Introduction to Essay: Descriptive

The ship creaked as it rolled over wave after wave; the sounds of 250 moaning passengers could barely be heard over the storm above. The clank of chains and the putrid air was only muffled by the smell of death. Packed like sardines the slaves made the Atlantic crossing often laying in their own bodily functions. That is how i think of a slave ship, however many in England in the 1800's had already heard these stories and merely discredited them. No one wants to believe what sounds impossible it is only until they see it that the true effect and transformation takes place. The diagram of the slave ship did not explain the almost inedible food or rampant dysentery, it merely showed the measurements of the ship and placed diagrams of people into it. This image did not have to describe the conditions i mentioned above but put it to the viewers imagination. The slave ship diagram and others, like Wedgewoods logo of the kneeling slave, helped the abolitionist cause as it put the issue right up to your nose. Although these images created mass appeal for the abolitionist movement, what if any effect do images and symbols have on todays culture. Can these images and symbols be as effective in an ever changing world focused on mass media?

Chapter 15

In Chapter 15 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild debates why the abolitionist movement in England gained momentum so quickly, while in other countries the issue remained stagnant and slow to catch on. England was the perfect location for a movement of this magnitude to occur. It had the beginnings of an industrialization and the best postal service in the world. The postal service allowed news to travel quickly and at one time an abolitionist was able to get from Edinburgh to London in only 75 hours. This was essential to organizing a movement of this magnitude as it allowed everyone to be informed quickly. Newspapers were also crucial for the spread of information as they used one another's articles and reprinted them. Coffeehouses also played a major role as they were social gathering places where people could discuss the newspapers and other propaganda. England also had uncensored newspapers which at the time was almost unheard of anywhere else. Not to mention the large debate societies which often put on debates of slavery versus abolition. Perhaps the largest reason why England was able to see the slave trade as unjust was because of a policy they had: naval impressment. This was the capture of British citizens who were then forced to join the navy. This perhaps helped English people feel they had something akin to the slaves. England was the perfect place for a movement like this to occur because of the several circumstances that presented themselves at the time of the abolitionist movement.

Question

To what extent did Wedgewood's logo help the abolitionist cause?
Although Wedgewoods symbol of the slave on one knee or the slave ship diagram helped to humanize and create mass appeal for the abolitionist movement, What if any effect do images and symbols have on todays culture. Can these images and symbols be as effective in an ever changing world focused on mass media?

I believe this argument would have two sides and would be able to tie not only into the symbols of the past like those used in the abolishments movement, but also into our symbols today. How have things changed, how effective are they, and what kind of effects do they have on us? Do we realize the effects they have and how do we respond to them differently?

Pg. 167-174 and Pg. 192-198

In Chapters 12 and 13 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild finally addresses what those who had actually experienced slavery were attempting to do about the problem. He also shows how people of Britain took action not only with petitions but boycotts as well. Hochschild portrays Equiano in a light that he had only before reserved for Clarkson. He tells of Equiano's entrepreneurial spirit and his ability to sell his bestselling autobiography mostly by traveling and physically selling the book. The most striking and effective part is how with each new edition Equiano prints the names of those wealthy and predominant patrons who had purchased his book. Hochschild goes on to describe the effect that the propaganda and writing had had on the people. Sugar became a luxury worth living without. Nearly 300,000 people boycotted sugar during this movement. Perhaps the most inspiring of these was when a ten year old boy refused to have sugar because he had read one of the abolitionists books. These chapters mark the high point for the abolitionists at the early stages of their movement.

Chapter 11

In chapter 11 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild shows us how the information and propaganda created and collected is put to use when the issue is brought before a body that has the power to change the institution of slavery. Now that the information had, had time to spread though the use of pamphlets word of mouth and images such as the slave ship diagram Wilberforce was ready to bring the issue in front of Parliament. Even with the spread of pro slave propaganda and constant threats to the abolitionists the Clarkson and the Quakers message had gotten through. This is made clear when in Wilberforce's speech he said, "We ought all to plead guilty"(p. 160). Slavery could no longer be attacked by the individual but needed the joint effort of the people and those in the Parliament. The title of the chapter "Ramsay is dead- I have killed him" expresses this notion of the ideals of the abolitionist rising above their concern for their individual well being and becoming the idea. Ramsay was not able to rise above his own personal concerns and those in favor of slavery were able to get the best of him.

Chapter 9

In chapter 9 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild describes the distribution method of the information that Clarkson was able to acquire about slavery, and the recruitment of allies to their cause.  The turning point in Clarkson's mission was the ability of the Abolition Committee to distribute the information that Clarkson had worked so hard to get.  The committee distributed the information to the public via pamphlets and books while it recruited those of the upper classes by hosting dinner parties and one on one meetings.  The most important figure that they were able to obtain was the young up and coming M.P. Wilberforce.  With his prominent position and closeness with the newly appointed prime minister he was the key to unlocking the lawmakers in parliament.  While raising awareness among the masses was important it was not going to change the laws.  The committee also was able to create symbols against slavery which included the seal of the slave in bondage on his knees and a diagram of a slave ship.  Both these images were important because the those that were pro slavery were unable to retort to these images.  While the committee was able to get Dolben bill passed which required more space for the slaves on the ship it was not what they had hoped for and feared that it would only continue the slave trade with a few sanctions.

This movement like Clarkson's research was very new.  Nothing like it had been done in the past.  The ability of the Committee to promote these images and recruit not only the lower classes but the upper classes solidified a strong anti slave crowd.  It is because of their ingenious strategy's that the campaign was able to flourish so quickly.

Chapter 8

In Chapter 8 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild talks about the Quaker movement towards the abolition of slavery, and the important role in which those in the Anglican church were able to play in seeing this dream through.  Hochschild describes the Quaker movements ideals as one and the same as Clarkson's and Granville's, however their religion got in the way of the formalities required to reach a larger audience.  The simple omission of "My Lord" and "Mr." stood in the way of their documents being taken seriously.  With Clarkson's Anglican background and excellent ability at digging up the truth he soon found himself leading the Abolitionist movement.  Clarkson takes on the job full time and begins traveling to the port towns collecting stories and acquiring signatures for petitions.  Along the way he also acquired props of the torture devices used and also of the exports that Africa had to offer.  Perhaps his largest discovery was the industrialized town of Manchester's support for its abolition with as many as 1/5 of the town signing a petition to parliament.

Clarkson's zealous attitude and his unwavering constitution allowed him the ability to collect important information on his quest to abolish slavery.  I believe because of this zeal Clarkson was able to be so successful.  Clarkson did not have the knowledge that we do today on how to create a strong argument yet he has created a modern template on how to go about changing peoples beliefs.  This to me was the most striking factor of the chapter.  I do not believe that Clarkson set out with a plan in mind but his firm belief and unwavering constitution led him to the answers he needed in order to present a sound argument.

An Improbable Task

In Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild goes into great detail about Thomas Clarkson's rise as an abolitionist. After writing his award winning essay Clarkson was on the road to London to become a deacon. It is hear we see his transformation as a mere scholar to a true abolitionist. With his essay weighing heavily on his mind Clarkson believes that, "Some person should see these calamities to their end" (p.89). Clarkson's eventual mission was not clear to him for some time. I found this interesting and telling of age that Clarkson lived in. If Clarkson, who was to become the top advocate for slavery's abolition, was unsure about the role he was to play how was he going to be able to convince an entire global community? I believe that Hochschild's comparison to global warming and doing away with cars is exactly the kind of crazed notion that Clarkson was trying to convince people of his time to accept.

Chapter 6/7

In chapters 6 and 7 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild addresses the beginnings of the anti slavery movement and shows us how ingrained the idea of slavery is among the global community. In chapter 6 we follow Thomas Clarkson through his transformation from a Latin scholar to a true advocate and leader of the anti slavery movement. After receiving an award for his essay on the question, "Is it lawful to make slaves of others against their will?" (p.87), Clarkson is horrified by the actual conditions of the slaves. After traveling to London he joins a group of abolitionist Quakers and begins recruiting members of the aristocracy and other important figures. Clarkson is able to muster a committee of 9 Quakers and 3 Anglicans to begin the first anti slavery committee that could not be written off as controlled by a fringe sect. In Chapter 7 we are brought back in time to the American Revolution. The British forces promised slaves with rebel owners freedom if they fought with the British. Many slaves answered the call but when the war ended the question of what to do with the slaves laid heavy in the minds of those negotiating the peace treaty. While it was agreed that they were to be returned to their lawful owners the British leader Carleton, who was stationed in New York, had the slaves evacuated to Nova Scotia creating the worlds largest community of freed slaves outside of Africa. Carleton was not an abolitionist but believed in the word of the crown and because the slaves had been promised their freedom they were given it.

Equiano

In Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild talks about a slave who earned his freedom named Equiano. His particular account of conditions on the slave ships is the most haunting to me as he was not merely an observer but experienced it first hand. Although Equiano had a different experience than many slaves upon reaching the Caribbean his accounts and emotions are invaluable for a reader today to try to understand the emotional impact that these events had on a people. What i found to be most disconcerting was Equiano's reaction to being back on a slave ship not as a slave but picking other people like him to work as field hands which he knew meant certain death. However Equiano does not provide us with a reaction and merely mentions it in his autobiography. Hochschild raises valid questions that perhaps answer his limited reaction. Is it that at this point in history Equiano would have no reason to believe that things would ever be any different? That people like him would always work the fields? His inability to express any emotion about his fellow man is the most chilling part of the book so far. It is also amazing to me that someone who believed that the institution that took him from his home and enslaved him would never disappear was able to be toppled, in a sense, so quickly.

Chapter 2/4

In Chapter's 2 and 4 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild addresses the truly tragic elements of life as a slave juxtaposed  to the elegant lifestyles of those that profited from them through the sugar trade. Hochschild introduces us to Equiano who is one of the few slaves to write about the conditions on a slave ship.  His descriptions of the horror and cramped conditions give us a glimpse of one of the few difficulties a slave had to endure just to reach adulthood.  This does not include the forced marches from interior Africa which accounted for half the slaves deaths or the first three years of slavery which many never saw the end of. While Equiano was one of the lucky few who was able to buy his independence his experience shows that even when freed, without the abolishment of slavery, he could never truly be safe from its grasp.  Hochschild's next account cannot be told directly through the experiences of a slave as none who led this life would ever learn to read or write.  The main export from slave labor was not the tobacco of America's south or coffee but was sugar.  The sugar industry was located in the Caribbean and accounted for 60% of the slaves brought through the triangle trade route.  It is here that conditions were harshest and many believed that it was more cost effective to work slaves to death and buy new ones than to keep those that they already had healthy.  While the atrocities committed were numerous nothing quite illuminates them more than the wealth that was associated with them.  Hochschild depicts the utterly impoverished and dying slaves next to the insatiable appetites and grandeur of the plantation owners.  

Chapter 1

In Chapter One of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild speaks about human ambition and how low it can bring a person.  He contrasts the Dot-com billionaires of today with the slave traders of the past.  In particular the reader hears about John Newton who becomes a slave ship captain.  On his way to gaining his own berth Newton lives a life of sin and misfortune.  At one point Newton is put in shackles and so pitied by the slaves is given rations out of their own.  This however does not stop Newton from raping black slaves on the several ships he serves on.   It is not his own terrible actions that reform him, but a storm which his vessel is able to survive.  It is at this point that he becomes a pious man who attends church and gives up swearing.  However he still goes on to become a slave ship captain and never once looks back on being in shackles which is "the low point in his life" and identifies with those he has in shackles beneath his feet in the hold of his ship.

Introduction

In Adam Hochschild's introduction he sheds light on the grim world of slavery which we thought we knew.  Although we begin in a positive place where abolitionists once met it is sharply contrasted by the lack of historical significance the site holds.  The reader is immediately exposed to drastic figures which describe a world in which "well over three quarters of all people alive were in bondage".  This is a side of the world we were never introduced to in our beginning education.  The introduction helps to shed light on what little people know about a mass human trafficking that happened only three hundred years ago.