W o m e n ’s r o le i n t h e A n t i -S la v e r y M ove m e nt Civi GB

1/2

Source: “Women’s Role in the British Anti-Slavery Movement, 1787-1840”, Véronique Molinari.

! I NTRO : ! Not only did women play a key role in the mobilization of public support that was essential to the fight, but also exerted influence. They were also the ones who steered the movement from gradualism to immediatism. ! T HE C AMPAIGN AGAINST THE S LAVE T RADE : ! Exclusion from the political sphere precluded women from taking an active & formal part. ! There never was at that time any question that women might be allowed to sign the petitions. ! They were poetesses such as Hannah More, Anna Laetitia Barbauld, Helen Maria Williams, Ann Yearsley: contributed a large amount of poetry. ! Women represented about ten per cent of the financial supporters of the Sty for the Abolition of the ST, but their contribution was limited & mostly of an informal kind. ! After defeat of bill psted to Pt, the London Committee, in 1791, decided to change its tactics and appeal directly to the people through public meetings, petitions & pamphlets. It was now up to the people (dixit WW) to put an end to the ST by refusing to purchase and abstaining from the use of West-India slave-grown sugar. This was only possible by gaining the consent of women (who took care of the household). ! Recognition by men at the time of women’s moral influence in sty. ! T HE C AMPAIGN A GAINST S LAVERY : FROM GRADUALISM TO I MMEDIATISM : ! Throughout the 1807-1823 period, the movement remained mostly conservative and Ptbased, which precluded the organized contribution of women. When petitions agst slavery were resumed, from 1810, women were still rarely allowed the right to sign them.

! In 1824, Elizabeth Heyrick (1st woman to appear on the abo scene) wrote Immediate not Gradual Emancipation: opposition to slavery, she argued, was not a political issue but a Christian crusade. • The tract was a violent attack on gradualism and a passionate plea in favor of the immediate emancipation of the slaves. The Br people, not Pt, were to be the means through which the evil of slavery was to be removed. • The position differed radically from the official policy of the Anti-Slavery Sty that believed in gradual emancipation. ! 1825: Birmingham Ladies Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves created by Heyrick (Lucy Townsend, Mar y Lloyd, Sarah Wedgwood, Sophia Sturge helped). ! Following the lead provided by Heyrick, a new generation of anti-slavery leaders, men and women, sought to reorganize the antislavery movement for a more direct assault on the institution of slavery. ! Women wishing to act on behalf of the slaves were recommended 3 kinds of attack: spreading information about the evils of slavery, raising money for the national orga, promoting the use of free produce. ! WW objected to women’s activities, but such positions became a minority. ! By the 1830s, there were 73 women’s orga campaigning agst slavery. Most of these supported immediate emancipation of slaves and saw gradualism as dangerous to the cause. ! The fact that they were women made it difficult for them to influence directly the Society to change its gradualist policy. Other methods could be used. Abstention from slave-grown sugar e.g. ! Boycott: Ladies’ anti-sl associations had promoted the slave-grown sugar boycott systematically from 1825. Pamphlets arguing that using East Indian sugar was a moral obligation to avoid complicity in the sin of slaveholding. ! Spreading information: Women could also attempt to influence national policy by arousing public opinion thanks to pamphlets, petition drives and canvassing (prospection, démarchage). ! Money: Women who in some areas as Manchester made up over a quarter of all subscribers, cd exert financial pressure on the Anti-Slavery Sty for a change of policy. • Ex: Heyrick suggested in 1830 that the Birmingham Sty should threaten to withdraw its funding if the orga did not support a campaign for immediatism. This was a serious threat as the B Sty was one of the largest local sty contributors to central

!

! ! ! !

funds. In May 1830, the Anti-Slavery Sty agreed to drop the words “mitigation and gradual abolition” from its title. Tensions between abo: Thomas Buxton (spokesman of abo in Pt) favored the use of Ptry means to achieve gradual abo, and newer generation of abo (George Stephen, Joseph Sturge) wanted more comprehensive means for immediate results. ==> Unofficial split within the A-S sty in 1832. The more radical abo composed a subcommittee, the Agency Committee. It was the Agency Committee that obtained the support of most ladies’ sties. Use of mass agitation techniques as large public meetings abstention and petitions, local auxiliaries tied to the London central gp, … So the swing in opinion within the a-s mvt was to a large extent the result of pressure exerted by ladies’ associations.

! After the 1833 Abolition Act, anti-slavery leaders led by Joseph Sturge were determined not to accept the apprenticeship compromise. Began a new campaign to inform the Br public of the atrocities of the apprenticeship system and formed the Central Negro Emancipation Committee of the Anti-Slavery Society. Br women played a major part in this campaign. ! C ONCLUSION : ! The reason why women were allowed to participate in the mvt was to a large extent that their contribution was seen as subordinate to that of men.