[ad_1]
In the 18th century, a mixed-race slave woman named Quasheba escaped from a sugar plantation where she was held captive. Barbados.
There is no record of Quasheba’s fate, but there is good documentation of the dire circumstances from which she fled in 1783. Official documents simply record her as a “fugitive.”
Other slaves on the same plantation also committed suicide in the face of violence, punishment, and tyranny. Slaves brought from West Africa were forced to harvest sugar cane “under whippings” and then transported to factories to be crushed and cooked. Many were branded with irons.
The sugar estate, known as Codrington Plantation, had an estimated annual income of £5 million in today’s money and covered 763 acres. It was owned and overseen by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG), the missionary arm of the Anglican Church.
Codrington House is now one of the focal points of a public debate about the relationship between the Anglican Church and slavery, the trading of human beings as personal property.
this Observer Evidence was uncovered this weekend in archives at Lambeth Palace Library showing how the Archbishop of Canterbury approved funds to buy slaves in the 18th century.
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said this weekend it was “particularly distressing” to read about a former minister’s involvement in the purchase of slaves. “While nothing can ever fully atone for these crimes, we are committed to finding out more of the truth, recognizing that this will take many years,” he said.
Robert Beckford, professor of social justice at the University of Winchester, said: “I think there is much more in the archives that reveals the extent of the Anglican Church’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade and this is probably just the tip of the iceberg.”
Beckford said a more thorough review was needed to quantify the extent of the church’s links. He claimed the church had previously “distanced itself” from its activities in the SPG and needed to acknowledge “this difficult period in its history”.
Colonial administrator and planter Christopher Codrington bequeathed two plantations in eastern Barbados to the SPG upon his death in 1710. His will provided that the plantations be maintained and “continued whole, with at least three hundred negroes,” and that the estates be used for education, “with a due number of professors and scholars… all of whom shall be bound to observe vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.”
Codrington was a fellow of All Souls College, Oxford, to which he donated £10,000 for the construction of a new library. The college erected a memorial plaque at the entrance to the library in memory of those who worked in slavery on the plantations.
Until 1732, slaves on the plantations left by the SPG were branded with an iron on their chests with the word “Society” written on it to indicate that they were the property of the church’s missionary department. One source cited by historian Travis Glasson in his book says that one plantation manager was a “particularly vicious” person. Mastering Christianity: Missionaries, Anglicanism, and Slavery in the Atlantic World.
The mortality rate among slaves was high. Estimates range from 600 to 1,200 slaves died on the plantations between 1710 and 1838. Between 1712 and 1761, the SPG purchased at least 450 African slaves.
The farm offered rewards to fugitives who returned. According to documents seen by the farmer, in August 1725, the farm paid £12 6 shillings for the return of five “fugitive negroes.” Observer.
The SPG was overseen by the head of the Church of England, with the current Archbishop of Canterbury usually serving as its chairman. On 17 November 1758, then Archbishop Thomas Seck chaired a meeting of the SPG and agreed to reimburse the Society’s account for funds “for the purchase of new negroes (from Africa) and the employment of third party slave labour”.
Seck was told that these measures were “made for the long-term benefit of the future of the estate.” The parties agreed to a payment of £1,093. Two years later, Seck approved another payment of £264 for new slaves. On August 15, 1760, Seck presided over a meeting, and the minutes show that the funds were used to “purchase nine negroes at the beginning of the year.”
Seck’s private letters from that year show that he was aware that the need to purchase new slaves from Africa was linked to high mortality rates. He also reflected on their desperate plight. In a 1760 letter to a bishop, he wrote: “I have always wondered and lamented the constant decrease in the number of negroes on our plantations, while new supplies are constantly becoming necessary. This must surely be due to some defect in human nature and good policy. But we must accept the present state of things.”
Research shows that by 1781, Codrington had 162 slaves working the fields, 73 of whom were children. Another 60 slaves worked as livestock keepers or in other capacities. A list of British manufactured goods shipped to the plantation in 1756 included four dozen farm hoes that were “too small for children.”
In 1745, a school for white boys opened on the estate, housed in a grand building with thick limestone walls. In 1830, Codrington College opened to train candidates for the priesthood. It is still there today and is the oldest Anglican college in the UK. AmericaThe winery is managed by the Codrington Trust, which was established in 1983 and is now the winery’s governing body.
Newsletter Promotion Post
In 1965, the St Paul’s Evangelical Mission merged with the University Mission of Central Africa to form the current United Society for the Gospel (USPG). Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby is president of the USPG, but it is now governed by an independent council.
In 2006 the church apologised for its “involvement in the slave trade” and the running of the Codrington estate, but has faced calls for it to acknowledge its role in the plantation in Barbados and agree to reparations.
The Church’s links to slavery have been extensively researched by the Church Commission, which manages the church’s assets. Last year it published a report showing that part of its £10bn endowment was linked to slavery. Queen Anne’s BountyThis was a financial scheme established in 1704 to invest in the transatlantic slave trade.
The US Coast Guard has apologised for its historic role at Codrington Manor last September. ObserverThe apology and investment were criticised for not having been undertaken in dialogue and agreement with the Barbados National Reparations Working Group.
Church commissioners said questions about addressing the history of Codrington Plantation were a matter for the Department of Defence. An exhibition last year on historical links to slavery only briefly mentioned the plantation, but the church said on its website that there were more documents in the Lambeth Palace library and “we look forward to sharing more information and artifacts in due course.” Officials said the exhibition was held against the backdrop of the Queen Anne’s Bounty.
“The Church was one of the main institutions that justified the enslavement of Africans. They cannot evade responsibility and must right their wrongs,” said Trevor Prescod, a Barbadian MP and chair of the Barbados National Reparations Task Force.
The church commissioners said: “The church commissioners are committed to researching its history and sharing our findings transparently. Last year a number of historians contacted us with feedback on the Lambeth Palace Library exhibition – we are very grateful for their feedback and continue to welcome constructive engagement to further learning and understanding.”
Make compensation
In November 2023, insurance market Lloyd’s of London agreed to invest £52 million to promote racial equality in recognition of its “vital role” in the transatlantic slave trade. An independent review by Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore found that insurance markets were part of a “complex web of financial interests and activities” that made the transatlantic slave trade possible.
The Scott Trust owns guardian and ObserverLast March, the organization’s founder guardian Transatlantic slave trade. A 2020 commissioned study found that John Edward Taylor, a journalist and cotton merchant who founded Manchester Guardian At least nine of his 11 supporters had links to slavery in 1821. The trust said it expected to invest more than £10m over a decade of restorative justice. protector The news series Cotton Capital explores the history of transatlantic slavery and its legacy.
The Bank of England owned 599 slaves after it seized two plantations in Grenada in the 1770s, according to new research presented in a 2022 exhibition.
The National Trust published a report in September 2020 that found up to a third of its properties had links to colonialism or slavery. The report found that 29 properties were linked to successful reparations claims following the abolition of slavery. Slavery The Slavery Abolition Act (1833) provided for the payment of £20 million in compensation to owners of “slave property”.
Greene King, a beer and pub chain founded in 1799, apologized in June 2020 for its links to slavery. Founder Benjamin Greene owned sugar plantations in the West Indies and enslaved people there.
[ad_2]
Source link
