Proslavery Collaborations Between British Outport and Metropole: The Rise of the Glasgow–West India Interest, 1775–1838

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article provides the first systematic exploration of pro-slavery collaborations between British outport and metropole from the American War of Independence in 1775 to the abolition of plantation slavery in 1834–1838. Examination of a group of individuals commercially involved with the Caribbean trades including absentee planters, merchants, merchant-proprietors and returned sojourners – described here as the ‘Glasgow-West India interest’ – as well as the institutions to which they belonged, provides insights around three key themes. Firstly, what was the relative strength of pro-slavery groups and individuals in Glasgow from 1775 to 1838? Secondly, to what extent, and in what ways, did pro-slavery groups and individuals in Glasgow interact with other outport organisations and especially the London Society of West India Planters and Merchants, the most powerful pro-slavery lobbying group in the British Atlantic world? Thirdly, since pro-slavery groups could not prevent either abolition or emancipation, was lobbying of any benefit to relevant individuals? This article contends that the influence of the Glasgow-West India interest increased after 1778, that this group became a cornerstone of the British pro-slavery cause up to emancipation in 1834, and in turn some accumulated nationally significant fortunes in the abolition eras.