Some Historical Account of Guinea, Its Situation, Produce, and the General Disposition of Its Inhabitants: An Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of the Slave Trade, Its Nature and Lamentable Effects — John Shaqi
Some Historical Account of Guinea, Its Situation, Produce, and the General Disposition of Its Inhabitants: An Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of the Slave Trade, Its Nature and Lamentable EffectsBenezet, Anthony
History
Some Historical Account of Guinea, Its Situation, Produce, and the General Disposition of Its Inhabitants: An Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of the Slave Trade, Its Nature and Lamentable Effects
Benezet, Anthony
Guinea -- Description and travel -- Early works to 1800; Slave trade -- Early works to 1800; Slavery -- Early works to 1800; Slavery -- Guinea -- Early works to 1800
The slavery of the Negroes having, of late, drawn the attention of many
serious minded people; several tracts have been published setting forth
its inconsistency with every christian and moral virtue, which it is
hoped will have weight with the judicious; especially at a time when the
liberties of mankind are become so much the subject of general
attention. For the satisfaction of the serious enquirer who may not have
the opportunity of seeing those tracts, and such others who are
sincerely desirous that the iniquity of this practice may become
effectually apparent, to those in whose power, it may be to put a stop
to any farther progress therein; it is proposed, hereby, to republish
the most material parts of said tracts; and in order to enable the
reader to form a true judgment of this matter, which, tho' so very
important, is generally disregarded, or so artfully misrepresented by
those whose interest leads them to vindicate it, as to bias the opinions
of people otherwise upright; some account will be here given of the
different parts of Africa, from which the Negroes are brought to
America; with an impartial relation from what motives the Europeans were
first induced to undertake, and have since continued this iniquitous
traffic. And here it will not be improper to premise, that tho' wars,
arising from the common depravity of human nature, have happened, as
well among the Negroes as other nations, and the weak sometimes been
made captives to the strong; yet nothing appears, in the various
relations of the intercourse and trade for a long time carried on by the
Europeans on that coast, which would induce us to believe, that there is
any real foundation for that argument, so commonly advanced in
vindication of that trade, viz. "_That the slavery of the Negroes took
its rise from a desire, in the purchasers, to save the lives of such of
them as were taken captives in war, who would otherwise have been
sacrificed to the implacable revenge of their conquerors._" A plea which
when compared with the history of those times, will appear to be
destitute of Truth; and to have been advanced, and urged, principally by
such as were concerned in reaping the gain of this infamous traffic, as
a palliation of that, against which their own reason and conscience must
have raised fearful objections.
SOME
HISTORICAL ACCOUNT
OF
GUINEA.
* * * * *
[Price 2s. 6d. stitched.]
CHAP. I.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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