In the UK, we tend to associate the end of this gruesome trade with William Wlberforce. But there are a few other Britons associated with abolition, all with links to either Guyana (then the colonies of Demerara and Berbice) or Suriname:-
In the UK, we tend to associate the end of this gruesome trade with William Wlberforce. But there are a few other Britons associated with abolition, all with links to either Guyana (then the colonies of Demerara and Berbice) or Suriname:-
1. John Stedman. A Scottish soldier in the Dutch marines (1773-78), during the Suriname revolt. He married a slave girl, and wrote a book about his exploits. The story of his wife, Joanna, was later turned into a novel by the abolitionists, and became a Georgian best-seller, profoundly affecting the attitudes of the ruling classes.
2. William Blake (1757-1827). Although he never visited the Guianas, he provided the illustrations for Stedman’s book, including that below. Again, such images had a powerful effect on British attitudes.
3. Aphra Behn (1640-1689). Often thought to be the creator of the first English novel, she may also have visited Suriname. Her story, Oroonoko, is set in Suriname, and is unusually sympathetic to those of other races.
4. Charles Waterton (1782-1865). Although this early explorer and naturalist once managed the family sugar estates (at Walton Hall, Guyana), he was an extremely humane man, and made no secret of his disgust at slavery.
5. Voltaire (1694-1778). Although not a British citizen, he was often a refugee in England, and was highly influential here. In ‘Candide’ (published 1758), his hero visits Suriname, and finds a mutilated slave by the side of the road. ‘That is the price of your sugar in Europe’, says the amputee. At this point, Candide renounces his faith in divine providence, and heads for home.
(All these characters feature in my book, ‘Wild Coast’)
