The Shadow of Great Britain

Chapter 923: Chapter 28: Historian Hastings

The private room on the second floor of the ’Little Castle’ Inn.

In the center of the room stood a smooth oak table, flanked by two carved wooden chairs, with a dimly lit kerosene lamp placed on the table. On the tea table, exquisite ceramic tea sets exuded the enticing aroma of black tea.

A few pairs of riding boots stepped on the intricately decorated Turkish carpet, accompanied by the low murmurs and laughter of gentlemen, as well as the faint lavender scent of men’s perfume.

”Arthur, this is Sir Charles Elliot, a Colonel in the Royal Navy. For the past few years, he has been responsible for combating the rampant maritime slave trade in the Guiana colony of South America. The reports he sent back from Guiana on the living conditions of local slaves provided a strong factual basis for our abolitionist movement. This year, Parliament has finally resolved to completely abolish the slave system in the Empire and its overseas colonies, and Charles has been absolutely instrumental.”

Elliot, hearing Lord Dalham’s praise, humbly removed his hat and said, ”I am happy for those unfortunate slaves who are being liberated, but to attribute the complete abolition of Britain’s slave system to me is certainly over-praising. I feel that half of the credit for slave liberation should go to Mr. Wilberforce and his decades-long unyielding advocacy of abolitionism through the ’Clapham Alliance’ under his leadership.

His slogan was truly impactful: ’A family consuming five pounds of cane sugar weekly can save a life with a soul like our own if they refrain from eating cane sugar and drinking rum for two weeks. If eight such families persist for twenty years, they can save a hundred slaves’ lives. If 38,000 families act simultaneously, they can completely destroy the slave trade!’

If not for such soul-stirring words, the sales of Britain’s cane sugar could not have dropped by one-third in such a short time, nor could the West India Company, which controlled the large sugar plantations in the West Indies, have felt frightened, and the Lower House could not have received 519 petitions for abolition signed by 400,000 people in just over half a year.

As for the other half of the credit, I think it should go to the Church’s tireless advocacy. Although I do not particularly like these clergy, at least on the matter of abolition, whether it was the Bishop of London calling on Anglican Church believers to stop trading and keeping slaves, or the Wesleyan clergy who have steadfastly opposed slavery since their inception, they have all faithfully executed the mission of spreading the Gospel.”

Arthur, hearing this, couldn’t help but joke, ”Wilberforce and God’s blessing are certainly very important, but the severe drop in sugar consumption is probably the biggest reason the West India Company and the plantation owners in the West Indies were willing to abandon the slavery system. Before leaving London, I attended a debate on the ’Abolition Act’ in Parliament, and Mr. Buxton, chairman of the abolitionist association, pierced the hearts of every pro-slavery member of Parliament with just one sentence.”

Mr. Boling, to the side, curiously asked, ”What did Mr. Buxton say at that time?”

Imitating Buxton’s tone, Arthur recounted, ”I have always believed that ever-progressing technology requires an overseas market, not a supply of cheap labor. Liberating slaves will increase local consumption ability, providing new growth drive for our industrial exports. And as Adam Smith said in ’The Wealth of Nations’: looking at the experiences of all ages and nations, I believe that the labor of free men is always cheaper than that of slaves. It is highly probable that we will achieve a dual improvement in both the market and labor efficiency.”

Here Arthur didn’t forget to humorously add, ”As soon as Mr. Buxton finished speaking, industrial representatives gathered from Manchester, Birmingham, and London stood up and applauded, and the East India Company board members attending were equally excited by his speech. From that moment, I knew the slavery system was destined to be completely abolished.”

With a teacup in his hand, the Earl of Dalmo chuckled and said, ”The joy and excitement from the industrial sector are easily understandable, and as for the East India Company, they probably were dissatisfied with the West India Company’s monopoly on the sugar trade long ago? I heard they had also started quite a few sugar plantations in India.”

Elliot gently shook his head and said, ”Regardless of the reasons, the abolition of slavery is a good thing. I’ve seen too many inhumane things in Guyana. Without seeing it yourself, you’d never believe it. Once, a black slave in a restaurant spilled my tea, and the scorching tea burned his arm badly. I was just about to help him up and ask if he needed a doctor. Who could have known that as soon as he saw me raise my hand, his expression showed extreme panic and fear? I can’t fathom what kind of life can turn a living person into such a state. Slavery has no meaningful reason to exist.

However, although the slave system in Britain and its overseas territories has been abolished, I don’t think this is the end. From a humanitarian standpoint, since Parliament ordered in 1807 that British ships should not participate in the slave trade, the Royal Navy has been conducting long-term operations against slave trading vessels off the West African and South American coasts, but even so, the slave trade remains unstoppable, especially the Spanish and French slavers, who are particularly egregious in this regard.