Rebellion and education
It is no coincidence that in the African diaspora, leaders in the black community are invariably men and women of faith - a trait that is traceable to slavery. During this era, a religious leader was deemed to be called by God and given wisdom and power to lead.
Practically all the leaders of slave insurrections were men and women of faith (or were protected by prayers or hexes) such as Tacky (Tacky's Rebellion), Nanny of the Maroons, Toussaint l'Ouverture and Boukman (St Domingue/Haiti), Sam Sharpe (Jamaica), Nat Turner (USA) and Quamina (Guyana).
Moreover, many slave insurrections such as the Tacky, Bussa and Christmas Rebellions, occurred during Christian religious festivals. There is little doubt that Africans took umbrage at the hypocrisy of those who claimed to be followers of a merciful God, yet forced his 'children' to work on holy days.
Africans in Britain also used the so-called 'slave masters' tool' to destroy his house. The status of slavery in England remained ambiguous during the 18th century because of parliament's failure to address the issue directly in law.
English Common Law suggested that Christians could not be enslaved, and the subsequent ruling of 1772 by Lord Chief Justice William Mansfield held out the mistaken hope for many Africans that a baptised slave living in England was free. Consequenlty, scores of Africans, such as Olaudah Equiano, were baptised in St Margaret's Church in Westminster, London.
'Africans took umbrage at the hypocrisy of those who claimed to be followers of a merciful God, yet forced his 'children' to work on holy days.'
England proved a magnet for want-away Africans, and many such as Equiano joined the campaign to end slavery. Once he had obtained his freedom, Equiano wrote his autobiography and worked with a group called the 'Sons of Africa for African Freedom'.
Equiano petitioned parliament and Queen Charlotte on the question of slavery, and was a regular writer for publications such as the Morning Chronicle, London Advertiser and Public Advertiser. He also exchanged theological arguments on slavery with the number one slave trade apologist for the Church - the Liverpool-based Clergyman, Rev Raymond Harris.
Through their writing and speaking, these Africans dispelled notions of racial inferiority and black people's complacency towards slavery. Unlike their white counterparts, Africans had little option but to oppose slavery as they were always susceptible to enslavement by unscrupulous traders.
Consequently, Africans such as Ottobah Cugoano, who published his 'Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil and Wicked Traffic of the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species' demanded immediate, not gradual freedom for enslaved Africans in the late 18th century, at a time when his white counterparts were concentrating on the limited goal of ending the slave trade.
Published: 2007-02-05
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