Voices From Slavery
The Life and Beliefs of African Slaves in Britain
by
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Equiano believed that slavery was not the most economic way of getting labour because the Africans are so badly used that they die quickly.
"Their huts, which ought to be well covered, and the place dry where they take their little repose, are often open sheds, built in damp places; so that, when the poor creatures return tired from the toils of the field, they contract may disorders, from being exposed to the damp air in this uncomfortable state, while they are heated, and their pores are open. This neglect certainly conspires with many others to cause a decrease in the birth as well as in the lives of the grown negroes."
Much of the bad treatment is down to the overseers, whom Equiano describes as:
"human butchers, who cut and mangle the slaves in a shocking manner on the most trifling occasions, and altogether treat them in every respect like brutes. They pay no regard to the situation of pregnant women, nor the least attention to the lodging of the field negroes."
Those plantations where the overseers treated slaves well, giving them rest appropriately, have the slaves working for them for longer and the slaves themselves were happier. In his view, however, it was not really the overseers or slave dealers that should be blamed for the wickedness he has described, but the whole industry of slavery and the slave trade. It is the buying and selling of human beings and the legal practice of using them as forced labour that is turning these men into such horrible people.
"Such a tendency has the slave-trade to debauch men’s mind, and harden them to every feeling of humanity! For I will not suppose that the dealers in slaves are born worse than other men – No; it is the fatality of his mistaken avarice [i.e. the slave trade] that it corrupts the milk of human kindness and turns it into gall. And, had the pursuits of those men been different, they might have been as generous, as tender-hearted and just, as they are unfeeling, rapacious and cruel."
And he adds regarding slavery:
"Surely this traffic cannot be good, which spread like a pestilence, and taints what it touches! which violates that first natural right of mankind, equality and independence, and gives one man a dominion over his fellows which God could never intend! For it raises the owner to a state as far above man as it depresses the slave below it; and, with all the presumption of human pride, sets a distinction between them, immeasurable in extent, and endless in duration!."
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About the Book
The book tells the true stories of four Africans, drawing as far as possible on their own writings. The four individuals lived at different times and in different circumstances but their stories have a common central theme because each one was a victim of what is one of the greatest human rights abuses of all time, the African slave trade. Each became a free man, received an education and had the rare opportunity of recording and reflecting on their experiences for the wider world to read. We hear their stories unfold through their own narratives, although the sources of their words vary from comprehensive biography to collection of letters.
Through the telling of their stories and helpful commentary by the author, himself an African, we can read "first hand accounts" of life as a slave and freed man in the 18th century. All had strong religious beliefs and we are able to hear their personal views and reflections on a range of topics including Christianity, God, humanity and the slave trade itself. Though the four men Sancho, Gronniosaw, Equiano and Cugoano all had a sense of God working in their lives and trials, their understanding of the nature of faith and their relationship with the spiritual varies considerably.
The book reveals the black Africans as visionaries, and highlights their often underestimated contribution toward the abolition of slavery. Their stories resonate with contemporary issues in our world, posing questions about identity and culture in multi-ethnic communities in Britain today, how Christian faith enlightens debates about the place of religion in national life, and invites the exploration of the similarities between slavery and modern racism. In a Postscript written with researchers in mind, the author describes his own findings regarding the precise location of Equiano's origin in present day Nigeria.
About the Author
Chigor Chike was born in Nigeria, the same country where two of the four individuals he has written about in this book came from. He has been living in Britain since 1992. Chigor writes with many years experience of working in the field of social and racial justice in Britain. He has also written articles and a pamphlet on the life of black people in Britain. He currently lives and works in East London as a minister in the Church of England. He holds theology degrees from the Universities of Gloucestershire and Oxford. This training has made him particularly good at identifying religious themes in everyday communication.