Famous Opera Research Articles

The Royal Navy and the Slavers (review)

80CIVIL WAR HISTORY¡can taste was poor in the nineteenth century, it was no worse than European. English plays produced during the period which Mr. Grimsted treats are no longer produced either. Nor have many French or other continental plays survived, except in their operatic forms. It is worth noting how closely the plays discussed in this book resemble the most famous operas that are still produced, such as Der Freischütz, La Traviata, Lucia di Lammermoor, or II Trovatore. Is it possible to find a more contrived blood-and-thunder story than the latter? Melodrama was the style of the time. Librettists have always chosen their themes from the most successful stage works of their time. The success of such works as The Barber of Seville, The Marriage of Figaro, and Don Giovanni shows that operas do not have to be melodramatic . That they were, was simply a fact of the dramatic taste of the time. It is conceivable that, had some of the American plays of this epoch been written by Europeans, they too would have become operas. It is regrettable that cultural historians seem unable to make these relationships and draw such patterns. Possibly they cannot do this because they do not study foreign languages, but until such time as research scholars are able to handle such sources, we will not get the books that we should. Harold Schwartz Kent State University The Royal Navy and the Slavers. By W. E. F. Ward. (New York: Pantheon Books, 1969. Pp. 248, $6.95.) From 1807 to 1869, the Royal Navy maintained a patrol off the west coast of Africa to suppress the slave trade. Originally it was hoped that within a few years international cooperation would lead to the end of the traffic. But the enormous profits from the trade necessitated years of work by both the Foreign Office and the Navy before the mission was accomplished. This book deals with the Royal Navy's efforts, usually with inadequate means, to make life hard for the slavers. The task involved patrolling vast reaches of the coast, penetrating rivers and inlets in search of slave ships or slave pens, and fighting boredom, disease, and a hostile climate as well as slavers. It was an expensive effort. One fifth of the Royal Navy's strength was engaged in this work. Originally officers and men shared in a bounty fund based on £60 for every male freed, £30 for every female, and £10 for every child. By 1824 this was reduced to £10 a head regardless of sex or age. Ten years later the captors got £5 a head and one-fourth share of the condemned ship. Thus as the Navy became more efficient its monetary rewards diminished. How effective was the Navy in suppressing the slave trade? Between 1814 and 1825, for example, 15,900 captured slaves were set free. But in 1825, 25,769 slaves were delivered to the Rio de Janeiro market alone. The Navy was a nuisance which raised BOOK REVIEWS81 the risks of the trade and the price of the slaves. Yet improved techniques , changes in the laws of various countries, and diplomatic successes all contributed to making the antislavery patrol an increasingly effective deterrent. Ward tells this story of persistent effort through a series of case studies which illustrate the various problems encountered . He has relied mainly on primary materials, but he is aware of other works on the subject, including Warren S. Howard's study of the United States government's attempts to end the slave trade. The author's long familiarity with African geography makes it possible for him to identify the locales mentioned in the reports. While there is virtually no intrepretation, Ward's narrative does give us some glimpses of the powerful forces at work in various countries whose aim was to end or minimize the Royal Navy's impact on the slave trade. It is an interesting book. A chronology, a glossary of nautical terms, and an index contribute to the utility of this volume. Harold D. Langley The Catholic University of America Lewis Tappan and the Evangelical War Against Slavery. By Bertram Wyatt-Brown. (Cleveland: Case Western Reserve University...