Chapter 8 Summary-BTC

In Chapter 8, Clarkson was able to gain the support from the Quakers in order to go about his plans to abolish slavery. While writing letters to gain support from others in England, the Quakers followed strict rules for writing letters which was not an issue once Granville Sharp took it upon himself to personally sign all of them. As more support came from the Quakers, a serious question needed to be addressed, “Were they going to agitate only for abolition of the slave trade, or for the emancipation of all slaves?” (110) The decision was to abolish the slave trade which would eventually cause owners to treat slaves better or provide them with a better chance of gaining freedom. Clarkson decided to gain firsthand experience of what occurred on slave ship by going onboard. Before going onboard, Clarkson was able to find out the ways captains of slave ships would persuade men to become sailors on board and how they would be treated once on the ship. He was also able to meet two doctors, Falconbridge and Arnold, who were both willing to give firsthand accounts of their experiences on board by keeping journals. Clarkson becoming a well known figure all throughout London, many of the slave traders and seamen did not like him and even tried to kill him. Luckily, he was able to escape and continue to gain support all throughout England.

Comment: I found it really interesting to see the tactics that slave ship captains and owners would use to persuade sailors to come onboard. Alcohol and innocent men who were unfamiliar with the trade seemed to be the most effective methods mentioned. I liked how Clarkson inquired as to how more sailors become recruited even after so many horror stories have been told by other sailors. It was logical to realize that if sailors were being tortured and others were hearing about it, that no one would want to go onboard. Through false "advertising" and the effects of alcohol, it was easy to see how so many men had a warped perception of what they were getting into.