Slavery's long goodbye capitalism, nationalism, and Christianity in the age of British emancipation Chris Evans

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Evans, C. P. (Chris P.), author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Antislavery movements.

Enslaved persons--Emancipation.

Slavery.

Capitalism.

Christianity and politics.

Great Britain.

Atlantic Ocean Region.

Genre:

History

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Liverpool Liverpool University Press 2026

Summary:

"In the 1830s, the British abolished slavery across their Atlantic empire. Their reasons were varied. Some had rallied behind abolitionism because they believed hostility to slavery was intrinsic to their Christian faith. Others thought that slavery was out of sync with a modern, industrialising economy. What united them was the belief that Britain was uniquely equipped, indeed destined, to end slavery. Abolitionism, it seemed, was baked into the national character. This book challenges that comforting narrative. Britons were never uniformly or persistently anti-slavery. Certainly, not all Victorian Christians were enthused by anti-slavery. Indeed, some of the most influential theological trends of the day, like Tractarianism, were indifferent to emancipation, if not actively hostile. Nor was Britain’s brand of industrial capitalism the antidote to enslavement. On the contrary, British capitalism sustained slavery in the many parts of the Atlantic world in the so-called Age of Emancipation. These issues are explored through the lives of three cousins whose lives intersected with Atlantic slavery. One was an industrialist who exploited enslaved copper miners in Cuba. Another was a Royal Naval chaplain who turned against Britain’s anti-slavery mission in southern Africa. The third was a ne’er-do-well who chose to fight on behalf of the pro-slavery Confederacy in the American Civil War"-- JSTOR

Contents:

Sierra Leone : Pascoe Grenfell and the African Institution

Cuba : Charles Pascoe Grenfell and the Cobre Company

1843

The Cape : The Reverend Pascoe Grenfell Hill in Southern Africa

1859

Kentucky : George St Leger Grenfell and the Defence of Slavery

1867 and beyond

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource; title from PDF title (JSTOR, viewed June 18, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version Evans, C. P. (Chris P.) Slavery's long goodbye

ISBN:

9781805967873

1805967878

9781805967880

1805967886

OCLC:

1596136508

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license