Rohone> where he
4 fells them.'
Brue, the French Faftor, fays* 4 That having
4 received Goods, he wrote to the King, that if
4 he had a fufficient Number of Slaves, he was
4 ready to trade with him •, this Prince, fays that
4 Author, as well as the other Negr.cs Menarchs*
4 havealways afure Way of lupplying theirDefici-
4 encies, by felling their own Subjects, for which
* they feldom want Pretenfions of fome Kind or
* other, to juflify their Rapine.' Thefe Negroe
Kings,
t ]
Kings, thus feeking Pretences to cover their
Crimes, (hew they are not quite void of Shame*
nor infenfible that CovetOufnefs induces them to
aft aPart fo incohfiftent with their Duty-, but here
they may plead the Example and Solicitation of
the more knowing Europeans.' The King had Re-
4 courfe to this Method, by feizing three Hun-
4 dred of his own People, and fent Word to Brue>
4 that he had the Slaves ready to deliver for the
* Goods.' The fame Author farther adds, That
* fome of the Natives are, on all Occafions, en-
* deavouring to furprize and carry off their
4 Country People : They land (fays he) without
4 Noife, and if they find any lone Cottage with-
4 out Defence, they furround it, and carry off* all
* the People and Effe&s to their Boat:——The
4 Slaves are fold to the Europeans, unlefs they be
4 Perfons of fome Rank, whofe Friends can re-
*■ deem them, by paying two Slaves, or five or
4 fix Oxen.'
John Barbot fays, c The Slaves fold by the Ne-
4 groes are for the moft Part Prifoners of War, or
6 taken in the Incurfions they make into their
* Enemies Territories; others are ftolen away by
4 their own Countrymen. Abundance of little
* Blacks, of both Sexes, are ftolen away by their
4 Neighbours, when found abroad, on the Roads,
* or in the Woods, or elfe in the Corn Fields, at
4 the Time of the Year when their Parents keep
4 them there all Day, to fcare away the devour-
4 ing fmali Birds.'
Francis Moore, the Englijh Factor, fays, 'Thar
4 captivating the People is, by Cuftom, become
4 fo familiar, that when the King of Kayor wants
4 to make a Prefent to the Faftor, for what he has
D 4 received
.[ »« ]
4 received of him, he fends to have two or thrcd
4 Slaves taken up at the neareft Village. Unhap-
' py (%s t^at Author) are they, who at that
e Time fall into the Hands of his Guards, for
6 they ftay to maVe no Choice.' And he farther
.adds, 4 That in Battle they fparethe Enemies as
4 much as poflible, but it is only that they may
4 have the more Slaves * from which even Perfons
* of Quality, taken Prifoners, are not exempted
4 That the Merchants bring down, fome Years, to
4 that Factory, to the Amount of two Thoufand
4 Slaves ; which, they fay, are taken Prifoners in
4 War. Thefe they buy from the different Prin-
* ces, who take them 5 many of them conk from
4 a great Way in-land. Their Way of bringing
4 them, is tying them by the Neck with Leather
* Thongs, at about a Yard Diftance from each
* other, having generally a Bundle of Corn, or
c Elephants Teeth, on each of their Heads, Thdr-
* ty or Forty in a String.' The Author judg^
es, 4 That the Number of Merchants who foR
* lowed this Trade was about an Hundred.'
Some Authors fay, 4 They go fix or feven Hun-
4 dredMiles up the Country, with Goodsbought
4 from the Englijh> with which they purchafe
* thefe Slaves, and IvGry. —Befides thofc
* Slaves, there are many bought along the River;
4 thefe are either taken in War, as the former, or
* Men condemned for Crimes, or Perfons ftolen,
4 which is very frequently.——Since the Siave-
4 Trade has been introduced, all Punifhments are
4 commuted into this •, and they ftrain hard for
4 Crimes, in order to have the Benefit of felling
4 the Criminal •, fo that not only greatCrimes, but
4 even trifling ones, are at prelcnt punifhed with
* Slavery.3 Btfvwn
[ 27 ]
Hofman fays ' That being in the Kingdom of
6 Pope, who depend on Plunder and the Slave
' Trade, in which they exceed fome of their
* Neighbours, becaufe, being endued with a
' mDch larger Share of Courage, they rob more
c fuccefsfully, they aflured him, that if he would
* have Patience for three Days, they would be
* able to deliver him One or Two Hundred Slaves,
c and that their Incurfions fucceeded fo well, they
6 returned with about Two Hundred, That the
4 Inhabitants of Arda were fo diligent in the Slave
' Trade, that they were able to deliver a Thou-
4 fand Slaves every Month •, and that if there hap-
* pened to be no Stock of Slaves when the Vefiels
* arrived, they would fometimes fend their Com-
6 modifies T wo Hundred Miles deep into theCoun-
' try' (a later Author fays, they have now car¬
ried the Trade Five Hundred Miles farther, going
now Seven Hundred Miles back into the Country)
« where Markets of Men were kept in the fame
3 Manner a's thofe of Beads with us. tMoft of the
* Slaves are Prifoners of War, which are fold by
« the Vi&orsas their Booty. When thefe Slaves
* come to Fida, they are put in Prifon all together;
* and when (fays he) we treat concerning buying
* them, they are all brought out together in a
6 large Plain, where, by our Surgeons, they are
e thoroughly examined, and that naked too, both
c Men and Women without the lead Diftinftion
« or Modefty.* Thofe which are approved as
' good,
* From the above Account of the indecent and {hocking
Manner in which the unhappy Negroes are treated, it is reafo-
jiable for Perfons ueacquainted with thefe People to conclude
£hem to be void of that natural Modefty fo becoming a reafo-
jiable Creature, otherwife the Europeans would never dare to
ufe
[ sS \
« good, are fet on one Side ; in the mean while a
' burning Iron, with the Arms or Name of the
6 Companies, lies in the Fire, with which ours
* are marked on the Bread. When we have
c agreed with the Owners of the Slaves^ they are
4 returned to their Prifons, where, from that
* Time forward, they are kept at our Charge,
< coft us Two-pence a Day a Slave, which ferves to
* fubfift them like our Criminals on Bread and
4 Water •, fo that, to fave Charges, we fend them
* on board our Ships the very firft Opportunity ;
* before which, their Mafters ftrip them of all
' they have on their Backs, fo that*they come on
* board ftark naked, as well Women as Men : In
* which
tife them in fo fhameful a Manner; but thofe who have had
Jntercourfe with the Blacks in thefe northern Colonies, know
that this would be a wrong Conclufion, for they are, indeed,
as fufceptible of Modefty and Shame as other People : It is
the ynparallelledBrutality to which the Europeans have by longr
Cufiom been inured, which urgeth them to aft, without?
blufhing, fo fhameful a Part". Such a Ufage is- certainly
grievous to the poor Negroes, particularly the Women; but,
they are Slaves, and muft fubmit to this, or any other
Abufe which may be offered them by their cruel Taik-
matters, or expert to be inhumanly tormented.
That this brutifh Condudt is fhameful, even in the Eyes
oftke Blacks, appears from a Quotation taken out of the,
Colle&icn of Voyages, Vol. z. Page 201, <vi%. 1 At an Au-
* dience which Cq//e>icu<vehad of the King of Congo, where
*■ he was ufed with a great deal of Civility by the Blacks^
« fome Slaves were delivered to him. The King obferving
4 CaJJeneu-ve (according to the Cuftom of Europeans) to han-
* die the Limbs of the slaves, burft out a laughing, as did
« the great Men about him ; the Fadlor aflting the Inter-
' preter the Occalion of their Mirth, was told it proceeded
1 from his fo nicely examining the Slaves. Neverthelefs,
* the King was fo afhamed of it, that he defired him for
* Decency's Sake to do it in a more private Manner, which
' fayg the Author, fhews the Blacks to be very modelt.
[ 29 ]
' .which Condition they are obliged to continue, if
* the Mafter of the Ship is not fo charitable (which
' he commonly is) as tojbeftow famethingon them
4 -to cover jthefr Nakednefs.—-Six or Seven Hun-
4 dre<d ftre fometimcs put on board a Vefiel, inhere
' they lie as clofe together as is poflible for them to
' h& croudcd.T-TI doubt not^ fays the fame Author,
' but tkis 'Trade feems very barbarous to you,
e but Jlnce it is followed by mere Necejjity, it
' mufi go on'
What Neceffity does the Author mean? no other
Neceffity appears but that arifing from the Defire
of amaffing Riches •, a Neceffity laid on worldly
Men, by their hard Tafk-mafter the Devil. Many
more Examples might be given to (hew the arbi¬
trary and tyrannic Oppreffion with which this
Trade is carried on, and the Devaftation and
Bloodfhed it occafions in thofe unhappy People's
Country ; but I truft this is fufficient to convince
thecandicl, confiderate Reader of theUnlawfulnefs
and Inhumanity of the Trad^. And, indeed,
whatpiftrefs can we conceive equal to the Alarms,
and Anxiety, and Wrath, which muft fucceedone
another in theBreafts of the tender Parents, or
affectionate Children, in continual Dangerof being
torn one from another, and dragged into a State of
cruel Bondage ! * Reader, if the Impreffions of
Grace,
* "John Atkins, Surgeon to Commodore Ogle, when on the
Coaft of Guinea, heard that the Trade which the Englijh ufed.
to carry on with the Cobehahov, and Drewin Negroes was at a
Stand; thofe Places having been lately deftroyed by the Santee
Negroes, a Nation ofln-land Blacks, who were provoked at
the
t 3° ]
Grace, or even the common Feelings t>f Humanr*
ty are not fupprejp;d in thy Heart, by the Love of
Gain, compare what thou haftreadwith the Equi¬
ty, the Sympathy, the Tendernefs and afFe&ionate
Lov hich is the Life ofChrlftianity, and then
fay, v. ! at Concord or Affinity can thefe Fruits have
one with another ? May not this Trade be truly
faid to be the moft iniquitous and cruel Aft of
Violence and Rapine, when confidered in all its
Circumftances, that toourKnowledge is perpetrate
ed in any Part of the World ? Yet Thanks be to
the greatFather of the Family of the whole Earth,
thar it is not only in America, that feveral who are
nearly interefted in the Proiperity of thefe Colo¬
nies, and more obvioufly acquainted with the def-
tru&ive Confequences attendant on this iniquitous
Pradtice, are miuced publicly to teflify againft
it, but that a noble Indignation is alfo raifed in the
Breaft of many in our Mother Country, zealoufly
to declare againft fo unparallelled an Invafion of
the Rights and Liberties of Mankind, among
which it may, perhaps,be fufficientonly toinftance
the following, in order to give the Reader an Idea
of the Sentiments of many other worthy Perfons
in this Cafe, viz. George JVallis, a Gentleman of
the Law, in a Book wrote by him, intituled a
Syjiem of the Principles of the Law of Scotland ;
where, fpeaking of the Slavery of the Negroes in
our
the Abufes they had received from the Cobehahou aniDrtwht
People, who had made frequent Incurfions into their Country
and pany yard, or carried a way their People to be fold for
Slaves. Doubtlefs this Devaftation was owing to the Slave-
I'rade, the Opportunity the Cobehahou Negroes had of felling
Slaves to the Europeans, was what induced them t© affault the
Jnland Blacks, which brought fuch Deftrudion upon then;-
(elvee.
[ •>" 1
eur Colonies,, he fays : 4 We ail know that tlu^y.
* (the Negroes) are purchafed from their Princes,
* who pretend to have a Right to difpofe of them,
* and that they are, like other Commodities,
4 tranfported by the Merchants, who have
* bought them, into America, in order to be ex-
* pofed to Sale. If this Trade admits of a moral
4 or a rational Juftification, every Crime, even
4 the moft atrocious, may be juftified. Govern-
4 ment.was inftituted for the Good of Mankind;
4 Kings, Princes, Governors, are not Proprietors
4 of thofe who are fubjed to their Authority,
4 they have not a Right to make them miferable.
4 On the contrary, their Authority is veiled in
* them, that they may, by thejuft Exercife of it,
4 promote the Happinefs of their People. Of
* Courfe, they have not a Right to difpofe of their
* Liberty, and to fell them for Slaves. Befides,
* no Man has a Right to acquire or to purchafe
4 them; Men and their Liberty are not in Com ■
6 mercio, they are not either faleable or purchafe-
* able. One, therefore, has no body but himfelf
* to blame, in cafe hefhall find himfelf deprived
c of a Man, whom he thought he had, by buying
c for a Price, made his own; for he dealt in a
6 .Trade which was illicit, and was prohibited by
4 the moft obvious Dilates of Humanity. For
* thefe Reafons every one of thofe unfortunate
4 Men, who are pretended to be Slaves, has a
4 Right to be declared to be free, for he never
< loft his Liberty, he could not lofe it; his Prince
c had no Power to difpofe of him. Of Courfe the
4 Sale was ipfo Jure void. This Right he carries
4 about with him, and is entitled every where to
c get it declared. As foon, therefore, as he
4 comes
E 3» I
« comes into a Country in which the Judges are
< not forgetftil of their own Hurftanity, it is their*
< Duty to remember that he isa. Man,- and to de-
< clare him td be free. I know it has be£n faid,
* that Queftions concerning the State of Perfons
« ought to be determined by the Law of the
< Country to which they belong \ and that, there-
* fore, one^who would be declared to bfc a Slave
< in America, ought, in cafe he fliould Happen to*
< be imported into Britain, to be adjudged ac-
< cording to the Law of America to be a Slave ;
« a Dodtrine than which nothing can be more
* barbarous. Ought the Judges of any'Country,
« out of Refpe£t to the Law of another, to fhew
< no Refpeft to their Kind, and to Humanity ?
' Out of Refpeft to a Law, which is in no
« Sort obligatory upon them, ou^ht they to difre-
« gard the Law of Nature, which is obligatory
« on all Men, at all Times, and in all Fl&ces? Are
« any Lawsfo binding as the eternal Laws of
< Juftice ? Is it doubtful, whether a Judge ought
* to pay greater Regard to themj than to thofe
< arbitrary and inhuman Ufages which prevail in a
« diftantLand ? Aye, but our Colonies'would be
« ruined, if flavery was abolilhed. Be it fo;
« would it from thence follow, that the Bulk
* of Mankind ought to be abufed, that our Pock-
« ets may be filled with Money or our Mouths
« with Delicacies ? The Purfes of Highwaymen
6 would be empty in cafe Robberies were tot-ally
6 abolifhed ; but have Men a Right to acquire
4 Money by going out to the Highway ? Have
* Men a Right to acquire it by rendering their
4 Fellow Creatures miferable ? Is it lawful to
* abufe Mankind, that the Avarice,• the Vanity,
« or
[ 33 ]
Or the P{ppnsof a few may be gratified ? No!
There isluch a Thing as Juftice, to which the
moll facred Regard is due. It ought to be in¬
violably obferved. 'Have not theie unhappy
Men a better Right to their Liberty, and \o
their Happinefs, than our American Merchants
have to the Profitswhich they makeby torturing
their Kind ? Let therefore our Colonies be
ruined, but let us riot render fo many Men mi-
ferable. Would not any of us, who fhould—■
be fnatched by Pirates from his native Land*
think himfelf cruelly abufed, and, at all Times*
intituled to be free ? Have not thefe unfortunate
Africans, who meet with the fame cruel Face*
the fame Right ? Are not they Meri as well as
we, and have they not the lame Senfibility ?
Let us notj therefore, defend or fupport a Ufage*
which is contrary to all the Laws ofHumanitv.
' But it is falfe, that either we or our Colonies
would be ruined by the Abolition of Slavery.
It might occafion a Stagnation of Bufmefs for
a ihort Time. Every great Alteration pro*
duces that EfFed; becauie Mankind cannot,
on a fudderi, find Ways of difpofing of them-
felves and of their Affairs : But it would pro¬
duce many happy Effe&s. It is the Slavery
which is permitted in America that has hindered
it from becoming fo foon populous, as it would
otherwife have done. Let the Negroes free,
and, in a few Generations, this vail and fertile
Continent would be crouded with Inhabitants;
Learning, Arts and every Thing would flour-
ifh amongft them •, in (lead of being inhabited
by wild Beafts, and by Savages, it would be
peopled by Philofophers and by Men/
E Francis
[ 34 ]
"Francis Hutchefon, ProfelTor of PhUofophy at
the Univerfity of Glafgow, in his Syftem of Moral
PhUofophy, Page 211, fays, 4 He who detains
4 another by Force in Slavery, is always bound
4 to prove his Title.4 The Slave fold or car-
4 ried into a diftant Country mud not be
4 obliged to prove a Negative, that he never fcr-
4 feited his Liberty. The violent Poffeffor mtift ia
4 all Cafes fhew his Title, efpecially where the
4 old Proprietor is well known. In this Cafe each
4 Man is the original Proprietor of his own Li-
4 berty. The Proof of his iofing it muft be in-
4 cumbent on thofe who deprive him of it by
4 Force. The Jewifh Laws had great Regard to-
4 Juftice, about the Servitude of Hebrews^ found-
4 ing it only on Confent or fome Crime or Dam-
4 age, allowing them always a proper Redrefs,
4 upon any cruel Treatment; and fixing a limi-
4 ted Time for it, unlefs upon Trial the Servant
4 inclined to prolong it. The Laws about foreign
' Slaves had many merciful Provifions againft im-
4 moderate Severity of the Matters. But under
4 Chriflianity, whatever Lenity was due from
4 an Hebrew towards his Countryman muft be
* due towards all •, fince the Diftindlions of Na-
c tions are removed,, as to the Point of Huma-
4 nity and Mercy, as well as natural Right, nay
4 fome of thefe Rights, granted over foreign
4 Slaves, may juftly be deemed only fuch Indul-
4 gencies, as thofe of Polygamy and Divorce*
4 granting cnly external Impunity in fuch Prac-
4 lice, and not fufficient Vindication of them ia
4 Confciencc.'
Page 85 It is pleaded that, 4 In fome bar-
4 barons Nations, unlefs the Captives were bought
4 for
[ 35 ]
4 for Slaves they would all be murthered. The/
4 therefore owe their Lives, and all they can do,
4 to their Purchafers and fo do their Children
4 who would not otherwife have come iftto Life i
4 But this whole Plea is no more than that of the
4 negotium utile geflum, to which any civilized Na¬
tion is bound by Humanity, it is a prudent ex-
4 penfive Office done for the Service of others
* without a gratuitous Intention; and this founds
4 no other Right than that to full Compenfation
4 of all Charges and Labour employed for the
4 Benefit of others.
4 A Set of inaccurate popular Phrafes blinds
4 us in thefe Matters; Captives owe their Lives,
* and all, to the Purchafers, fay they, juft in the
4 fame Manner, we, our Nobles, and Princes,
4 often owe our Lives toMidwives, Chirurgeons,
4 Phyficians, &c. one who was the Means of
4 preferving a Man's Life is not therefore inti-
4 tuled to make him a Slave, and fell him as a
4 Piece of Goods. Strange i that in any Nation
4 where a Senfe of Liberty prevails,; where the
4 Chriftian Religion is profefled, (Suftom and
c high Profpedts of Gain can fo ftupify theConf-
4 cience of Men, and all Senfe of natural Juftice,
* that they can hear fuch Computations made
e about the Value of their Fellow-Men, and their
14 Liberty without Abhorrence and Indignation.'
James Fofler, D. D. in his Dtfcourfes on Natural
Religion and Social Virtue^ alfo (hews his juft In¬
dignation at this wicked Practice, which he
declares to be ' a criminal and outrageous Vio-
<• lation of the natural Right of MankindAt
Page 156, 2 Vol. he fays, 'Should we have
* read* concerning the Greeks or Romans of old,
E 2 4 that
[ 36 3
that they traded, with View to make Slaves of
their own Species., whom they certainly knew
that this would involve in Schemes of Blood
and Murther, of deftroving, or enflaving each
other, that they even fomented Wars, and en¬
gaged whole Nations and Tribes in open Hofti-
■lities, for their own private Advantage ; that they
had no Peteftation of the Violence and Cruelty,
but only feared the ill Succefs of their inhuman
Enterprifes 5 that they carried Men lijke thorn*
felves, their Brethren, and the Qff-fpring of
the fame common Parent, to be fold like
Beafts of Prey, or Beafts of Burden, and put
them to the fame reproachful Trial, of their
Soundnefs, Strength and Capacity for greater
bodily Service that quite forgetting, and re¬
nouncing, the original Dignity of human Ma¬
ture, communicated to all, they treated them
with more Severity and ruder Difcipline, than
, even the Ox, or the Afs, who are void of Under-
handing- rfhould we not, if this had been the
Cafe, have naturally been led to defpife all their
4 pretended Refinements of Morality •, and to have
concluded, that as they were not Nations def-
tinite of Politenefs, they muft have been entire
■Strangers to Virtue and Benevolence ?
But, notwithftanding this, we ourfelves (who
41 profefs to be Chriftians, and boaft of the pe-
4 culiar Advantage we enjoy, by Means of an ex-
t prefs Revelation of our Duty from Heaven)
£ are, in Efifed, thefe very untaught and rude
c Heathen Countries. With all cur fuperior
4 Light, we inftil into thofe* whom we call lavage
c and barbarous, the moil defpicable Opinion
f. cf human Nature. We, to the utmoft of our
4 Power,
C 37 1
Power, weaken and diflblve the Univerfal Tie**
that binds and unites Mankind. We pra&ife
what we ftiould exclaim againft, as the utraoft
Excefsof Cruelty and Tyranny, if Nations
of the World, differing in Colour, and Form of
Government from ourfelves, were fo pofieffed
of Empire, as to be able to reduce us to a State
of unmerited and briitifh Servitude. Of Con-
fequence we facrifice our Reafon, our Hu¬
manity, our Chriftianity, to an unnatural fordid
Gain. We teach other Nations to defpife and
trample under Foot, all the Obligations of fo-
cial Virtue We take the mod effedtual Me¬
thod to prevent the Propagation of the Gofpel,
by reprefenting it as a Scheme of Power and bar¬
barous Oppreflion, and an Enemy to the
natural Priviledges, and Rights of Men.
c Perhaps all, that I have now offered, may
be of very little Weight to reftrain this Enor¬
mity, this aggravated Iniquity. However, I
fhall ftill have the Satisfaction, of having en¬
tered my private Proteft againft a Practice
which, in my Opinion, bids that God, who is
the God and Father of the Gentiles, uncon¬
verted to Chriftianity, moft daring and bold
Defiance, and fpurns at all the Principles, both
of natural and revealed Religion.'
Extracts from a Pamphlet, intituled,
Two Dialogues on the M an-T rade.
o
Printed in London, in the Tear 1760.
THE African Blacks are as properly and truJy
Men, as the Earcpean Whites; they are both
of
r sf i
of the fame Sp~eci'es, and are originally defcended
from the fome Parents,- they have the, fame
rayonal Powers as we have; they are free moral
Agents, as we are, and many of them have as
good natural Genius, as good and as brave aSpirit,
as any of thofe to whom they are made Slaves.
To trade in Blacks, then, is to trade in Men ; the
black-fkin'd and the white-fkin'd being all of the
fame Species, all of the human Race, are by Na¬
ture upon an Equality; one Man in a State of
Nature, as we are with Refpetft to the Inhabitants
of Guiney, and they with Refpedt to us, is not fu-
perior to another Man, nor has any Authority or
Dominion over him, or any Right to lay his Com¬
mands upon him : He that made us, made them,
and all of the fame Clay : We are all the Work-
manfhip of his Hands, and he hath affigned this
Globe to the human Race, to dwell upon : He
hath given this Earth, in common, to the Chil¬
dren of Men.—God gave to Man Dominion
over the Fijh of the Sea, and over the Fowl of the
Air, and over the Cattle, and over all the Earthy and
ever every creeping Thing that creepeth upon the Earthy
Gen. 1.26; but not to any one Man over another:
Nor can one Man, on any Suppolition whatever,
become,the Property, or Part of the Goods or
Eftate, of another Man i as his Horfe or his
Dog is.
The European Whites, and the African Blacks,
are all under the fame Moral Law, the eternal
Law of Reafon, which'God hath written upon
the Table of Man's Heart. We and they are
Members of one and the fame great Society,
fpread over the Face of the whole Earth, under
-one :;d the fame fupru"i*e Law-giver and Judge
and
[ 39 1
and are joined together, by the dole and flrong.
Ties of human Nature, common to us all; and,
it is this Bond of Humanity, that is the Foun¬
dation of all other particular Ties andConnedions
between Men, and gives Strength to them all.
A Patriot, or a Lover of his Country, is a
brave Charafter; but a Lover of Mankind is a
braver Character.
Our. being Chriftians does not give us any
worldly Superiority, or any Authority whatever,
over thofe who are not Chriftians. Christ's
Kingdom is not of this World; neither does
Chriftianity diflblve or free us from the Obliga¬
tions of Juftice, Equity, and Benevolence to¬
wards our Fellow Creatures of the fame Species,
be they Jews, Mahometans, or even black-fkin'd
Heathen, which the Law of Nature lays us un¬
der ; but, on the contrary, greatly ftrengthens
them. The Jews, in our Saviour's Time, un-
derftood that Precept, 'Thou Jhalt love thy Neigh-
hour as thyfelf, in a very confined Senfe, as re¬
lating only to their own Countrymen. But this
Precept, as adopted into the Chriftian Religion,
takes in all Mankind. By our Neighbour we
'are to underftand every Individual of the human
Species. We are commanded in the Gofpel,.
to render all their Dues, and to do unto others, as
we would they Jhould do unto us, to be kindy merci¬
ful and companionate, to be ready to communicates
and to do Good. Which Precepr, and many o-
thers to the fame Purpofe, are not to be under-
ftood in fuch a narrow Senfe, as if they related
only to thofe who are of the fame Religion with
ourfelves, or whofe Skin is of the fame Colour
with ours, as is evident from other Precegts of
C 40 ]
the Gofpel. We are commanded to do Good to
ally efpecially to thofe who are of the Houfhold of
Faith, to imitate our Heavenly Father, who doeth
Good to all, and whcfe tender Mercies are over all
his Works, yea, and to love our Enemies.—--Thefe
Propofitions I believe no body would have refufed
to grant •, but though tjiey .are fo evident that few
will exprefly deny or aifpute the Truth of them,
yetj it is reafonable to luppofe, that thofe who
are concerned in the Man-Trade, do not allow
themfelves to think on thefe Truths impartially,
ferioufly to confider them, and lay them to Heart j
but that, on the contrary, they have, fome how
or other, a Kind of confufed Imagination, or
half formed Thought, in their Minds, that the
Blacks are hardly of the fame Species with the
white Men, but are Creatures of a Kind fome-
what inferior: I fay it is reafonable tofuppofe fo j
for I do not know how to think that any white
Men could find in their Hearts, that the commoa
Sentiments of Humanity would permit them to
treat the black Men in that cruel, barbarous
Manner in which they do treat them, did they
think and confider that thefe have rational im->
mortal Souls, that they are made after the Image;
of God, as well as themfelves, and that, being
jn the fame Body, they have the fame Pafiions*
Senfes and Feelings, as they have, and are as fuf-
ceptibie of Fain and Grief, and upon the fame 1
Occafions5 as they. Man-ftealing is not only
unlawful 1 think it the mod atrocious, de-
teftable Crime. To (teal a Horfe, or to rob a
Man on the Road of his Money, is reckoned,
among us, a capital Crime, delerving Death, and
iy, by Luw, punifhable with Death* What then
does
[ 41 ]
dties he cfeferVe, what Punifhment can be great
enough for him, who fteals a Man, a Crime, in
Companion with which I^Iorfe-ftealing or rob¬
bing on the Highway is but a little trifling Fault*
quite excufable and venial ? Man-fleaters were,
by the Law of Mofes, punifhed with Dearh. He
that Jiealeth a Man, or if he be found in his Hand,
he jhall furely be put to Death, Exod. xxi, 16.
And in the New Teftament, i 'Tim. i. 10. Man-
ftealers are reckoned amongft the very word of
Men. Can&ny Thing be more cruel and bar¬
barous, than to feize upon human Creatures, and
take them away by Force from their native Coun¬
try, from their Friends and Relations,for ever*
Children from their tender Parents, Parents from
their dear Children, Women from their beloved
Hufbands, and Hufbands from their beloved
Wives, and drive them, like Hogs, to Market*
there to be fold for Slaves for Life ? How great
muft be the Mifery thole poor Creatures are in,
and the Agonies of Mind they feel, when they
are thus carried off! fo great, that to relieve
themfelves, .fome of them have put an End to
their Lives. And how grievous, how diftrefled,;
muft be the Condition of their Friends and Rela¬
tions, who are deprived of them, and (hall never
fee their Faces any more ? It is horrid, it is (hock¬
ing to think of fuch Cruelty- and Barbarity^
What Monfters in Nature then, deftitute of all
Humanity and Companion, muft they be, who
are guilty of it ! The black Men'have the fame
natural Affection for their Kindred, and as ftrong,
as we have. To fell and buy human Crea¬
tures, without their Confent, yea and foreagainfb
their Will, to trade in Men, as you would in-
brute Crea:.ures, or any other Commodities, is
F really
[ 42 1
really impious as well as cruel. Man i's a noble
Creature, made but a little lower than the An¬
gels, and crowned with Glory and Honour. He
is the Offspring of God ; therefore thus to de-
bafe him, and to bring him down upon a Level
with the Brutes, yea with Things inanimate, is
great Impiety, it is an high Affront offered to
him, who is the kind and merciful Father of us
all, who hath made of one Blood all Nations of
Men to dwell on the Face of the Earth, and
hath united them all in one Body by the Ties of
Nature. It is l'ikewife an Affront put upon Man¬
kind, upon the whole human Race, which Ihoulci
raife a generous Refentment and Indignation in
the Breaft of every one that partakes of the human
Nature, and has any Notion of the Dignity of
ir, or any Senfe of Humanity, which he fhouid
exprefs and difcover upon all proper 'OccafionSj.
and in all proper Ways. And-I think the Re¬
ceiver, in this Cafe, will appear to be worfe, and
more guilty, in fome Refpetts, than the bare
Thief, if we fairly confider the Matter.
It is evident, that the Europeans, in fending
Ships yearly to the Coaft of Africa^ to buy Slaves,
without enquiring how thofe they purchafe them
of came by them, do encourage thofe Thieves,
and tempt them to make a Practice and Trade of
fteaiing their own Countrymen ; for this is the
fame Thing in Effefr, as if they were to tell them
in fo many Words, do 'You get Men ready for
' how 'you ca% and we will take them off ydur
c Hands.' N Befides, thofe Men-merchams nos
only encourage others in this cruel flagitious Prac¬
tice of Man- dealing, but are really guilty of it
themfclves. You will obferve, that what is done
by
[ .43 ]
by their Command, and according to their Or¬
ders, I confider as done by themfelves. As thofe
poor miferable Creatures were ftolen, thofe who
did fteal them, could not convey any Right in
them to others, though thefe others fhould give
never fo much in Purchafe of them, any more than
if they had them for nothing. For thofe Purchaf-
ers then to deprive them of their Liberty, and, by
Force, keep them in their Pofieflion, in whom
they have no Right (fuppofing one Man could be
the Property of another) and who never injured
them in the leaft, nor forfeited their Liberty; to
keep them in Bonds, and carry them away Cap¬
tives, is, properly fpeaking, Man-ftealing. And
what aggravates this Crime in the European Man-
merchants, and renders it much more heinous in
them than in the Africans, is, that the former en¬
joy the Light of the Gofpel, and^profefs, them¬
felves to be Chriftians. —.
Man-ftealing is a Kind, and indeed the worfl:
Kind, of Sacrilege ; which Consideration farther
fhews the Impiety ot it. Man is facred, and,
by Nature, devoted to the Service of God, to
whofe Authority alone he is obliged to yield an ab-
folute, unlimited Obedience; for one Man there¬
fore to affault anot'her, and, by mere Force, to
make a Captive of him, not for any Crime that
he has been guilty of, but to make a Penny of
3iim, confidering him as Part of his Poffeffions or
Goods, with which he can do what he pleafes, is
robbing of God, which is Sacrilege.
It is very common in the Countries, where the
Europeans carry on this Trade, for the petty Kings
and Princes, of which there are a great many, to
go to War with their Neighbours, not in Defence
F 2 of
[ 44 ]
of their Right, not to get Satisfaction for any In¬
juries done them, or to repair any Damages they
have unjuftly fuffered by thofe Neighbours, bur
purely to get Prifoners againft the Time the Ships
from "Europe arrive upon their Coaft, that with
them they may be able to purchafeof the Captains
of thofe Ships the Goods they have on board.
Now here the Injury and Crime is the fame in
Kind as in the former Cafe, and indeed greater in
the Kind : In both Cafes it is dealing Man, but in
the latter it is attended with Ihedding of Blood,
with Slaughter and Deftrudtion ; which Confidera-
tion doth aggravate the Crime of our Guiney Mer¬
chants, who purchafe thofe Prifoners. Chrjst
hath faid, that blejfed are the Peace-makers, for they
jhall be called the Children of God. But how con¬
trary to what our Saviour recommends (the mak¬
ing of Peace among Men) is the Spirit; and Practice
ot thofe, who, for Lucre's Sake, provoke and en¬
courage'others to go to War with their Neigh¬
bours, and by unjuft Force to kill and deftroy
fonie, and make others of them Prifoners.
But let us now fuppofe,—that the Prifoner.%
which are brought, were even engaged in an un¬
juft War, that they were the firft Invaders or Ag-
greffors.- When one King or Prince goes to
War with another, the common Men are not ca¬
pable ofjudging of the Merits of the Caufe, which
x^arty has or has not Right on their Side; but,
laying afide this Confederation, they are forced to
go whitherfoever theirKing or Captain leads them;
they are obliged to obey his Commands, and to
defert would be Death to them: Therefore I think
it would be unjuftand cruel, in him whocomes off
Conqueror, thqugh he had Right on his Side, ancj
was
[ 45 1
was engaged in a juft War, to deprive thofe com¬
mon Men, who are taken Prifoners, of their Li¬
berty, after the War is over, or at any Time to
fell them for Slaves for Life, either by Way of
Punilhment or Retribution, unlefs they be fup-
pofed to be anfwerable for whatever Damage or
Injury is done by their King, or that they are his
Goods or Property ; both which are abfurd, and
the latter a Suppofition unworthy of human Na¬
ture, and (hocking to the human Mind ; confe-
quently, the buying of them for fuch, muft be
altogether as criminal in the Europeans.
It is reckoned we have now in this Kingdom
Thirty Thoufand French Prifoners, or more ; and
we fay, that in the War we are carrying on againft
France, we have Right on our Side ; that we
entered into it for the Recovery and Defence of
our Territories, invaded by them ; but though
it be true (as I believe it is) that our ,Caufe is
good, - yet would it not be cruel and inhuman in
us, to fell thefe Prifoners into Slavery for Life, and
in any other Nation (as the Spaniards, forlnftance)
to buy them of us, in order to fend them to work
in^their Mines in Peru, as long as they live ? And
would not all the other Nations of Europe exclaim
againft us, and the Spaniards, as inhuman, bar¬
barous People, for fo doing? If it be replied, that
fuch a Thing would be contrary to Cuftom, and
to the Law of'Nations in Europe, whereas in Gui-
ney and NegroeJand it is a common Cuftom to fell
for Slaves the Prifoners they take in War *, there
they make a Trade of it. I own—that may be
one Reafon, among others, why fuch a Thing
pra&ifed in thofe Countries is not looked upon, by
fcjshere, with fomuch Abhorrenceand Deteftation,
as
r 46 ]
as it would be if it were to be pra&ifed in Euroft$> ?
But this makes no Difference, as to the Nature of
the Thing in itfelf; for as I have flhewn before,
the Man-trade in this laft mentioned Cafe, wherein
the Men who are fold, are fuppofed to be Prifo-
ners that were engaged in an unjuft War, is in
itfelf wicked and inhuman, contrary to the Law
of Nature, the Obligations of which are eternal
and unchangeable, not to be altered or di&rinulled
by Ufe or Cuftom, be it never fo ancient or uni-
verfal ; they are the fame ail over the 'World, the
fame in Guiney, or Jamaica, as in England.
The Captain of the Guiney Ship, when he
has finished his Marketing, bought as many
reafonable Creatures as he wants, and is full
freighted, having on board (we will fay) Two
Hundred of them, coupled in Irons, and eiofely
crammed up in a Ship of about One Hundred
Tons Burthen, he fets out for one of our Plantati¬
ons, and may be two or three Months on the
Voyage; during ^hich Time, from the Filth and
Stench that muft be among them, occafioned by
their being put down under Deck, and penn'd to¬
gether in fo little Room,—Diftempers break out
among them, and carry off a great many, a Fifth,
or Fourth, yea, fornetimes a third Part of them j
and it is reafonable to fuppofe, thatiome of them
have their Hearts broke, and die with Grief and
Anguilh, to thin!! that they (hall never more fee
Foot on their native Soil, and that the Eye that
hath feen them, (hall fee them no more. I remem-
7 ^
ber I read an Account in one of the News-Papers
kft Year, of a Ship, belonging to Liverpool, that had
a Hundred and Ninety Slaves on board, Eighty of
4vhom died on the Voyage, which is more t;han
two
[ 47 ]
two Fifths Taking'all the Slaves togethefj
that are brought on board our Ships yearly, from
the Coaft of Africa, where they are bought by our
Gmney Merchants, I think one may venture to af-,
firm, that, at leaft, a Tenth Part of them die on
the Voyage ; rthe Merchants are certainly
chargeable with taking away the Lives of as many
of thofe poor Creatures, as come by thqjr Death
by being fo confined and treated, and are guilty
of Murder ; for to take away a Man's Life, un-
juftly, is Murder; whether it be done in' two or
three Minutes, or two or three Months, that
makes no Difference.— 1 do not think it ne-
ceflfary, in .order to convift a Man of Murder, to
make it appear that he had an Intention to commit
Murder : Whoever does, by unjuft Force and Vi¬
olence, deprive another of his Liberty, and, whild
he has him in his Power, reduces jhim to fuch a
Condition, and gives him fuch Treatment, as evi¬
dently endangers his Life, and, in the Event, does
a<5tually deprive him of his Life, is guilty of Mur¬
der.*——By the Account given in the fecond
Volume
* Thomas Philips, in his Account of a Voyage he per¬
formed to Guiney, and from thence to Barhadoes with a Car¬
go of Slaves, relates, That they took Seven Hundred Slaves
on board ; when they were brought in the Veffel, the Men
were all put in Irons two and two fhackled together, to pre¬
vent their mutinying, or fwimming afhore. The Negroes»
fays he, ' Are fo loath to leave their own Country, that
'• they have often leaped out of the Canoe, Boat and Ship,
' into the Sea, and kept under Water till they were drowned,
1 to avoid being taken up, and faved by the Boats which pur-
' fue them.' They had about twelve Negroes
who willingly drowned themfelves ; others ftarved them-
felves to Death Philips was advifed to cut off the
Legs and Arms of fome to terrify the reft ; (as other Cap¬
tains had done) but this he refufed to do : From the Time
C 48 1
Volume of the Compleat Syfiem of Geography, the?
Number of Negroes brought away by the Englijh,
in the Year 1725, appeared to be about Fifty.
Thoufand.—We will fuppofe that the Number
of Negroes purchafed by our Guiney Merchants,
one Year with another, is no more than Thirty-
five Thoufand : Now, in the Account, given by
that Author, of the Negroes in our Plantations, it is
faid, that, in the Ifland of Jamaica, almoft Half
of the new imported Negroes die in the Seafoning,
and, that, in Barbadoes, it is reckoned that a fourth
Part die in Seafoning ; and, according to the-fame
Account, there are twice as many imported into
thefe two Iflands, as into all our other Iflands, in
the Weft-Indies, and all our Colonies in North-Ame¬
rica. At a moderate Computation, therefore, it
'may be reckoned, that of all thofe who are pur¬
chafed by oyr African Merchants in a Year,
Twelve Thoufand die upon the Voyage, and ini
the Seafoning. What
of his taking the Negroes on board to his arrival at Barbadoes,
no lefs than Three Hundred and Twenty died of various
Difeafes. Which the Author fays, 1 Was to their great Re-«
4 gret, after enduring much Milery and Stench fo long a-
4 mong, a Parcel of Creatures, naftier than Swine : No Gold-,
4 finer, fays Philips, zzn. fuffer fuch noifome Drudgery as
* they do, who carry Negroes, having no Refpite from their
* Affiift-ons fo long as any of their Slaves are alive.'
JHow unreafonable is it in Philips, thus to refleft on the
Blacks: Could fuch a Number be crouded together in fo
warm a Climate, even if they had all been healthy, without
being extremely offenfive ? How much more when fo many
lay fick, dead and dying. He fpe.aks of the Englijh People's
great Sufferings by Natlinefs, Stench, &c. but he forgets
the Suiferings of the poor Blacks, which null have been
incomparably greater than theirs ; not to mention the pain¬
ful Sorrow and Anxiety of Mind thefe diftreifed Creatures
muft have laboured wader-
[ 49 ]
What a fad dreadful Affair then is this Man-
Trade* whereby fo many Thoufands of our Fel¬
low rational Creatures lofe their Lives, are, truly
and properly fpeaking, murdered every Year ; t
do not think there is an Inftance of fo great Bar¬
barity and Cruelty carried on in any Part of the
World* as is this, Year after Year. It is enough
to make one tremble, to think what a Load of
Guilt lies upon this Nation, on this Account, and
that the Blood of Thoufands of poor innocent
Creatures, murdered every Year, in carrying on
this curfed Trade, cries aloud to Heaven for Ven¬
geance.'* Were we to hear or read of any other
Nation in the World that did deftroy every Year,
in fame other Way, or on fome other Accounr,
as many human Creatures as are deftroyed by this
G T rade,
* In the Collection of Voyages, John Atkins, Surgeon on
board Admiral Ogle's Squadron, in his Expedition on the
Coalt of Guinea, relates, That at Sierra Leona, the white
Men who were private Traders there were about thirty in
Number; the Chara&er he gives of them was, that they
were loofe privateering Blades, who, if they could not trade
fairly wi.h the Natives, would rob ; -of thefe John Lead-
Jlone was reckoned the moil thriving. The Author obferves
that the Slaves this Leadjione had to fell appeared much de-
je£led, he particularly obferved one, named Tomba, whr>
had been a Leader of iome Country Villages; this Negroe
feemed to difdain the other Slaves for their Readinefs to be
examined; and fcorned to look at the Buyers, refufing to
rife and ftretch out his Limbs as the Mailer commanded.
This got him an unmerciful Whipping from Leadjlcne's own
Hand; who, Atkins fays, would have certainly killed him,
but for the Lofs he mull have fuftained by it. The
Negroe bore it all with Magnaminity, (hrinking very little,
but fhed a Tear or two, which he endeavoured to hide.
In the Courfe of their Voyage Atkins met with a VefTel
from Brijlol, commanded by one Harding, who had pur-
chafed thirty Slaves, of which Number, the above n.en«
tioned Tomb a was one. Captain Harding gave them the fol¬
lowing
[ 50 1
Trade, we (hould look upon them as avery bloody*
cruet, 'barbarous People. We, to this Day, ex¬
claim againft the Cruelty of the Spaniards, in dej
ftroying fo many of the Inhabitants of Mexico and
Teru, when they unjuftly invaded thofe Countries,
though it is a Queftion, whether the Englifh have"
nctdeftroyed as many of the Inhabitants of Africa,
fmce the Commencement of this villainous Man-1
Trade among us; and againft our Popifti Queen
Mary,whofe Reign is looked upon as the moil
Cruel and inhuman of any in all the £ffg7//foHiftory,
though there were not above Three Hundred
burnt, for Herefy, in the five Years of her Reign ;
and you know that the Papifts believe, or pro-
tefs to" believe, that they ought to put He¬
retics to Death j at leaft they did then : Where-
.35
lowing melancholy Account, wz. :— That this To?nba
iiad combined with three of the iiouteft of his Country Men,
and a Woman, to deftroy the white Men, in order to' get
their freedom ; that one Night he went upon Deck to pat
his Pefign in Execution, being accompained by one Man-
apd the Woman, who were ail he could engage to follow
him ; where finding ihreeSailors cntheForccaftle, he prefent-
ly difpatched two by fmgle Strokes on the Temples (with:
a Hammer the Woman had given him), theotherMan, rouf-
ing with the Noife, his Companions feized, and ctomia
killed him in-the fame Manner: But two other Sailors,-
taking the Alarm, flood upon their Defence, which foon
awaked the Mafter underneath, who running up, took a
Handfpike, and felling- Tombn with it, fecured them all in
Irons. The Reader, favs Atkins, may be curious to know
their Punilhment : ' Why, Captain Harding^ weighing the
' "Stoutncfs and Worth of the two Slaves, did, a« in other
' Countries they do by Rogues of Dignity, whip and fcari-
' fy them only ; while three otoer Abettors {but not Afters,
' nor of Strength for it) he fentenced to cruel Deaths, mak-
4 insv tf.em firil eat the Heart and Liver of one i f them he
4 killed. The Womah he hoifled by the Thumbs, whipped,
.' and flafhed her with K'nives, beffv »«.-c'1 "r Slaves, till
The
C 51 j
as the Englifh have, for many Years paft, put to
Death'Ten or Twelve Thoufand a Year; in car¬
rying on this Trade, which they ftill continue for
the Sake of getting Money, and furnifhing them¬
ic Ives with the Superfluities of Life, which (hews
2. greater Degree of Barbarity •, and many of thofe
.poor Wretches have endured more Pain, before
they died, than thofe Heretics ditl in being
burnt. There is Nothing that ihews the Degene¬
racy of Mankind more, that cafts a greater
Blemifh on human Nature, or expofes it in a
more difadvantageous Light, than this Confidera-
tion, that whole Nations, Chriitians as. well as
Heathens, profefs to believe the greateft Abfur-
dities and Con traditions, and juftify the moft
wicked and vile Practices. If it be faid that
I charge the Legiflature becaufe they have
,encouraged, and ftill do encourage, this Trade ;
what I have afTerted I think I can defend.
G 2 No
'Tbe following Relation is inferted at the Requeji of the Author,
a Perf on ivhofe Candour may he depended upon.
( | '^HAT I may contribute all in my Power towards the
i ' Good of Mankind, by infpiring any of its Indi-
4 viduals with a fuitable Abhorrence for that deteftable Prac-
' tice of trading in our Fellow-Creatures, and in fomeMea-
' fure atone for my Negleflt of Duty as a Chriftian, in en-
' gaging in that wicked Traffic, I offer to their ferious Con-
4 fideration fome few Occurrences of which 1 was an Eye-
■' witnefs. That being ftruck with the wretched andaffe&ing
< Scene they may fofterthat humane Principle, which is the
' noble and diftingtifhed Charafteriftic of Man, and improve
it to the Benefit of their Children's Children.
' About the Year 174.9,1 failed from Liverpool to the Coaft
4 of Guinea: Some Time after our Arrival I was ordered to
* l'o up the Country a confiderable Diflance; upon having
' ' < Notice
[ 52 1 '
,—„——No Legiflature on Earth, which is the fu*
preme Power in every civil Society, can alter the
Nature of Things, or make that to be lawful
which is contrary to the Law of God, the fu^
preme Legiflator and Governor of the World.
Mifchief may be framed, and eftabliftied by a
Law, but if it be, it is Mifchief ftill, as much fo
as it was before it was eftablilhed, though its be¬
ing fo may make Men infenfible of their Guilt,
or bold and fearlefs in the Perpetration of it; for
too many, among Chriftians, are, contrary to
Christ's Exhortation, more influenced by the
Fear of Man, than by the Fear of God.-*—It is
really a ferious Subject, and I own it raifes a fern
ous Concern in my Mind, that fuch Barbarity
fhould be fufFered in Chriftian Nations. It is
enough to make k Man's Heart ach, unlefs he
has
* Notice from one of the Kegroe Kings, that he had a Par-
£ eel of Slaves to difpofc of -y I received my Iriltructions, and
* went, carrying with me an Account of fuch Goods as. vv-e
* had on beard to exchange for the Slaves we intended to
£ pmcl.afe. Upon being introduced, I prefented him with
' a fniali Cafe of Bnglijh Spirits, a Gue, and fome Trifles*
4 which having accepted, and un~eiftood by an Interpreter
what Goods we had, the next Day was appointed for vifi\v-
' ing the Slaves; we found about two Hundred confined in
i one 'Place. But here how ihall I relate the afFe£ling Sight I
' there beheld ? How can I fufficiently defcribe the filent
* Sorrow which appeared in the Countenance of the afflidted
' .Father, and the painful Anguifh of the tender Mother, ex-
' pe&ing to be forever feparated from thfcir tender Offspring ;
' the diilre/led Maid wringing her Hands in Prefage of her
" future Wretchednefs, and the general Ciy of the Innocent
' from a fearful Apprehenfion of the perpetual Slavery to
' which they were ooomed. Under a Senfe of my Offence
' to God, in the Ptrfon of his Creatures, I acknowledge
4 I purchafcd eleven, whom I conduced ty'd two and two to
1 the ihip. Being but a fmali Veffel (ninety Ton) we foon
<■ purchased
[ 53 ]
has loft all Love and Regard to his Kind, to thrnk
that fo many Thoufands of the human Race
jfaould be facrificed every Year to that gfeedy vo¬
racious God gammon.
Nor is it lefs fliocking to hear or read the Ac¬
counts we have of the barbarous Treatment that
thofe black Men, who ftand and furvlve the Sea-
foning, as it is called, meet with. According to
the Accounts in the forementioned Author, it is
inhuman and unmerciful.
Sir Hans Sloan, in his Hiftory of Jamaica, fays %
4 That a rebellious Negroe, or he that twice ftrikes
' a white Man, is condemned to the Flames ♦, be-
6 ing chained flat on his Belly, at the Place of
c Execution, and His Arms and Legs extended,
' Fire is then fet to his Feet, and he is burnt gra-
* dually up to his Head. They ftarve others to
* Death,
f- purchafed our Cargo, confilling of one HundrecNnd feven-
* ty Slaves, whom thou may'ft, Reader, range in thy View,
* as they were fhackled two and two together, pent up with-
* in the narrow Confines of the main Deck, with thecompli-
' cated DiArefs ofSickncfs, Chains and. Contempt; deprived
' of every fond and focial Tie, and in a great Mealure redu-
* ced to aState of Defparation. We had not been aFortnight
1 at Sea, before the fatal Confequence of this Defpair appear-
* ed ; they formed aDefignof recovering their naturalRight,
* Liberty, by rifing and murdering every Man on board ;
* but the Goodnefs of the Almighty rendered their Scheme
4 abortive, and his Mercy fpared us to have Time to repent.
' The Plot was difcovered ; the Ringleader, ty'd by the two
4 Thumbs over the Barricade Door, at Sun-rife received a
« Number ofLafhes, in this Situation he remained till Sun-
* fet, expofed to the Infults and Barbarity of the brutalCrew
* of Sailors, with full Leave to exercife their Cruelty at Plea-
4 fure. The Confequence of riiis was, that next Morning
* the miferable Sufferer was found dead, flead from the
4 Shoulders to the Waift. The next Vittimwasa You^h,
* who, from too ftrcrng a Senfc of his Mifery, refufed Nou-
1 riflimentj,
[ 54 1
« Death, with a Loaf hanging before, their.
6 Mouths, fo that fome gnaw the very Flefli off
4 their own Shoulders, and expire with all the
' frightful Agonies, expreffing the moll horrid
4 Tortures. For Crimes of a lefs Nature, they
6 geld the Offender, and chop off Half of his
' Foot with an Ax; for Negligence only, they
' whip him till his Back is raw, and then fcatter
' Pepper and Salt on his Wounds, to heighten
4 the Smart •, and fome Planters will drop melted
4 Wax on their Skins, which puts them to into-
6 lerable Pain.' Now muft not the human Na¬
ture, in thofe People, be changed into the devi-
lifh, who can put thefe poor Creatures to luch
Torments? It is obfervqj|; by the fame Au¬
thor, that ' Some excuie thefe Severities by tel-
' lino-
« rifhment, and died, disregarded and unnoticed, till the
' Hogs had fed on Part of his Flefh. Will not Cliriftianity
4 bluih at this impious Sacrilege ? May the Relation of it
4 ferve to call back the ftruggling Remains of Humanity, in
' the Heart of thofe who, from a Love of Wealth, partake
' in any Degree of this oppreffive Gain, and havefuch an
* Effeft on the Minds of the Sincere, as may be produ&ive of
4 Feace, the happy Effe&of true Repentance for paft Tranf-
4 greffions, and a Refolution to renounce all Connexion
* with it for the Time to come.'
JF. F.
Note, here arifes a j ufb and necefiaryQuery. How does our
EngUJh Law (fo truly valuable for its Mercy and Equity) over¬
look thefe barbarous Deaths of the unhuppy Africans, without
Tryal, or due ProoJ of their being guilty ; or of their Crimes
being adequate to theirPunilhment ? Why are thofe Matters
of Veffels (who are often not the moft tender and considerate
of Men) thus fuffered to be the fovereign Arbiters of the
Lives of the .miferable Negroes; and allowed (with Impunity)
to defcroy their fellow Creatures, and that by Means fo
cruel, as cannot be evenrelated, but with Shame and Horror ?
[ 55 ]
' ling us, that the Blacks, being fo perverfe, ful-
c len, and mifchievous a Generation, deferve fuch
' Treatment, and that, milder Ufage would not
' reclaim them.' 4t is no Wonder they are
fulleri ; would not white Mep be To, were they in
• their Condition, and treated as they are ? No
Doubt but they would. But the though
they be urjuftly deprived of their Liberty, banifh-
ed from their native- Country, from all their
Friends and Relations, and made Captives and
Slaves for Life, though they are treated worfe than
Dogs, and made to work harder than Horfes, yet
they ought to be pleafant, good humoured, knd
obliging ta them that do thus treat them-, and^ if
they be not, they Ihould be put to Pain and Tor¬
ment.* And they are, it feems, a mifchievous
Generation, apt to mutiny and rebel that is, in
Truth,
* The Iniquity of the Slave-Trade is greatly aggravated by
the Inhumanity with which the Negroes are treated in the
Plantations, as well with refpeft to Food and Cloathing, as
from the unreafonableLabourwhich is commonly exacted from
them. To which may be added the cruel Chaftifements they
frequently fuffer, without any otherBounds than theWilland
Wrath of their hard Talk-Mafters. In Barbadoes, and fome
other of the Iflands, fix Pints of Indian Corn and three Her¬
rings, are reckoned a full Week's Allowance for a working-
Slave, and, in the Syftem of Geography, it is faid, 'That in
c Jamaica the Owners of the Negroe Slaves, fet afide for each a
' Parcel af Ground, and allow them Sundays to manure it, the
* Produce of which,'' with fometimes a few Herrings, or other
falt Fiflx, ' is all that is allowed for their Support.'' Their
Allowance for Cloathing in the Iflands,is feldom more than
fix Yards of Ofenbrigs each Year : And in the more northern
Colonies, where the piercing wefterly Winds are long and
fenfibly felt, thefe poor Africans fuffer much forWant of fuffi-
cient Cloathing ; indeed fome have none till they are able to
pay for it by their Labour. The Time that the Negroes work
in the Weft-Indies, is from Day-break till Noon ; then again
from
[56]
Truth, they want to recover their Liberty, and
would attempt to do it, if they were not kept ii\
Awe by hard Ufage, and fevere Difcipline. Ih
the Account of Jamaica, we are told.that the Ne-
groesy when fir ft brought hither from Guinea, are
very fimple, innocent Creatures, but foon turn
roguifn, and when they come to be whipp'd, urge
the
from two o'Clock till Dufk : (diiring which Time they are
attended by Overfeers, whofeverely fcourge thofe who- ap¬
pear *0 them dilatory) And before they are fuffered to go to
theif Quarters, they have ftill fomething to do,.as collecting
oftferbage for the Horfes, gathering Fuel for the Boilers, &c.
fe that it is often half paft Twelve before they canget Home,
when they have fcarce Time to grind and boil their Indian-
Corn ; whereby it often happens that they are called again to
Labour before they can fatisfy their Hunger : And.'here no
Delay or Excufe will avail, for if they are not in the Field
immediately upon the ufual Notice, they muftexpeft to feel
the Overfeer's Lalh. InCrop-time (which lafts many Months)
thev are obliged (by Turns) to work moft of the Night
in the boiling Houfe. Thus their Owners, from a Deire
of making thegreateftGainby the Labour of their Slaves, lay
heavy Burdens upon them, and yet feed and clothe them very
(paringly, andfome fcarce feed or clothe them at all, fo that the
poor Creatures are obliged to fliift for their Living in the beft
Manner they can, which o.ccafions their being often killed in
the neighbouring Lands, ftealing Potatoes, or other Food to
fatisfy their Hunger. And if they take any Thing from the
Plantation they belong to, tho' under fuch preffing Want, yet
their Owners will corredl them feverely, for taking a little of
what they have fo hardly laboured for, whilft they themfelves
riot in the greateft Luxury and Excefs. It is a Matter of
Aftoniflimsnt how a People who, as a Nation, are looked up¬
on as generous and humane, and fo much value themfelves for
their uncommon Senfe of the Benefit of Liberty, can live in
thePra&ice of fuch extremeOppreffionandlnhumanicy, with¬
out feeing the Ihconfiftency of fuch Condutt, and without
feeling great Remorfe : Nor is it lefs amazing to hear thefe
Men calmly making Calculations about the Strength and
Lives of their fellow Men j in Jamtica, if fix in ten, of the
new
[ 57 ]
the Example of the Whites for their ExcufW
Whereas, in that of Barbados, the fame Author
fays ; i Th^t the Matters of the Negroes are
* obliged to treat them very feverely, not only
* becaufe of the ftubborn, treacherous Temper,
' which is -fo peculiar to all of their Complexion
* and Country, but becaufe they are three times
* the Number of the Whites in this Ifland, and
' have made frequent Attempts to get {he Maf-
4 tery •/ that is, their Liberty, or to deliver,
themfelves out of the miferable Slavery they
are in.— 5ut how come they to be three tirpes
the Number of the Whites in this Ifland ? Is it not
owing to the White Inhabitants, to their purchaf-
ing them, and keeping them in Bondage? How
weak then is this Excufe ? Where is the Senfeof
affigning this Majority, which is of their own
H procuring,
new imported Negroes furviye the Seafojiing, it is looked up¬
on as a gaining Purchafe : And in moft of the other Plantati*
ons, if the Negroes live eight or nine Years* thejr Labour is
reckoned a fufficient Compenfation for their Coft. If
Calculations-of this Sort were made upon the Strength and
Jjabour ofBeafts of Burden it would not appear fo ftrange,
but even then, a mercifu} Man would certainly vjfe his Bea.ft
with more Mercy than is ufually fhewn-to the poor Ne¬
groes.- Will not the Groans, the dying Groans of
this deeply afili&ed and opprefTed People reach Heaven, and
when the Cup of Iniquity is full, muft not the inevitable
Confequence be pouring forth of the Judgements of God
upon their Oppreffors f But, alas lis it not too manifelt
that this Oppreffion has already long been the Objefl of
the divine Difpleafure ? For what heavier Judgement, what
greater Calamity can befall any People, than to become a
Prey to that Hardnefs of Heart, that Forgetfulnefs of
God, and Infenfibility to every religious Impreffiorj, as
well as that general JDepravation of Manners, which fq
inuch prevails in the Colonies, in Proportion as they have
paore or lefs enriched themfelves, at the Expence <?f th?
JBlood and Bondage of the Negroes ?
[. 58 1
procuring, as aReafon for their treating the Blacks
with fuch Severity ?—We have alio an Account
from that Author, of thofe PJots laid by the Blacks
in Antigua, but which were difcovered by the
Whites, before they could be brought to bear,
and of the horrid Executions which followed upon
the Difcovery. 6 The King, that is, he who Was
' to have been King of the Blacks had the Plot
c fjucceeded, and his two Generals, with two
4 others, were all broke on a Wheel (that is,
' their Bones were broke with an Iron Bar whilft
' alive.) Four more of the principal Confpirators
4 were burnt the fame Day ; as were feven on the
' next Day. Six were hung alive in Chains on
* Gibbets, andftarved to Death; after which their
' Heads were cut off, and their Bodies burnt *, and
' Fifty-eight others were, at feveral .Times,
* chained to Stakes, and burnt alive.' Now, was
not this a lamentable Affair (and there have been
feveral Inftances of fuch Cruelty in our Plantations)
that fo many poor Creatures fliould be put to the
greateft Tortures, and be made to fuffer the moft
painful Deaths! Some of the French Prifoners in
England, whofe Condition is far preferable to that
cf moft of the Slaves in our Colonies, have at¬
tempted to break outofPrifon, but, being difco¬
vered in Time, failed in their Attempt. Now
fbould not we have been reckoned, by all the
World, a cruel barbarous People, if the Govern¬
ment had ordered fome of them to be broke on the
Wheel, fome to be burnt alive, and others to be
ftarved to Death, though the French are our Ene¬
mies, and are engaged in an uojuft War againft
us •, whereas thole Slaves had never done any Hurt
or Injury to thofe who torture them to Death.—
We
t 59 D
We reckon ourfelves to be a brave, generous, hu ¬
mane civilized People •, but is this a true
Character, while that barbarous, favage Man-
Trade, in the carrying on of which To many Thou -
fand Lives are facrificed every Year, is not only
winked at, but countenanced and incouraged
amongft us ? There are other Nations in
Europe, befides ours, concerned in this Trade, but
that does not leflen the Guilt in our People, tho*
it may keep them in Countenance ; but the Englijh
are now more concerned, I believe, than all the
other Nations in Europe, taken together, in this
abominable Trade, which is the greateft Scandal
and Reproach that lies upon this Nation ; the re¬
moving of which, by proclaiming Liberty to thofe
Captives now in our Plantations, making them
Freemen, and prohibiting for ever, upon the
fevereft Penalties, the Man-Trade throughout all
hisMajefty's Dominions, and thereby leading the
Way, and giving a good Example to the other Na¬
tions in Europe, concerned in the Man-Trade,
would be much to the Honour of our Government,
and I am fure would give great Pleafure to all who
are Lovers of Mankind, and have a Regard for
the Honour, Safety, and Profperity of their Coun¬
try. It is obje&ed, that if the EngliJJj were to
drop this Trade entirely, it would be immediately
thereupon carried on by other Nations, to a much
greater Degree than it now is.—Perhaps that
might be the Confequence, and if it fliould, they
muft be anfwerable for that, the Guilt and Scandal
would lie upon them. But if it were certain that
this would be the Cafe, this Confideration cannot
be a j lift Reafon for our continuingto carry onfuch
II 2 a
[ 60 ]
& wicked Trade. If we fhould not carry on this
Trade others would, therefore we may, would
be a ftrange Way of reafoning.
And as this Slave-Trade has been encouraged
by the Government, for many Reigns back, it is
queried, whether the prefent Government, in cafe
they were to fet thofe Negroes in our Colonies at
Liberty 9 fhould not make good that .Lofs to their
Maftersj but I (ball not take upon me todetermine
that Point; our Governors are beftJudges of that,
only I think they had betterdo fo, though it fhould
require fome Millions to do it, than fuffe/ thofe
poor Creatures to continue in the miferabie State
of Slavery they are now in. There is one Confe-
quencemore, which fome People fear, would fol¬
low upon prohibiting of the Negroe Trade, and
that is5 thatfuchaProhibition Would greatly leffen,
not utterly ruin, fome other confiderable
Branches of our Commerce, efpecially the Sugar
and the Tobacco Trades, becaufe of the Difficulty
of getting Hands enough, in the Room of the
Blacks, to work and labour in thofe Plantations*
■where thefe Commodities are produced j but this
can be no real Objection againft what I have afiert-
ed, or in Juftification of the Man-Trade j for if
this Trade be in itfelfone continued Scene of fuch
Cruelty and Barbarity* as it hath been reprefented
to be, it muft be allowed, that it ought to be
ihiftly prohibited, let the Confequences of fuch a
Prohibition be what they will, that none fhould
be fuffered to go on, tormenting and murdering
their Fellow-creatures* Year after Year, though
we were never any more to fee an Ounce of To¬
bacco or Sugar in Great-Britain. The inconveni"
£nces, or worldly Pifadvantages, arifing from ad^
moralObligations we are under, let them be ever
fo great, are of no Confideration at all in the Eye
of Reafon, nor can they have any Weight with,
or Influence upon an honeft, virtuousMind, when
fet againft thefe Obligations.
tfhe Author of the Dialogues on the Man-Trade,
concludes with the following Addrefs to the Guinn
Merchants in England..
S the Bufinefs you are concerned in, and
carry on openly and publicly before the
World, has a bad Afpedt, and you are fenfible
that moft Men make Objections againft it, and
blame you for engaging in it, you are obliged
to juftify it to the World, upon the Principles of
Reafon, Equity and Humanity, to make it ap¬
pear, that it is no unjuft Invafion of the Perfons,
or Incroachment on the Rights of Men; or for
ever to lay it alide. And this is what every one,
not only of your Fellow Subjects in England, bun
of your Fellow Men upon the Face of the Earth,
who are any Way concerned in the fame Bufinefs,
have a Right to infift upon, and demand from
you ; and ought, in a proper Manner to refent ir,
if you will do neither the one nor the other.
But, laying afide the Refentment of Man,
which is but of little or no Moment, in Com-
parifon with that of the Almighty, of the
Supreme Law-giver and Judge of Mankind, think
of a future Reckoning. Confider how you fliall
come offin the great and awful Day of Account.
You now heap up Riches, and live in Pleafure ?
SiRSj
but
[ 62 ]
but oh ! what will you do in the End thereof?
and that is not far off. What if Death fhould
feize upon you, and hurry you out of this World,
under all that Load of Blood-guiltinefs, thac now
lies upon your Souls ? The Gofpel (I fuppofe I
am now fpeakin^ to profefied Chriftians) exprefly
declares, that Thieves and Murderers fhall not in¬
herit the Kingdom *)/Gov. Confider that at the
fame Time, and the fame Means you now
treafure up worldly Riches, you are treafuring
up'to yourfelves Wrath, againft the Day of Wrath,
and Vengeance that Jhall come upon the Workers of
Iniquity, unlefs prevented by a timely Repentance.
And what greater Iniquity, what Crime that is
more heinous, that carries in it more complicated
Guilt, can you name, than that in the habitual de¬
liberate Pra&ice of which you now live ? Good
God ! How can you, as fome of you do, go to the
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper ? How can you
lift up your guilty Eyes to Heaven ? How can you
pray for Mercy to him that made you, or hope for
any Favour from him that formed you, while" you
go on thus grofly and openly to dilhonour him,
in debafing and deftroying the nobleft Workman-
fhip of his Hands in this lower World ? He is
the Father of Men \ and do you think he will not
refent fuch Treatment of his Offspring, whomhe
hath fo loved, as to give his only begotten Son, that
whofoever believeth in him, might not perifh, but have
everlajling Life ? This Love of God to Man, re¬
vealed in the Gofpel, is a great Aggravation of
your Guilt •> for if God fo loved us, we ought alfo to
love one another. You remember the Fate of the
Servant* who took Hold of his Fellow-Servant,
who was in his Debt, by the Throat, and caft
hirri
t 63 ]
liim intoPrifon : Think then, and tremble to
think, what will be your Fate, who take your
Fellow-Servants by the Throat, that owe you not
a Penny, and make them Prifoners for Life.
Give yourfelves Leave to refleft impartially up¬
on, and confider the Nature of, this Man-Trade,
which if you do, your Hearts muft needs relent,
if you have not loft all Senfe of Humanity, all Pi¬
ty and Compafiion towards thofe of your own
Kind, to think what Calamities, what Havock
and Deftrudtion among them, you have been the
Authors of for filthy Lucre's Sake.
God grant you may be made fenfible of your
Guilt, and repent in Time. And as this is my
hearty and earneft Prayer to God for you, I hope
you will excufe the Plainnefs and Freedom of this
Addrefs in your fincere Friend, who would be
glad to do you any Good that lies in his Power.
ND now Reader, if, from the Example of
others, and without a fufficient Knowledge
of the deplorable Confequences attendant on
this Trade, thou haft inadvertently engaged
therein, let me befeech thee, by the Mercies of
Christ Jesus our Lord (thofe Mercies which,
perhaps, e'er long, thou and I (hall defire to fly
to, as our only Refuge) that thou wouldft refrain a
Practice fo inconfiftent with thy Duty, both as a
Chriftian and a Man. Remember, the firft and
chief Commandment is, Thou jhalt love the Lord
thy God with all thy Heart. And that the Second
like untct it is, Thou Jhalt love thy Neighbour as thy-
J. PHIL MO RE.
fiif.
[ 64 ]
felf< That our bleffed Redeemer has enjoined u$
to do unto others as -we would they Jhould do Unt-o us;
and that it will be thofe who have been righteous
and merciful to their Fellow-Creatures, that will:
beintitled to the Mercy of the Great Judge of
Heaven and Earth, before whom we mult all ap¬
pear, to give an Account of the Deeds done in
the Body. '
And as for thofe who confefs themfclves now
convinced of the Iniquity and Injuftice of buying
and felling their Fellow-Creatures,and yet conti-*
nue to keep thofe Negroes they are poffeiFed of in
Bondage, for the Sake of the Profit arifmg from
their Labour, it behoves them feriouflv to corffider
their Motives for fuch a Conduct .; whether the
Di(tin£tion they make between buying.a Negroe,
and keeping the fame Negroe, or his Offspring, in
perpetual Bondage, is not a Plea founded more in
Words than fupported by Truth ; for it muft be
obvious to every Perfon, who is not blinded by
the Delire of Gain, that the Right by which thefe
Men hold the Negroes in Bondage, is no other than
what is derived from thofe who ftole them, who,
having no other Title, but that which Robbefs
have over their Prey, could not convey any better
to the Purchafer ; and that therefore to continue
to hold them in Bondage, for worldly Advantage,
by no other Right than that which thpfe guilty
Men give them, is contenting to, and partaking
or their Guilt. Inftances may fall out, where
Men ofCandour may be concerned inthePurchafe
oi Negroes, purely from a Principle of Charity ;
and there are alio many of the Blacks,, amongft Us,
whole Difpolitions, Infirmities or Age, make it
peceffgry they fhould be under Care j tut in tha
_ t «5 ]
Cafe beforementioned, where Perfons declare
themfelves convinced of" the Injuftice and Iniquity
of this Trade, and are poflfefled of Negroes who
are capable of managing for themfelves, and have
fufficiently paid, by their Labour, for their Pur-
chafe or bringing up, befides the Profit Tome Fa¬
milies have reaped, during a long Courfe of Years,
from the Labour of their Progenitors; it is the
undoubted Duty of their PofTefTors to reftore them
their Liberty •, and alfoto ufe all reafonableEndea¬
vours, to enable them to procure a comfortable
Living, not only as an Adtof Juftice to the In¬
dividuals, but as a Debt due, on Account of the
Oppreflion and Injuftice perpetrated on them, or
their Anceftors •, and as the beft Means to avert
the Judgements of God, which it is to be feared
will fall on Families and Countries, in Proportion
as they have, more or lefs, defiled themfelves with
this iniquitous Traffic.
DOUBTS may arife in the Minds offome, whe¬
ther the foregoing Accounts, relating to the
natural Capacity and good Difpofition of many of
the Inhabitants of Guinea, and of the violent Man¬
ner in which they appear to be torn from their na¬
tive Land, are fufficiently founded on Truth, as the
Negroes who are brought to us are feldom heard to
complain, and do not manifeft that Docility and
Quicknefs of Parts which might be expe&ed from
this Account; Perfons who may make fuch Ob¬
jections, are defired impartially toconfider whether
this is not owing, to the many Difcouragements
thefe poor Jfricans labour under, though in an
enlightened Chriftian Country, and the little Op¬
portunity they have of exerting and improving
their natural Talents. They are conftantly em-
I * ployed
t 66 5
ployed in fervile Labour, and the abjeft Conditioft
in which we fee them, from our Childhood, has a
natural Tendency to create in us an Idea of a
Superiority, and induces many to look upon
them as an ignorant and contemptible Part of
Mankind *, add to this, that they have but littie
Opportunity of freely converting with luch of the
Whites as might impart Inftrud'tion to them, the
endeavouring of which would, indeed, by moft,
be accounted Folly, if not Prefumption. A
Fondnefs for Wealth, or for gaining Efleem and
Honour, is what prompts moft Men to the Defire
of excelling others, but thefe Moti ves for the Ex¬
ertion and Improvement of their Faculties can
have but little or no Influence upon the Minds of
the Negroe&yit w of them having Hopes of attain-*
ing to any Condition beyond that of Slavery ; fo
that tho' the natural Capacity of many of them be
ever fo good, yet they have no Inducement or Op¬
portunity of exerting it to any Advantage, which
naturally tends to deprefs their Minds, and fink
their Spirits into Habits of Idlenefs and Sloth,
which they would, in all Likelihood, have been
free from, had they ftood upon an equal Footing
with the white People: Neverthelefs it may, with
Truth, be faid, that, amongft thofe who have ob¬
tained their Freedom, as well as thofe who remain
in Servitude, fome have manifefted as much Saga¬
city and Uprightnefs of Heart as could have been
expe&ed from the Whites, under thelike Circum-
itances j and if all the free Negrces have not done
the fame, is it a Matter of Surprize ? Have we not
Reafcn to make Complaint with Refpeft to many
of our white Servants, when from under our Care,
tho' moft of them have had nugch greater Advan¬
tages
[ <?7 J
tages than the Blacks ? who, even when free, fbitl
labour under the Difficulties before-mentioned,
having but little Accefs to, and Incercourfe with
the white People ; they yet remained confined
within the former Limits of Converfation with
thofe of their own Colour, and confequently have
but little more Opportunity of Knowledge and
Improvement than when in Slavery.
And if they feldom complain of the unjuft and
cruel Ufage they have received, in being forced
from their native Country, &c. it is not to be won¬
dered at; as it is a confiderable Time after their
Arrival amongft us before they can fpeak our Lan¬
guage, and, by* the Time they are able to ex-
prefs themfelves, they cannot but obferve, from,
the Behaviour of the Whites, that little or no No¬
tice would be taken of their Complaints ; yet let:
any. Perfon enquire of thofe who had attained the
Age of Reafon, before they were brought from
their nativeLand, and he (hall hear fuch Relations
as, if not loft to the common Feelings of Huma¬
nity, will fenfibly affedt his Heart. The Caie of
a poorNegroe^ not long fince brought fxomGuinea%
is a recent Inftance of this Kind. From his firfl;
Arrival he appeared thoughtful and dejefted, the
Caufe of which was not known till he was able to
fpeak Englijh, when the Account he gave of him-
felf was, that he had a Wife, and Children in his
own Country, that fome of them being fick and
thirfty, he went, in the Night-time, to fetch
Water at a Spring, where he was violently feized,
and carried away by fome Perfons who lay in Wait
to catch Men, whence he was tran(ported to Ame-
'rica ; the Remembrance of his Family, Friends,
and other Connections left behind, which he never
I % expe&ed
[ 68 ]
expe&ed to fee any more, was the principal Caule
of his Deje£tion and Grief. Can any companionate
Heart hear this Relation without being affe&ed
with Sympathy and Sorrow ? And doubtlefs the
Cafe of many of thefe unhappy People would,
upon Enquiry, appear attended with Circum-
ftances equally tragical and aggravating. Now,
you that have ftudied the Book of Confcience, and
thoie that are learned in the Law, what will you
fay to this deplorable Cafe ? When, and how, has
this Man forfeited his Liberty ? Does not Juftice
loudly call for its being reftored to him ? Has he
not the fame Right to demand it as any of us
fhould have, if we had been violently fnatched by
Pirates from our native Land ? Where Inftances
of this Kind frequently occur, and are neither en¬
quired into, nor redreffed by thofe whofe Duty it
is to feek Judgement, and relieve the Opprejfed, what
can be expedted, but that the Groans and Cries of
thefe Sufferers will reach Heaven ? and what Jhall
ye do when God rifeth up, and when he vijitethy
what Jhall ye anfwer him? Did not he that made them
make us, and did not onefajhion us in the Womb ?*
It
* Since this EfTay has been under the Prefs, theManufcript
of a Voyage to theCoaft of Guinea, has been put into the Edi-
torsHands; a fmall Extraft of which it is thought, may be of
Service it publifhed here; as it contains aplain, tho' fhocking
Jnilance of the Calamities and Bloodfhed which the Slave-
Trade occafions in that Country ; and this principally carried
on at the Inftigation of the Black Tradeis, who from their
Intercourfe and Converfe with the European Fadtors have
learn'd to flick at no Adl of Cruelty to fatisfy their Avarice ;
a Vice they were generally untainted with, before their Ac¬
quaintance with them. Thefe Traders, if they have no Stock
t 69 ]•
IT is fcarce to be doubted but that the fore¬
going Accounts will beget in the Heart of
every confiderate Reader an earneft Defire to
fee a Stop put to this complicated Evil but
the Objection with many is, what (hall be done
with thofe Negroes already imported and born in
our Families ? Muft they be fent to Jfrica ? That
would be to expofe them, in a ftrange Land, to
greaterDifficulties than many of them labour un¬
der at prefent. To fet them fuddenly free here
would be perhaps attended with no lefs Difficulty,
forundifciplinedas they are in Religion and Virtue,
they might give a loofe to thofe evil Habits, which
the Fear of a Mafter would havereftrained. Thefe
are
of Slaves when the Veflels arrive, will foment and ftir up
Difcords and Divifions amongft the Natives, in order to in¬
duce them to make Incurfions upon the neighbouring Dif-
tridts, (fome of which are but fmall) to procure Slaves,
which they difpofe of to the Europeans, in Exchange for
fuch Commodities as they want.
ExtraSl of a Voyage to the Coaji of Guinea for Slaves, &c. in
a Veffel from Liverpool, Robert Law, Mafter, taken verba"
timfrom the original Manufcript of the Surgeon s 'J ournal, viz*
< CESTRO, December the 29th, 1724. No Trade to Day,
4 tho' many Traders came on board, they informed us
4 that the People are gone to War within Land, and will
' bring Prifoners enough in two or three Days, in Hopes of
4 which we flay.'
The 30th Day ' No Trade yet, but our Traders came
* on board, to Day, and informed us the People had burnt
4 four Towns of their Enemies ; and indeed we have feea
4 great Smoke all the Morning, a good Way up the Country;
* fo that To-morrow we expeft Slaves off —another
* large Ship isjuft come in; Yefterday came in a large
* Londoner
The
.[ 7° ].
are Obje&ions which weigh with many well-dif-
pofed People •, and indeed it inuft be granted there
are Difficulties in the Way ; nor can any general
Change be made, or Reformation effe<fted without
fome: But the Difficulties are not fo great but
that they may be furmounted. If the Govern¬
ment were fo fenfible of the Iniquity and Danger
attendant on this Pra£tice, as to be willing to feek
a Remedy, doubtlefs the Almighty would blefs this
good Intention, and fuch Methods would be
thought of as would not only put an End to the
unjuftOppreffionof the Negroes, but might bring
them under fuch Regulations, as would enable
them to become profitable Members of Society.
For theFurtherance of which, the following Pro-
pofais are offered to Confiaeration, to be improv¬
ed by thofe in whofe Power it is to remedy this
mighty Evil. In the firft Place, that all farther
Importation be abfolutely prohibited. And as to
thofe already purchafed, or born among us, after
ferving fo long as (hall be adequate to the Money
paid, or the Charge of bringing them up (which
may be decided by Courts of Juftice) let them by
Law be declared free: Neverthelefs let the fame
Court of Juftice havePower to lengthen the Time
of
The 31ft 'Fair Weather, but no Trade, yet we fee
* each Night Towns burning, but we hear the Sejiro Men
« are many of them killed, by the inland Negroes, fo that
e we fear this War will be unfuccefsful.'
The 2d "January. ' Laft Night we faw a prodigious Fire
« break out about eleven o'Clock, and this Morning fee the
< Town of Sejiro burnt down to the Ground (it contained
' fome Hundred Houfes) fo that we find their Enemies are
4 too hard for them at prefent, and confequently our Trade
4 fpoiled here ; fo that about feven o'Clock we weighedAn-
♦ chor, as did likewtfe the three other Yeffels, to prQcefd
' lower down.'
[ 7i 1
of any Slave's Servitude, upon legal Proof being
made, of that Slave's having wilfully negle&ed his
t)uty. Let every Slave thus fet free be enrolled
in the Country Court, and obliged to beaRefident
during a certain Number of Years within the faid
County, under the Infpe&ion of the Overfeers of
the Poor. Thus being in fome Sort ftill under the
Diredtion of Governors, and Notice ofthofewho
Were formerly acquainted with them, they would,
be obliged to aft circumfpedtly, and make a pro¬
per Ufe of their Liberty ; and their Children have
an Opportunity of fuch Inftrudtion as might be
provided for them, under the Tuition of proper
Inftru&ors; thus both Parents and Children might
grow up to be ufeful Members of the Communi¬
ty. And farther, where the Nature of the Coun¬
try would permit (as certainly the uncultivated
Condition of our Southern Colonies eafily would)
fuppofe a fmall Tra£t of Land, for Inftance, five
and twenty Acres were afligned to every Negroe
Family, and they obliged to live upon and im¬
prove it (when not hired out to work for the
Whites) this would encourage them to exert their
Abilities, and become induftrious Subje&s: Thus
both Planters and Tradefmen would be plentifully
fupplied with chearfuland willing-minded Labour¬
ers •, much vacant Land would be cultivated; the
Produce of the Country greatly encreafed ; Arts
and Manufactures advanced ; the Taxes for the
Support of Government leffened to Individuals,
by the Increafe of Taxables. And the Negroes
inttead ofgiyingjuft Caufe of fearful Apprehen-
fions, and weakning the internal Strength of the
Government where they refide, as they certainly
muft
I 72 ]
inuft in their prefent Condition,* would be¬
come interefted in its Security and Welfare.
Themiftaken Opinion, which moft People have
entertained, that the Negroes in Africa live in the
fame wild unfettledManner as the American Indians
do, has led many to think it impoffible to bring
them into that civilized Order which is requifite for
their becoming good Members of Society; but,
it is hoped, that what has already been faid on that
Head, will convince the candid Reader, that this
Opinion is founded on miftaken Apprehenfions ;
and to put this Matter in a yet clearer Light, it
may not be amifs to add, that altho' amongft the
many Nations living on that Part of Africa, inha¬
bited by the Negroes, which extend many Thou-
fand Miles, there are doubtlefs fome People of a
more favage Difpofition than others, yet certain it
is, that the naturalDifpofition of the Generality of
the Negroes is widely different from the roving
Difpofitions of our Indians; for they generally fet¬
tle together, and employ themfelves in Agricul-
tureand Commerce. Some large Nations are repre-
fented as induftrious and careful in the Cultivation
of their Lands ; breeding Cattle, and carrying on
a Trade to diftant Parts. An Inftance of this ap¬
pears from the Account we have of the principal
Nations, fettled back of the Fadloriesof Goree and
Senegal^ Places of great Trade, in the Latitude
of 15 to 20 Degrees North, lately taken by the
ILnglijh from the French, from whence great Num¬
bers
• The hardUfage the Negroes meet with in the Planta¬
tions, and the great Difproportion between them and the
white People, will always be ajuft Caufe of Terror : In
''Jamaica, and South-Carolina, it is fuppofed that there are at
leaft iilteen Blacks to one White.
f 73 ]
bers of Slaves have for a long Time been yearly
exported to the Plantations. In the 2d Vol. of the
Collection, we are told,that this Country,.which is
fituate between the River Senegaland Gambia, and
extends many Plundredsof Miles, is chiefly inhabit¬
ed by three Negroe Nations, viz. The Mandigos,
the FullySj and the Jalofs: Andrew Brue the gene¬
ral Director* often beforementioned, fays, the
•Mandigos are difperfed all over the Country, they
are the moft rigid Mahometans among the Ne¬
groes,* they drink no Wine or Brandy, and are
politer than the other Negroes the chief Trade of
the Country goes thro'their Hands •, they are labo¬
rious and induftrious, keeping their Grounds well
cultivated, and breeding a good Stock of Cattle.
i -Some of thefe People who are fettled up
the River Senegal, carry on a Trade to all the
neighbouring Kingdoms •, and by thefe Means amafs
Riches, and propagate the Mahometan Religion
wherefoever they go. The Author agrees
they area good Sort of People, honeft, induftri¬
ous, and very ready to learn Arts and Sciences.
K The
* Job/on, in the Account of his Travels, obferves,, ' That
* the Natives along the Gambia, worfhip the one true and
' only God, whom they call Allah'—— they have no Refem-
* blanCe of Divine Things, but acknowledge Mahomet——;
* —They have fome broken Tradition of Jesus Christ,
'* fpeaking of him as a great Prophet, who wrought many
' extraordinary Miracles.'
The Mahometan Negroes fay their Prayers thrice a Day, at
Day-break, Noon, andSun-fet: Each Village has a. Prieft,
Who calls them to their Duty. It is furprijing (fays the Au¬
thor) as well as commendable to fee the Modefty, Attention,
and Reverence they obferve during their Worfhip, which
lafts half an Hour.- He was frequently prefent at their
Ceremonies, and had often the Curiofity to a Ik fome of their
Pj iefts
[ 74 ]
TheF#//yjarefettled on both Sides of the River
Senegal •, their Country, which is very fruitful and
populous, extends .near four Hundred Miles from
Eaft to Weft: They are ordinarily of a deep tawny
Complexion, appearing to bear fomeAffinity with
the Moors, to whofe Country they join on the
North. They are a well-made People, and tho'
they feem tender, yet they will labour 'ftoutly at
hard Work, are good Farmers, and make great
Harvefts of Corn, Cotton, Tobacco, Peafe, &c.
and breed a gre.at Number of Cattle of all Kinds.
Brue fays the Company gets the bed
Hides from them. And Labat, in his Account of
theWeft-Indies, fpeakingof the differentNations of
Negroes fold for Slaves at Martinico, mentions
thefe Fullys as a People more fuitable than moft
other
Priefts the Purport of their Prayers andCeremonies; their An-
Aver always was, ' That they adored God by projlrating them-
c /elves before him, that by humbling them/elves they acknonu*
' ledged their civn Infgnifi'cancy— and farther entreated
' him toforgi'Vi their Faults, and to grant them all good and
' nectffary 'Things, as ivell as Deliverance from Evil.' The
MandigoPrie&s are much more polite than the other Negroes,
and love Traffic— in which they are very honeft, but
exadl and artful: They are very charitable and kind to one
another Jobfon takes Notice of feveral good Qualities
in thefe Negroe Priefts, particularly their great Sobriety.
They gain their Livelihood by keeping School,
for the Education of the Children- ——1 -The
Boys are taught to read andwrite by aBook made of afmooth
Bit of Wood, wherein the LefTons are written with a Kind of
black Ink, and a Pen like a Pencil. They not only teach in
Schools, but rove about theCountry,teaching and inflru&ing
for which the whole Country is open to them $ and
they have free Recourfe through all Places, howevfer the
Kings may be at War together.
I 75 ]
other Negroes to take care of Cattle, &c.% Some
of„thefe Fully Blacks, who dwell on both Sides the
River Gambia, are in Subjection to the Mandigos,
amongft whom they have fettled from Time to
Timej having been, probably, driven out of their
own Country by War or Famine. They have
Chiefs of their own, who rule with much Modera¬
tion. They live in Clans, build Towns, and are
not fubjeft to any Kings of the Country, though
they live in their Territories ; for if they are ill-
treated by one Nation, they breakup their Town
and remove to another. They are alfo ftrift Ma¬
hometans, few amongft chem will drink Brandy, or
any Thing ftronger than Water and Sugar: Their
Form of Government goes on eafy, becaufe the
People are of a good quiet Difpofition, and fo well
inftru&ed in what is juft and right, that a Man
»vho does ill is the Abomination of all, and none
.will fupport him againft the Chiefs. In thefe
Countries the Natives are not covetous of Land,
defiring no more than what they ufe •, and as they
do not plough with Horfes and Cattle, they can
ufe but very little, therefore the Kings are willing
to give thzFullys Leave to live in their Countriess.
and cultivate Lands. They plant Tobacco near
their Houfes, and Cotton all round their Towns*
which they fence in together » beyond that they
fow Indian and GuineaCorn and Rice :.As they are
induftrious and frugal, they have more Corn and
Cotton than they confume, which they fell at rea-
fonable Rates: Their Clothing ia of white Cotton
K 2 of
X Thofe Negroes that were brought laftYear up this River,,
and fold on the Jerfey Shore, oppoilte thisCity, were proba¬
bly of the Fully Nation, as the VefTel came from the River
Senegal.
[ j6 j
pf their'ovyn Manufadure: They' arc a cffcari:P<ea-»
pie, efpecially the Women. As they are hofpita-.
ble and kind to all, it is reckoned' a Blefllng to,
have a Fully Town in the Nighbourhood : They
never fuffer any of their own Nation to want,
but fupport the Old, the Blind* and the Lame ;
and, as far as their Abilities go, fupply the Ne-
ceffities ofth£ Mandigos, great Numbers of whom
they have maintained in Famines/ They are
rarely angry, and the Author Could never hear-
them abuie one another. • :-
In the Collection, we have atfo a favorable Ac¬
count of tfe Condnft and Difpofition of a Num¬
ber of freeNegroesfettled on ihtCapeVerd Iflands.
The Account is principally taken from the Wri¬
tings of George Roberts, Wfob: was (bipwreck'd on
one of thofeTfiands; they are ten in Number,'the
largt^fc called St.Jago, is fettled by theJPortugii&fey
the reft are moftly inhabited by Negroes orMulat- '
toes, which our Aurhorfays happened in the fol¬
lowing Manner, viz. 4 The Portuguefe fettled on
* the two largeft Iflands, provided themfelves
4 with Negroe-Slaves from Guinea to do their
4 Work •, and as it was ufual with them to .atone.
4 for their Sins on theirDeath-bed, by giving one
4 or more Skives their Freedom, thefe Free-
4 Blacks, being in a Climate natural to them,
4 creafed faft ; many became Tenants to the
Whites, others not brooking their lordly and
4 opprefHve Deportment, went over to the lefTer
4 luands. Thele ielTer I (lands having been bef-
4 towed by the King to lbme of his Nobles,
4 they appoint Deputy-Governors, who are gene-
4 rally Negroes.' Their Priefls are.alfo Negroes,
who (Roberts fays) ' make better and foberer
C 77. J
4 Clergymen than the Whites, thele being moftiy
4 of.loofe and vicious Lives, which caufed the
4 BiiThop, who was a Man of a meek and mild
' Difpofition, to prefer the Blacks with no more
4- Education than what they could have at St.
' \faZ°- This (adds the Author) was a commen-
4 dabie Pradtice of the Bilhop; who met with a
4 great Deal of Trouble on that Account from
4 the Friars, who made a Practice of ridiculing
4 the Ignorance of thefe Negroe-Priefls.' The
PortuguefeInhabitants of thofe Iflands are faid (in
the Collection) ro bear a poor Character, being
generally reprefented as a proud, lazy, ignorant
People ; but, on the contrary, the Free-Negroes,
who are much the greateft Number, are faid to be
moftly an innocent good tempered People. Roberts
fpeaks particularly well of the Black Governor of
BonaviJiay and of Captain Domingo\ a fenfible
Black on that Jfland, who was a fair Dealer, and
could read French and Englijh. The Governor,
Pried, and People of the Ifland of Mayoy were ajl
Negroes, tho', being fubjeft to the Portuguefe^xhey
had their Religion and Language. Captain
Dampier, who was on this Ifland many Years before
Roberts, fays, that ^ The Governor had his Patent
4 from the Governor of St. Jago\ that theNegroe,
4 who held thatOfiice in theYear 1699, was a ve-
4 ry civil, fenfible Man ; and adds, that thelnha-
4 bitants were generally a good Sort of People^*
4 that
* 4 Dampier expreffes his Concern at the Abufe thefe poor
' People had received from the Crew of a Brijlol Veffel, who
< going afhore under Pretence of Friendftiip, feized on the
< Governor, with fome others, and carrying them 011 board,
< made them fend to Land for Cattle to ranfom their Liber-
* ties : Yet after this failed away with them, and poffibly,
c fays the Author, never brought them again.'
[ 78 ]
e that they looked well,'" being fat and flefhy,
* tho' the Ifland appears lb barren to a Stranger,
c as fcarce to have Food for its Inhabitants.'
The Ifland upon which Roberts was fliipwreck'd
was called Si. John-, it was wholly inhabited by
Blacks, he fays, that tho' very ignorant and fuper-
ftitious, yet they were the moftinnocent and harm-
lefs of all thofe Iflanders. He fpeaks highly of
their moral Virtue, efpecially their Charity, Hu¬
mility andHofpitality: He particularly commends
their Veneration for Age. While he lay lick he
was lodged by one of the chief Inhabitants, and
fupplied with all Kind of NeceiTaries: Every Day
fome or other would come to fee how he did, and
fcarce ever without a Fowl, or fome Fruit for him:
They (hewed him great Kindnefs in every other
Refped, and freely afiifted him in building a fmall
VefTel to carry him off the Ifland j when he talked
of making them a Return for thefe Favours, they
faid, they were glad they had been of any Service
to him, and thought it their Duty toferve Strangers
in Diftrefs.
Upon the Whole of what has been faid, it mufl
appear to every honed unprejudiced Reader, that
the Negroes are equally intituled to the common
Privileges of Mankind with the Whites; that they
have the fame rational Powers, the fame natural
Affections, and are as fufceptible of Pain and
Grief as they ; that therefore the bringing and
keeping them in Bondage, is an Inftance
of Opprefllon and lnjuftice of the moft griev¬
ous Nature, fuch as is fcarcely to be paral¬
lelled by any Example in the prefent or former
Ages. Many of its woeful Effe&s have already
been expreiTed, but thofe which mo*e particularly
call
t 79 1
call for the Notice and Redrefs of the Govern¬
ment, arifes from its Inconfiftency with every
Thing that is juftand humane, whence the worft
EfFe&s naturally flow to the Religion and Morals
of the People where it prevails. Its deftru&ive
Consequences to labouring People and Trades¬
men is no lefs worthy the Attention of thofe who
have Inclination andPower to ferve their Country.
ThisRank ofPeople, as they are the chiefStrength
and Support Gf a Community, fo their Situation
and Welfare call for the particular Care of every
prudent Government •, but where Slave-lceeping
prevails, their Places and Services being fupplied
by fhe Negroes, they find themfelves flighted, dis¬
regarded, and robbed of the natural Opportuni¬
ties ofLabour common in otherCountries, where¬
by they are much difcouraged and their Families
often reduced to Want: To which may be added
theDifcouragement alfogiven by thisTrade to many
poor People* that can fcarce get Bread in our Mo¬
ther Country, who, if pot prevented, on Account
of the great Number of Negroes, would be likely
to come over into the Colonies where they might,
with Eafe, procure to themfelves a more com¬
fortable Living than at Home. Another direful
EfFeft arifes from the fearful Apprehenfions and
Terrors which often feize the Mind of the People,
for the Suppreflion of which the moft cruel Me¬
thods are purfued, fuch as are indeed a Reproach
to Chriftianity, and will by Degrees harden the
Hearts of thofe who are adtive therein, fo as totally
to exclude them from thatTendernefs and Sym¬
pathy for the Sufferings of theirFellow Creatures,
which conftitutes the Happinefs of Society, and
is the Glory of intelligent Beings. As for the Pof-
feflbrs
t so 3
feffors of the Npjroes themfelves, though the
Sumptuoufnefs "and itafe in which they live, and
the Attendance andGbfequioufnefs of their Slaves,
mayraifein their Minds an imagined Apprehenfion
of their being Perfons more happy, and of great¬
er Importance than other People, who donot live
in the like Affluence and State ; yet happy ^otild
it be if they,were,fenfible how great is their Mif-
take, and could be perfuaded ferioufly to confi-
der and apply the Parable of the rich Man and
poor Lazarus, mentioned by ourSAViouR, where¬
by they might plainly perceive that they have no
Caufe to exult, becaufe of their Power and Plenty*
but have; rather Occafion to mourn over them-
felves, their Children, and their Country; the
natural Effedtof their Situation being fuch as has
been repeatedly obferved, iCto fill Men with
' Haughtinefs, tyranny, Luxury and Barbarity;
4 corrupting the Minds, and debaftng the Morals of
• their Children, to the unfpeakable Prejudice of Re-
*■ ligion and Virtue, and the Exclujion of that holySfii-
' rit of univ erfal Love, Meeknefs and Charity, which
4 is the unchangeable Nature and Glory of true Chrif-
* tianity
FINIS;