Skip to main content

Profound, and yet unsettling

I read a book called 'The Slave Trade' by Nigel Sadler and here are a collection of quotes from that book telling the story of the slave trade which I have posted on various people’s profiles on Facebook:

'...the first known British trader in Africans was John Hawkins. Between 1562 and 1567, Hawkins made four journeys between the Sierra Leone River and Hispaniola (modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic), taking a total of 1,200 enslaved Africans to sell to the Spanish settlers.'

‎'prices had already been arranged with the quick for what quantity of each goods a female, male and child slave would raise'

‎'Bristol owes ALL her prosperity, nay, her existence to commerce with the West Indies.'

'I never before witnessed such a Christmas Day; the negroes have been beating their tambourines and dancing the whole day and now between eight and nine o'clock they are pursuing their sport as hotly as ever'.

‎'I feel great sorrow when I hear some people in this country say that the slaves do not need better usage, and do not want to be free.'

‎'The First Maroon War was led by Cudjoe and Nanny of the Maroons'

'In 1806 Lord Grenville formed a new government and argued that the slave trade was 'contrary to the principles of justice, humanity and sound policy'. In 1807 the Abolition of the Slave Trade bill was passed with clear majorities in both the House of Commons and House of Lords'.

'Harriet Jacobs recalled that 'the mistress, who ought to protect the helpless victim, has no other feelings towards her but those of jealousy and rage'.'

‎'Harriet Jacobs wrote in 1861, 'I now entered my fifteenth year... He tried his utmost to corrupt the pure principles my grandmother had instilled... He told me I was his property; that I must be subject to his will in all things.''

'1948 Universal Declaration of Human rights 'No one shall be held in slavery or servitutde; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms''


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LETTERS TO BEN: Accessing Better Housing in Bath

Notes from Energy & Utility Forum 2017

1. Robert Symons, CEO of Western Power Distribution said: “Energy demand could rise by 100% by 2030. Smart grids will be needed to manage electric vehicle charging so that the usage does not exceed the supply capacity at any time during the day.” 2. Spoke to Harry Vickers, Business Development Manager of Camborne Energy Storage, Camborne Capital at the Energy and Utility Forum in London on October 23rd 2017. He told me his company is working with Elon Musk to bring Tesla battery grid storage solutions to the UK. 3. Spoke to Sally Barrett-Williams, Chairman of Energy and Utility Forum on October 23rd, who said subsidies for solar projects had ended and her company’s focus has shifted to energy storage schemes. 4. Spoke to Simon Dowland, PhD, at 13:00 on Sunday 29th October, Simon is now working up in Cambridge at the Cavendish Physics Laboratory at the University of Cambridge, he is working in industry for the company Eight19 Ltd a spin off from a research project to bring ne

Camden Crescent and Hedgemead Park

Camden Crescent at the centre of the image, just above Hedgemead Park viewed from Prior Park Landscape Gardens Here are my thoughts: Did you know that Camden Crescent, originally Camden Place and Upper Camden Place (which is now round the corner) was named after the Earl of Camden, Charles Pratt, who was Chancellor of the Exchequer so sponsored the scheme with his symbol on every door and crest of the exchequer on the decoration at the centre of the crescent? Charles Pratt was actually lord of Camden Place in Chislehurst in Kent. He was mates with William Pitt the Elder from Eton and Cambridge days. It was built 1788-1792 by John Eveleigh the architect.  One third of the 22 house crescent collapsed during a landslip which claimed 136 houses on the slopes of Lansdown Hill leading to the creation of Hedgemead Park below Camden Crescent. John Eveleigh was notoriously bankrupted in Bath, being called to the coffee shop in the Bath Chronicle by his creditors. Earl Camden was famous