Freedom's Debtors

British Antislavery in Sierra Leone in the Age of Revolution

Nonfiction, History, Modern, 18th Century, Africa, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Discrimination & Race Relations
Cover of the book Freedom's Debtors by Padraic X. Scanlan, Yale University Press
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Author: Padraic X. Scanlan ISBN: 9780300231526
Publisher: Yale University Press Publication: October 24, 2017
Imprint: Yale University Press Language: English
Author: Padraic X. Scanlan
ISBN: 9780300231526
Publisher: Yale University Press
Publication: October 24, 2017
Imprint: Yale University Press
Language: English

A history of the abolition of the British slave trade in Sierra Leone and how the British used its success to justify colonialism in Africa

British anti-slavery, widely seen as a great sacrifice of economic and political capital on the altar of humanitarianism, was in fact profitable, militarily useful, and crucial to the expansion of British power in West Africa. After the slave trade was abolished, anti-slavery activists in England profited, colonial officials in Freetown, Sierra Leone, relied on former slaves as soldiers and as cheap labor, and the British armed forces conscripted former slaves to fight in the West Indies and in West Africa.
 
At once scholarly and compelling, this history of the abolition of the British slave trade in Sierra Leone draws on a wealth of archival material. Scanlan’s social and material study offers insight into how the success of British anti-slavery policies were used to justify colonialism in Africa. He reframes a moment considered to be a watershed in British public morality as rather the beginning of morally ambiguous, violent, and exploitative colonial history.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A history of the abolition of the British slave trade in Sierra Leone and how the British used its success to justify colonialism in Africa

British anti-slavery, widely seen as a great sacrifice of economic and political capital on the altar of humanitarianism, was in fact profitable, militarily useful, and crucial to the expansion of British power in West Africa. After the slave trade was abolished, anti-slavery activists in England profited, colonial officials in Freetown, Sierra Leone, relied on former slaves as soldiers and as cheap labor, and the British armed forces conscripted former slaves to fight in the West Indies and in West Africa.
 
At once scholarly and compelling, this history of the abolition of the British slave trade in Sierra Leone draws on a wealth of archival material. Scanlan’s social and material study offers insight into how the success of British anti-slavery policies were used to justify colonialism in Africa. He reframes a moment considered to be a watershed in British public morality as rather the beginning of morally ambiguous, violent, and exploitative colonial history.

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