Blog 2

Nicolas Kane

History 498

Blog 2

Christianity and Africans During 18^th Century Europe

            The period between 1600-1800 had changed European society forever.  With the large influx of slaves to the area, Europe was beginning to grow into one of the first multicultural countries in the world at a very rapid pace.  With these swift changes happening around them, Christianity slowly began to grow into society.  During this period thousands of African slaves working in Europe came into heavy contact with various religious missionaries trying to invoke their Christian faith.  The overall goal of the Christians was to eradicate the slave trade and have blacks succeed and coexist in a predominantly white society.  The connection between Christianity and social status was crucial in the evolution of society as a whole and the evolution of human civilization.   It helped bring the blacks and whites together to coexist and abolish slavery.

            In Equiano’s writings he helps us understand the life of a slave as well as the impact of Christianity.  He states numerous times that because of his Christian faith he was able to accomplish all of his goals and was even able to receive enlightenment.  The structure of Christianity also allowed him to structure his life in a positive way, taking into consideration everything that he does before he does it creating positive results.[1]  He also attributes his assimilation to European Society to the fact that he was able to share a common bond by being Christian which ultimately lead to an easier way of life. 

            In Gretchen Gerzina’s article, she mentions that religion did play a factor in slave’s lives.  It mainly provided them with faith to deal with their hardships and gave them something to believe in and look forward to.  Religion was also looked at as a way to assimilate with society and was a way to improve their current situations.  With the respect and assimilation to the white man it would help create better opportunities.  Similarly stated by Olaudah Equiano, he attributes a lot of his success to his Christian faith.

            In Chirstopher Leslie Brown and Nicholas Hudson’s readings, they focused more on outlying factors that led to the integration of slaves into European society besides Chrstianity.  In Christopher Leslie Brown’s readings he focuses on the institutional changes that took places and the people whom were in charge doing it.  Quakers became one of the first examples of slave’s activists trying to abolish slavery.  This positive change helped society understand that they needed to abandon slavery in order to progress as a society.  “The Quakers encouraged African conversion to Christianity while encouraging their slave-holding leaders to support abolition.”[2]  This initial spark helped allow African slaves to be free and part of European society.  Nicholas Hudson however, believes that it was leftist scholars as well as Anglican conservatives who initiated the removal of slavery.  Although his viewpoints differ from Brown, both presume that the initial abolishment plans for slavery were from another religious group outside of the Christian faith.

            In Pierre H. Boulle’s readings he mentions how the French exposure to blacks led to many slanders of their race.  French people believed that African slaves should not be educated nor have cultural believes.  Boulle shows the mood and arrogance of the French stating that slaves “were not Christians and therefore remained uncivilized”.[3]  This hatred would come to a pinnacle with the passing of the Royal Declaration of 1738 which would cause a multitude of attacks on Africans living within France.  Similar beliefs are found in Sue Peabody’s readings regarding French slavery.  Just like Boulle,  Sue Peabody’s readings does not directly touch on faith but rather focuses on France and the slavery that was happening there. 

            In James Walvin’s reading’s he focuses on the aspect of the slave trade and the various routes that were taken.  He focuses on the evolution of slavery as well as the slave trade.   He does not directly link slavery to religion of Christianity in his readings.

            While there is no proof on the exact movement that caused the biggest uproar and eventually abolishment of slavery, it is safe to say that Christianity played a large part.  Between the periods of 1600-1800 European society was faced with many challenges to overcome.  From the initial treatment of African slaves to the abolishment of slavery, many factors were crucial in determining the faith and future of European and African society as well as human civilization.

Bibliography

Boulle, Pierre H. “Racial Purity or Legal Clarity? The Status of Black Residents in
Eighteenth-Century France.” The Journal of the Historical Society 4, no. 1 (2006): 19-46.

Brown, Christopher Leslie, “Christianity and the campaign against slavery and the slave trade,” The Cambridge History of Christianity, 7, (Cambridge Histories Online 2008):519.

Equiano, Olaudah, Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Or Gustavus Vassa, The African (New York: Random House, 2004):12.

Garzina, Gretchen Holbrook,"Freedom of Movement in the Early Black Atlantic," South Atlantic Quarterly, 100:1 (Winter 2001):43.

Hudson, Nicholas, "’Britons Never Will be Slaves:’ National Myth, Conservatism, and the Beginnings of British Antislavery,” Eighteenth-Century Studies, 34, no. 4 (Summer 2001):562.

Peabody, Sue. “Race, Slavery, and the Law in Early Modern France.” Historian 56, no. 3
(1994): 501-510.

  

Walvin, James, "FORGING THE LINK: Europe, Africa and the Americas" in James Walvin, Questioning Slavery (London, UK: Routledge, 1996):4.

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[1] Equiano, Olaudah, Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano: Or Gustavus Vassa, The African (New York: Random House, 2004):12.

[2] Christopher Leslie Brown, “Christianity and the campaign against slavery and the slave trade,” The Cambridge History of Christianity, 7, (Cambridge Histories Online 2008): 519.

[3] Boulle, Pierre H. “Racial Purity or Legal Clarity? The Status of Black Residents in
Eighteenth-Century France.” The Journal of the Historical Society 4, no. 1 (2006): 19-46.