Debating the Slave Trade: Rhetoric of British National Identity, 1759-1815

After years of debate, the British parliament voted to end its participation in the slave trade and abolish slavery in its lands. Swaminathan, of Long Island University, traces the history of the debate in Britain and colonial America in terms of the creation of the British national identity. The moral and ethical arguments are set against economic ones along with the belief that slaves were better off under British "care" than in their "primitive" societies. Stories of atrocities and autobiographies of former slaves helped to undermine the concept of the sub human savage. However, it is in the self-congratulation of the British on their decision that increased their sense of moral superiority that led to the determination to bring their brand of civilization to their colonies. While maintaining that the ending of slavery was, of course, a positive move, Swaminathan emphasizes that the fallout from the event affected the British Empire for the next hundred years. Annotation c2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Srividhya Swaminathan is Associate Professor at Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus, USA.