6.2 The abolition of slavery

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Chapter 6

6.2 The abolition of slavery

Welcome!

At the end of this lesson...

• You can give various reasons why abolitionists wanted to get rid of slavery and the slave trade.
  
• You can describe when and how slavery was abolished in the British Empire and the United States.
  
• You can describe when and how slavery and the slave trade were abolished in the Dutch colonies Indies.

Today

• What do you remember (+- 5 min)
• Explanation (+- 15 min)
• Video + glossary (+- 5 min)
• Study for the test week! (+- 15 min)

Slavery in the 19th century

The Enlightenment

• Period (from about 1700) in which people (want to) increase their knowledge by increasingly relying on reason.
• They were critical: not simply accepting everything because a king or the church says so.


• They believe that everyone should be free and equal: poor or rich, smart or stupid.

Abolitionism

• To abolish means 'afschaffen'
  
• Abolitionists want to abolish slavery.
• It does not fit in with the ideas of the Enlightenment: people are equal, or Christianity: people should take care of each other

John Gabriël Stedman (1744-1797) was een Schots-Nederlandse officier in de Schotse Brigade van het Nederlandse leger. Hij hielp bij het onderdrukken van een slavenopstand in Suriname. Hij werd verliefd op een slavin, en probeerde haar vrij te kopen. 

Over zijn ervaringen schreef hij een invloedrijk boek. Hierin bekommerde hij zich openlijk om de rechten van de tot slaafgemaakten, met name om de vraag of zij als mens behandeld moesten worden.

In dit boek verschenen dit soort afbeeldingen die ervoor zorgden dat de strijd van de abolitionisten steeds meer aandacht kreeg.

Engeland abolishes slavery

• In England, a law was initially passed prohibiting the slave trade: no 'new' slaves were allowed to be sent to America
• This proved to be insufficient, so slavery was abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833.
• Slave owners received a total of £20 million in compensation

De afschaffing van de slavernij wordt in de krant bekend gemaakt.

Illegal Slavetrade

• A lot of money was made from the slave trade.
• Despite the abolition of slavery, illegal trade in slaves continued.
• If a slave ship was at risk of being caught, the enslaved were thrown overboard so that they would not be 'found' by the navy

La Amistad (Spanish: The Friendship) was a Spanish slave ship on which a revolt broke out in 1839. This revolt would become known as the Amistado Rebellion.

In 1997, this story was filmed by Steven Spielberg in the movie Amistad.

The Netherlands abolishes slavery

• The Netherlands abolished slavery quite late: 1863
• Only when it becomes economically less attractive will slavery be abolished step by step
• Slaveholders received 300 ''gulden'' for each freed enslaved person.
• Some who were freed were forced to continue working on the plantations for another 10 years.

Keti Koti is celebrated on July 1st. This is an annual Surinamese holiday celebrating the abolition of slavery. The name comes from Sranantongo and means Broken Chains

Short video

In Dutch! Make a glossary: write down the words you don't know the translation of OR write down important terms in Dutch and translate them to English

Discuss glossary

Study for the test week!