Black Abolitionists in Ireland

Christine Kinealy

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9780367225339
• eBook ISBN: 9781000065558
• Edition: 1
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: 19th Century History
• Index: History

The story of the anti-slavery movement in Ireland is little known, yet when Frederick Douglass visited the country in 1845, he described Irish abolitionists as the most 'ardent' that he had ever encountered. Moreover, their involvement proved to be an important factor in ending the slave trade, and later slavery, in both the British Empire and in America.

While Frederick Douglass remains the most renowned black abolitionist to visit Ireland, he was not the only one. This publication traces the stories of ten black abolitionists, including Douglass, who travelled to Ireland in the decades before the American Civil War, to win support for their cause. It opens with former slave, Olaudah Equiano, kidnapped as a boy from his home in Africa, and who was hosted by the United Irishmen in the 1790s; it closes with the redoubtable Sarah Parker Remond, who visited Ireland in 1859 and chose never to return to America. The stories of these ten men and women, and their interactions with Ireland, are diverse and remarkable.

1 Olaudah Equiano (1745–1797)

‘In every respect on par with Europeans’

Gustavus Vassa, more popularly remembered as Olaudah Equiano, was a pioneering black abolitionist who visited Ireland and Britain at a time of revolutionary turmoil across the world.¹ After Frederick Douglass, he is probably the best-known abolitionist to tour these countries. Unusually, Equiano lectured there in the 1790s, at a time when the slave trade was still operative, and 50 years before Douglass. He was pioneering in other ways, too. The publication of The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African. Written by himself, is generally hailed as the first successful memoir of an enslaved person.² Following its release, he lectured extensively throughout Britain and Ireland for almost five years, before disappearing from view. Unfortunately, the contents of his speeches have not survived. The nine editions of the Narrative, each subsequent one enlarged and updated, tell the story of Equiano during these years.

During Equiano’s lifetime, there were accusations that he was not the author of the Narrative, with suggestions that a white person had been involved.³ As a way of pre-empting doubters, the opening sentence of the Narrative stated:

I believe it is difficult for those who publish their own memoirs to escape the imputation of vanity; nor is this the only disadvantage under which they labour: it is also their misfortune, that what is uncommon is rarely, if ever, believed, and what is obvious we are apt to turn from with disgust, and to charge the writer with impertinence.⁴

The persistence of such accusations led Equiano to include testimonials of his character and abilities in later editions.⁵ A revival in interest in Equiano’s story occurred around the 200th anniversary of the ending of the slave trade in 2007. At this time, misgivings appeared about the authenticity of his early life story. Doubts about whether he had really been born in Africa were raised by his biographer, Vincent Carretta. Carretta, in turn, was robustly challenged by a number of other scholars, notably Paul Lovejoy.⁶ The debate served to raise a number of issues, including those of memory, identity, accuracy, distortion and motivation, which are pertinent to the writing of any memoir or narrative.⁷ To what extent was Equiano, or any other visiting abolitionist, a ‘virtuoso self-fashioner’ as has been suggested?⁸ If so, would it make his contributions to anti-slavery any less valid? Significantly, British abolitionists who met Equiano, including Granville Sharp, believed his story. His origins were also accepted by fellow African, Ottobah Cugoano, who had been born in what is now Ghana. He lectured with Equiano and was a subscriber to the first edition of the Narrative.⁹ Overall, Equiano’s publication provided a unique insight into one man’s journey from enslavement to freedom in the eighteenth century. Moreover, as a free man, he devoted his adult life to fighting oppression, beyond simply the ending of enslavement.

Unlike later generations of visiting abolitionists, Equiano lived at a time when the slave trade was still being practised by the major transatlantic powers, including Britain and America. The timing of his visit meant that he belonged to a first wave of activists who sought to end the trade, believing that if it was ended, slavery itself would wither and disappear. The years that Equiano was active in Ireland and Britain coincided with a flowering of anti-slavery activity, associated with the so-called ‘twelve apostles’, who included Granville Sharp, Thomas Clarkson and William Wilberforce. By working alongside these white activists, writing a narrative and lecturing throughout Ireland and Britain, Equiano unwittingly forged a path that would be followed by later black abolitionists. Moreover, publishing and lecturing proved necessary in order to provide the visiting abolitionists with an income. Equiano’s narrative provided a template for many later slave narratives; generally, the title made it clear that it was written ‘by himself or herself’; an image of the narrator was provided; testimonials were included by white patrons; a quote, usually biblical or poetic, appeared on the opening pages; the author’s chosen name was given; and the cruelties of slavery were outlined in the text.

Equiano was unique in a number of ways, most notably that he was a ‘first-generation’ slave who had been born in Africa, kidnapped and enslaved. Consequently, he was able to devote a large part of his narrative to writing about the customs and traditions of Africa and the brutality of the ‘middle passage’. As a reminder of his origins, the title of his Narrative referred to him as ‘the African’. Equiano did liberate himself, but he did so by paying for his freedom. Upon becoming free, he did not change his name, always signing himself as Gustavus Vassa, the name he had been given when enslaved, but followed by ‘the African’. It was also the name he chose when he was baptized in London. When writing his Narrative, however, Equiano used his African name, Olaudah Equiano, explaining, ‘I was named Olaudah, which, in our language, signifies vicissitude or fortune also, one favoured, and having a loud voice and well spoken’.¹⁰ Regardless of being remembered by his pen-name, he continued to sign his letters as ‘Gustavus Vassa, the African’.¹¹ This marked him as different from many other black abolitionists who adopted new names, moreover, names that suggested anglicized roots. While all abolitionists were Christian, Equiano’s image at the front of the Narrative, depicting him holding a Bible, followed by a quote from Isaiah, was a clear statement of his devotion to Christianity.¹² Because of the way in which his books were funded, each of the editions included a list of subscribers. The list in the first edition was headed by ‘His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. His Royal Highness the Duke of York’, which was a pointed reminder that anti-slavery—and Equiano—had support at the highest level of society.

Early life

What is known about Equiano’s early life is based on his Narrative. He was born in what is now Nigeria. He was captured when aged about 11 and, along with his sister, enslaved. They were soon separated, never to see each other again. Equiano was initially taken to Virginia, but then sold to a ship’s captain. He spent his teenage years at sea, during which time he visited England and served on vessels engaged in fighting in the Seven Years’ War. Importantly also, during this time, he learned the basics of reading and writing. Equiano witnessed the brutality of enslavement first-hand on a visit to the West Indies—a traumatic experience that he never forgot. While enslaved, he visited England with his owner. His initial fears about being amongst Europeans were alleviated quickly, and instead he ‘relished their society and manners’.¹³ While there, Equiano’s desire for more education was realized when two kindly sisters arranged for him to attend school. They also were responsible for his baptism.¹⁴ Equiano’s owner agreed, reluctantly, to this. Equiano later wrote that:

Shortly after my arrival, he sent me to wait upon the Miss Guerins, who had treated me with much kindness when I was there before; and they sent me to school. While I was attending their servants told me I could not go to Heaven unless I was baptized. This made me very uneasy; for I had now some faint idea of a future state: accordingly, I communicated my anxiety to the eldest Miss Guerin, with whom I was become a favourite, and pressed her to have me baptized; when to my great joy, she told me I should. She had formerly asked my master to let me be baptized, but he had refused; however she now insisted on it; and he being under some obligation to her brother complied with her request; so I was baptized in St. Margaret’s Church, Westminster, in February 1759, by my present name.¹⁵

At this stage, St Margaret’s Church was the official church of the British House of Commons and, therefore, one of the most prestigious locations for a baptism ceremony to take place—more especially for a 14-year-old slave.¹⁶ Equiano remained a devout Methodist for the remainder of his life. However, unlike a number of abolitionists who came after him, his religious outlook did not make him either conservative or anti-Catholic.¹⁷

Aged 20, Equiano achieved his self-emancipation by purchasing his freedom with money that he had saved. He came to England as a free man around 1768, taking a variety of jobs including as a waiter and a hairdresser. Because of the precariousness of his existence, he decided to return to sea. While at sea, Equiano travelled both to Turkey and to the Artic in 1772 and 1773. Overall, Equiano’s early life and his experiences at sea meant that he was truly cosmopolitan, unlike many later abolitionists whose time in Ireland and Britain marked their first time outside America. Fearing re-capture, Equiano returned to London in the 1780s with a view to settling in England. A legal ruling in...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. Olaudah Equiano (1745–1797): ‘In every respect on par with Europeans’
• 2. Moses Roper (1815–1891): ‘A religious turn of mind’
• 3. Charles Lenox Remond (1810–1873): ‘A mission of humanity’
• 4. Frederick Douglass (1818–1895): ‘Agitate, Agitate, Agitate!’
• 5. William Wells Brown (c.1814–1884): ‘A cultivated fugitive’
• 6. Henry Highland Garnet (1815–1882): ‘A staunch new organizationist’
• 7. Edmund Kelly (1817–1884): ‘A family redeemed from bondage’
• 8. Samuel Ringgold Ward (1817–c.1866): ‘A Christian abolitionist’?
• 9. Benjamin Benson (1818–?): ‘Drunkenness … worse than slavery’
• 10. Sarah Parker Remond (1826–1894): ‘Remarkably feminine and graceful’
• Bibliography
• Index