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.