The Politics of Slave Trade Suppression in Britain and France, 1814–48: Diplomacy, Morality and Economics PDF
Preview The Politics of Slave Trade Suppression in Britain and France, 1814–48: Diplomacy, Morality and Economics
The Politics of Slave Trade Suppression in Britain and France, 1814–48 This page intentionally left blank The Politics of Slave Trade Suppression in Britain and France, 1814–48 Diplomacy, Morality and Economics Paul Michael Kielstra First published in Great Britain 2000 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world Acatalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN 978-1-349-40638-8 ISBN 978-0-230-28841-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1057/9780230288416 First published in the United States of America 2000 by ST. MARTIN’S PRESS, LLC, Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Kielstra, Paul Michael, 1965– The politics of slave trade suppression in Britain and France, 1814–48 / Paul Michael Kielstra p. cm. 1. Slave trade—Great Britain—History—19th century. 2. Slave trade– –France—History—19th century. 3. Great Britain—Foreign relations—France. 4. France—Foreign relations—Great Britain. I. Title. HT1162 .K54 2000 382'.44'094209034—dc21 00–027113 ©Paul Michael Kielstra 2000 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2000 978-0-333-73026-3 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1P0LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 09 08 07 06 05 04 03 02 01 00 Notes 5 To my parents and my wife, with love and appreciation 6 Notes When the heads of all those now living are laid low, and the facts that now excite such powerful feelings, are related by the pen of the cold, impartial historian; when it is seen that an opportunity like the present has been lost, that the first act of the restored King of France is the restoration of a trade in slavery and blood, what will be the estimate formed of the exertions this country has employed, or of the effect they have produced upon a nation under such weighty obligations? William Wilberforce An Inconvenient Degree of Controversy and Agitation. Lord Castlereagh Contents vii Contents List of Tables x Acknowledgments xi Author’s Note xiv 1 Introduction 1 English Abolition – the Historical Controversy 2 British Abolitionism in 1814 7 The French Experience before 1814 15 2 1814–1815 22 The First Peace of Paris 23 British Domestic Reaction 25 International Complications 33 Damage Control 34 France and Abolition 36 Wellington’s Embassy 39 Proposals and Delays 39 Political Complications 41 London and the Abolitionists 42 Agreement on North-West Africa 48 Vienna 50 3 1815–1818 56 The Imposition of Abolition 56 The Cabinet and the Friends of Africa 59 French Apathy and British Policy 61 The Weight of Europe 64 British Diplomacy and French Traffickers 67 Four Months of Movement 69 4 1818–1822 78 Enforcing the Law 79 The Making of a Bogeyman 80 The Consent of the Governing 83 Aix-la-Chapelle 86 Round the Mulberry Bush 91 Abolitionists, Ultras... 95 vii viii Contents ... And Those In Between 100 Dead End 103 5 1822–1827 108 Plus Ça Change...: England 108 Plus Ça Change...: France 113 ... Plus C’est la Même Chose 119 Verona and Washington 120 Direct Pressure 124 The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea 126 Serenely Frustrated? 128 Shamed at Last 130 Another End to the Slave Trade 134 6 1827–1833 138 Other Priorities 139 Paris Serves the Curate’s Egg 140 The Inevitable Solution? 143 Bad Faith’s Curtain Call 146 La Société de la Morale Chrétienne Takes Power 148 Reform, Emancipation, and Retaining Office 149 The Final French Abolition Law 150 ‘Please, sir, I want some more’ 152 The Convention of 1831 154 ‘Compleat Abolition at last’? 158 Political Fallout 160 7 1833–1840 163 Expanding the Conventions 164 Abolitionism Reawakens at Westminster 171 Government Reaction 175 Joint and French Activity 179 Anti-Slavery Reawakens in Britain 185 An Old Policy as Fig Leaf 188 New Ideas in Abolitionism 193 Once More into the Breach 197 8 1840–1848 207 The Politics of Petulance 209 A New Beginning for an Old Theme 211 West Africa, Syria, and Tiverton 217 The Marabout and the Political Storm 221 Closing the Protocol 225 Protecting the Conventions 228 Contents ix Aberdeen and the Saints 233 Waiting for Guizot 237 Form is Content 241 The Broglie-Lushington Commission 246 Political Fallout 250 Executing the Treaty 253 Loose Ends 258 9 Conclusion 261 Notes 268 Bibliography 352 Index 376
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