Scotland and the Abolition of Black Slavery, 1756-1838

Abstract

IN this deeply-researched and deeply-felt book, Iain Whyte argues that what is normally treated as the abolition of the British transatlantic slave trade and colonial slavery marginalises the distinctive aspect of Scotland's contribution to the struggle. Moving from the complex eighteenth-century religious and philosophical debates over the status of blacks in Scotland, the author carries his account through the successful campaign to remove the last constraints on ex-slaves in 1838. Whyte begins with battles over the status of slaves brought to Scotland which was finally decided by the Knight v. Wedderburn case in 1778. He does not neglect the countervailing influence of the large Scottish economic and human investment in the slave system and its reverberations in subsequent debates in Britain. There are extensive accounts of individuals who influenced the process from outside Scotland. A long chapter is devoted to ‘London Scots’ who played a major role in the popular and parliamentary dimensions of abolition. This is balanced by ‘countervoices’ coming from both representatives of slave interests and missionaries overseas.