Explores how slavery became institutionalized in Britain, its impact on the Scottish Enlightenment, and the key figures and moral struggles involved in the abolition movement.
How did the evil nature of slavery become enshrined in law in Great Britain? What drove the change in public perception? What were the key victories on the journey to abolition and who were the key players? What is to prevent a similar evil gaining acceptance again today? Just as Britain's industrial development in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries was built largely on the back of slave labor, so too was the development of new ideas and values, shaped by the moral dilemmas arising from the shameful act of denying people their liberty. The story of the Scottish Enlightenment is entwined with that of slavery and the slave trade. In fifteen stories set between 1720 and 1865 in Britain, Africa, the Caribbean and America, Slavery and the Scottish Enlightenment introduces a diverse cast of characters, both white and black, whose moral viewpoints and active choices between right and wrong helped shape the world in which they lived. As the legacy of slavery continues to infect our lives, we face similar choices today - choices that will determine the ever-evolving values of our society.
Foreword by Richard Holloway, author and broadcaster; Preface; Introduction: Medieval Scotland Searches for a Modern Future; 1 Dawning of Enlightenment: The Stories of Francis Hutcheson and Lord Kames; 2 Justice for a Fellow Human Being: The Story of Lord Mansfield and James Somerset; 3 How to Value a Life: With Love or Money? The Family Story of Lord Mansfield, Dido Lindsay and the Zong Massacre; 4 Freedom of Choice: The Stories of John Wedderburn and Joseph Knight; 5 Rebel With a Cause: The Story of Robert Wedderburn; 6 Passage to America: The Story of Peter Williamson; 7 Slavery in the Bight of Africa: The Stories of Archibald Monteith and John Monteith; 8 Terrors of the Middle Passage: The Stories of Sam Robinson and James Irving; 9 The Findings of a Ship's Surgeon: The Stories of James Ramsay and Charles Middleton; 10 The Abolition of the Slave Trade: The Stories of Henry Dundas, William Pitt and William Wilberforce; 11 Glasgow and London: The Story of Richard Oswald, a Merchant and Entrepreneur; 12 America: Slavery and a Battle for the Country's Soul: The Story of Fanny Wright; 13 Abolition of Slavery: The Stories of John Gladstone, Zachary Macaulay and Lord Brougham; 14 Slavery in America and the Free Church of Scotland: The Story of Frederick Douglass and Dr Thomas Chalmers; 15 Two Men Who Changed America: The Stories of Allan Pinkerton and John Brown; 16 Conclusion: Why It Matters Now; Notes and References; Bibliography; List of Illustrations; Acknowledgements; Index.
