Talking about 'unacknowledged pasts' I seem to remember reading that the 
most assiduous lobbyists against the abolition of the trade were the kings 
of Senegal, Dahomey and Gabon(?), who were making a big profit from selling 
their subjects...

Jon Cloke


From: Lambert D <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Lambert D <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Abolition 1807-2007
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 2007 10:21:38 -0000

The bicentenary of the abolition of the British slave trade is a
significant anniversary, although best seen as the start of something,
not the culmination.  For example, it mustn't be conflated with the
abolition of slavery in the British empire between 1833 and 1838
(slaveholders in some parts of the West Indian colonies even welcomed
the trade's abolition because of the 'competitive advantage' it would
give them), which itself, of course, did not end all forms of unfree
labour practice across the empire.  1807 was also an ambiguous event
that saw Britain become more heavily involved in the colonisation of
Africa.



Like all anniversaries, it needs to be approached with care.  For the
most optimistic perspective, the bicentenary can provide an important
stimulus to public debate and dialogue around such issues as the
unacknowledged pasts; connections between distant (and not so distant)
places; memory and memorialisation; and - as has been noted - the forms
of unfree labour that continue to exist here and elsewhere.
Unfortunately, anyone who heard Lord Melvyn Bragg of Wigton's
hagiographic account of William Wilberforce last week will know that
anniversaries can also be opportunities for the re-statement of heroic
narratives of national progress and civilisation, and lazy history
written in the 'great man' mode.



The 2004 bicentenary of Haitian independence turned about to be quite an
intellectually productive moment - an opportunity to revisit the work of
C. L R. James and to rethink histories and theories of modernity.  Let's
hope that 2007 will turn out in similar ways.



David Lambert

- - -

Dr David Lambert
Lecturer in Human Geography

Department of Geography
Royal Holloway, University of London
Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX

Tel : +44 (0)1784 443640 Fax : +44 (0)1784 472836
Web page: http://www.gg.rhul.ac.uk/lambert/

Now out: Colonial lives across the British Empire (Cambridge University
Press, 2006), edited with Alan Lester:

http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=9780521847704#cont
ributors

   _____

From: A forum for critical and radical geographers
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Raju Das
Sent: 27 February 2007 18:07
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Abolition 1807-2007



Slavery is a form of unfree labour. Although free labour is supposed to
be necessary for the capital-labour relation to exist (free labour is
considered to be an essential aspect of the definition of capitalism),
specific capitalists may benefit from unfree labour, including slavery.
There is always a  tendency in capitalism for unfree labour to be used
to make more-than-average profit, but whether or not this will happen at
a given point in time and in a given place will depend, among other
things, on the struggle of labourers to maintain their  right to sell
their labour power freely as well as on inter-capitalist competition for
labour.

Examples of unfree labour are many now. How free are labourers being
used in post-war 'reconstruction' projects? How free are prison
labourers? How free are child labourers in the less developed world in
the flower industry? There are still millions of bonded labourers in
poor countries such as India.

Raju

(Raju J Das,
York University)

Jamie Heckert wrote:

I wonder to what extent slavery has been abolished in the UK. Below is a
link to a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation suggesting that it
hasn't been. A broader critique may also be found in anarchist and
Marxist arguments that being coerced to work for money -- see e.g.
Graeber (2006) Turning Modes of Production Inside Out Or, Why Capitalism
is a Transformation of
Slavery. Critique of Anthropology, 26(1):61-85 -- or in feminist
critiques of unacknowledged and demanded emotional and domestic labour.
Interestingly, the BBC pages speak of slavery only in the past tense.
I'd really enjoy seeing arguments on contemporary slavery acknowledged.

Cheers,
Jamie

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: JRF Mailing List <[log in to unmask] >
Date: Feb 27, 2007 3:15 PM
Subject: JRF Findings: 'Modern slavery in the United Kingdom'
To: [log in to unmask]

Just published on the Joseph Rowntree Foundation website is 'Modern
slavery in the United Kingdom'.

Marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade, this
study reviews the evidence on modern slavery in the UK, mapping its
nature and extent and the gaps in our knowledge.  Read it at:

http://www.jrf.org.uk/redirect.asp?url=findings/socialpolicy/2035

Send us comments or download the full report from the Findings page.



______________________________________________________________________

Joseph Rowntree Foundation
Seeking solutions to social problems

The Homestead 40 Water End York YO30 6WP
Tel +44 (0)1904 629241 Fax +44 (0)1904 620072
Web www.jrf.org.uk Charity number 210169
_____________________________________________________________________



On 2/23/07, Newstead, Clare <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

BBC History presents lots of useful resources on slavery, abolition and
trade in the lead-up to next month's bi-centennial of the abolition of
the slave trade.  For anyone who teaches on slavery, colonialism, the
triangle trade, Development, the Americas, or even UK cities, the
following interactive map might be of interest:



http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/launch_anim_slavery.shtml




Strikes me that there should be a BBC portal for geography!





Clare Newstead

Lecturer in Geography

School of Arts, Communication and Culture

Nottingham Trent University

Clifton Lane

Nottingham, NG11 8AS

Ph: +44 115 848 3105

Fax: +44 115 848 6385



---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: [log in to unmask] < <mailto:[log in to unmask]>
[log in to unmask]>
Date: 22-Feb-2007 16:02
Subject: History Newsletter
To: [log in to unmask]







  <http://bbc.co.uk/history/> History Newsletter

http://bbc.co.uk/history <http://bbc.co.uk/history/>






22 February 2007








  <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/>
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/> Anti-slavery sugar-pot
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/>

Abolition 1807-2007 <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/>

March 2007 marks the 200th anniversary of the passing of the Abolition
of the Slave Trade Act.

This week we look at the champions of the abolition movement, the
infrastructure of the slave trade and the lasting mark it has left on
our cultural and economic history.















What's on <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/>  bbc.co.uk/history









<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/launch_anim_slavery.shtm
l>
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/launch_anim_slavery.shtm
l> Abolition interactive map
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/launch_anim_slavery.shtm
l>

Interactive map: Abolition of British
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/launch_anim_slavery.shtm
l> Slavery

The transatlantic slave trade involved the enforced transportation and
enslavement of millions. Follow dynamic trails across Africa, the
Caribbean and the UK with text, images and audio to explore the
abolition of British slavery.









<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/abolitionists_gallery.sh
tml>
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/abolitionists_gallery.sh
tml> Image of Thomas Clarkson
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/abolitionists_gallery.sh
tml>

Gallery: The Unknown Abolitionists
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/abolitionists_gallery.sh
tml>

Parliamentarians, women, slave revolt leaders and Quakers all played
their part. Who are the forgotten champions of the abolition campaign?









<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_articl
e_01.shtml>
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_articl
e_01.shtml> Image of a sugar plantation
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_articl
e_01.shtml>

Article: The Slave Trade and Industrialisation
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_articl
e_01.shtml>

What contribution did the slave-based trade with the Americas make to
the fast-industrialising economy of 18th-century Britain, and how do
Britons today benefit from the prosperity this era?








BBC History TV Programmes

















Churchill's Bodyguard - Saturday 24 February, 1.15 pm, BBC TWO

Blair: The Inside Story - Tuesday 27 February, 9pm, BBC TWO

Medical Mavericks - Friday 2 March, 7pm, BBC Four

















BBC History Radio Programmes

















Land Lines - Mondays, 1.30pm, Radio 4

The Making of Modern Medicine - Weekdays, 3.45pm, Radio 4

In Our Time - Thursdays, 9am, Radio 4















BBC Logo http://bbc.co.uk/history  <http://bbc.co.uk/history>

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