For Tuesday: "Opinions on Slavery" (Norton, pp.159-185)

Famous portrait of Olaudah Equiano after the publication of his book

Here are some ideas to consider for each reading, though feel free to combine readings and approaches (or to apply questions for one reading to another):

“A Declaration By The Barbados Colonists” (1651): This declaration predates the publication of Oroonoko by several decades, making it an interesting counterpoint to the colonial perspective offered by the unnamed narrator. Based on this declaration, how might colonists feel themselves growing apart from the mother country and becoming “othered” themselves? In what way does being a colonist mean forsaking a traditional definition of Englishness?

John Locke, excerpts from Two Treatises of Government (1690): An influential thinker and writer, Locke’s ideas profoundly influenced the American and French revolutions of the 18th century. How might his argument for the “natural state of man” support Oroonoko’s own bid for freedom in the novel? On the same hand, how does Locke, despite his humanitarian impulses, define slavery within the construct of “the state of nature” and “the state of war”?

“The Speech of Moses Bon Sáam” (1735): Writings like this formed a genre of abolitionist writing written exclusively by white Englishmen trying to further the cause. Most likely, Moses Bon Sáam was a mask for one such abolitionist. Nevertheless, what arguments does he advance against Locke’s notion of slavery as a “natural” state for a certain class of people? Why might these arguments resonate with (and perhaps even be inspired by) the example of Oroonoko?

“The Answer of Caribeus to Moses Bon Sáam” (1735): This is the prototypical “apology” for slavery in the 17th/18th century. In essence, how is slavery defended as a necessary state of existence and even as a kind of blessing upon the slave him/herself?

Samuel Johnson, “To Boswell: Dictated Brief to Free a Slave” (1777): How does Johnson echo many of the sentiments from Moses Bon Sáam to attack a Lockean view of slavery? Why does Boswell feel the need to editorialize this sentiment at the end of the excerpt? Though he admits that Johnson’s views are “perhaps…in the right” (177), what crucial element does he feel Johnson overlooks?

Olaudah Equiano, from The Life of Olaudah Equiano (1789): This is one of the most extraordinary works of the late 18th century, as it is a polished, almost novelistic account of slavery from the inside—a slave who was captured as a child, served in the Royal Navy, and gradually bought his freedom (though few Englishmen believed in a freed slave). How do these excerpts contrast with the “white” perspective of slavery seen in Oroonoko, Moses Bon Sáam, and Johnson? Is Equiano able to write like an Englishman yet remain, in spirit, an African? In other words, how much does he conform to literary expectations—or how much does he remain an outsider sneaking in?