Beyond Slavery and Abolition
Black British Writing, c.1770–1830

Shows how black writers helped to build modern Britain by looking beyond the questions of slavery and abolition.

Ryan Hanley (Author)

9781108468756, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 11 June 2020

281 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.45 kg

'Historians of black British history, the British Atlantic, and slavery studies will all find something rewarding in the book. Indeed, the Royal Historical Society deemed Beyond Slavery and Abolition worthy of its annual Whitfield Prize, an award that this novel work most certainly deserves.' Gary D. Sellick, H-Slavery

The first full-length historical study of pre-abolition black British writing, this book challenges established narratives of eighteenth-century black history that focus almost exclusively on slavery and abolition. Ryan Hanley expands our perspectives to encompass the often neglected but important black writers of the time, and highlights their contribution to politics, culture, and the arts. He considers the lives and works of contemporary black literary celebrities alongside largely forgotten evangelical authors and political radicals to uncover how they came to produce such diverse and powerful work. By navigating the social, religious, political and professional networks that surrounded these authors and their writing, he also reveals that black intellectuals were never confined to the peripheries of British culture. From the decks of Royal Navy ships to the drawing rooms of country houses, from the pub to the pulpit, black writers, and the work they produced, helped to build modern Britain.

Introduction
Part I. Black Celebrities: 1. Ignatius Sancho and posthumous literary celebrity, 1779–1782
2. Olaudah Equiano: celebrity abolitionist
3. Mary Prince and the infamy of victimhood, 1828–1833
Part II. Black Evangelicals: 4. Ukawsaw Gronniosaw and British Calvinism, 1765–1779
5. Boston King, Kingswood School, and British Methodism, 1794–1798
6. John Jea in Lancashire and Hampshire, 1801–1817
Part III. Black Radicals: 7. Ottobah Cugoano and the 'Black poor', 1786–1791
8. Robert Wedderburn and London's radical underworld
Conclusion
Select bibliography.

Subject Areas: Slavery & abolition of slavery [HBTS], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700 [HBLH], British & Irish history [HBJD1], Literary studies: fiction, novelists & prose writers [DSK]