Beyond Slavery and Abolition: Black British Writing, C.1770-1830

284 Pages·2018·6.37 MB·English

by  Ryan Hanley

Beyond Slavery and Abolition
Thefirstfull-lengthhistoricalstudyofpre-abolitionblackBritishwrit-
ing, this book challenges established narratives of eighteenth-century
blackhistorythatfocusalmostexclusivelyonslaveryandabolition.Ryan
Hanleyexpandsourperspectivestoencompasstheoftenneglectedbut
importantblackwritersofthetimeandhighlightstheircontributionto
politics,cultureandthearts.Heconsidersthelivesandworksofcon-
temporaryblackliterarycelebritiesalongsidelargelyforgottenevangel-
icalauthorsandpoliticalradicalstouncoverhowtheycametoproduce
suchdiverseandpowerfulwork.Bynavigatingthesocial,religious,poli-
ticalandprofessionalnetworksthatsurroundedtheseauthorsandtheir
writing, he also reveals that black intellectuals were never confined to
theperipheriesofBritishculture.FromthedecksofRoyalNavyshipsto
thedrawingroomsofcountryhouses,fromthepubtothepulpit,black
writers,andtheworktheyproduced,helpedtobuildmodernBritain.
ryan hanleyisaBritishAcademyPostdoctoralFellowintheDepart-
mentofHistoryatUniversityCollegeLondon.

Beyond Slavery and Abolition
Black British Writing, c. 1770–1830
Ryan Hanley
UniversityCollegeLondon
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DOI:10.1017/9781108616997
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Names:Hanley,Ryan,author.
Title:Beyondslaveryandabolition:BlackBritishwriting,
c.1770-1830/RyanHanley.
Description:Cambridge;NewYork,NY:CambridgeUniversityPress,2019.|
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
Identifiers:LCCN2018026109|ISBN9781108475655(hardback:alk.paper)|
ISBN9781108468756(pbk.:alk.paper)
Subjects:LCSH:Englishliterature–Blackauthors–Historyandcriticism.|
Blacks–GreatBritain–Intellectuallife.
Classification:LCCPR120.B55H362019|DDC820.9/896041–dc23
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Contents
Listof Figures page ix
Acknowledgements x
Listof Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
BlackWriting,SlaveryandAbolitioninBritain 13
Celebrities,Evangelicals,Radicals 22
Part I Black Celebrities 29
1 Ignatius Sancho and Posthumous Literary Celebrity,
1779–1782 31
PublicLifeafterDeath 37
2 Olaudah Equiano,CelebrityAbolitionist 51
BeforeTheInterestingNarrative 55
MakingaNameforHimself:TheInterestingNarrative 63
3 Mary Prince and the InfamyofVictimhood, 1828–1833 76
EditingMaryPrince 79
MarketingMaryPrince 87
Part II BlackEvangelicals 97
4 Ukawsaw Gronniosaw and BritishCalvinism, 1765–1779 99
UkawsawGronniosawandBritishCalvinism 102
ThePublicationandSaleofGronniosaw’sNarrative 113
5 BostonKing, Kingswood Schooland BritishMethodism,
1794–1798 120
BostonKing,KingswoodSchoolandtheWritingofthe‘Memoirs’,
1794–1796 123
ThomasCoke,WilliamWilberforceandthePublicationofthe
‘Memoirs’,1796–1798 131
vii
viii Contents
6 John Jea in Lancashire and Hampshire,1801–1817 144
Lancashire,1801–1805 149
Hampshire,1815–1817 156
PartIII BlackRadicals 169
7 OttobahCugoano and the ‘Black Poor’,1786–1791 171
OttobahCugoanoandLondon’sBlackRadicals 176
TheSierraLeoneResettlementProjects 187
8 Robert Wedderburn and London’sRadical Underworld 203
RadicalismandAntislaveryCombined,1817–1821 206
RadicalismandAntislaveryDivided,1821–1831 220
Conclusion 240
Select Bibliography 247
Index 262