British Abolitionism and the Rhetoric of Sensibility argues that participants in the late eighteenth-century slavery debate developed a distinct sentimental rhetoric, using the language of the heart to powerful effect in the most important political and humanitarian battle of the time. Examining both familiar and unfamiliar texts, including poetry, novels, journalism, and political writing, Carey shows that salve-owners and abolitionists alike made strategic use of the rhetoric of sensibility in the hope of influencing a reading public thoroughly immersed in the 'cult of feeling'.

This collection investigates the rhetorical features and political complexities of the culture of sentimentality as it grappled with the material realities of transatlantic slavery at the turn of the nineteenth century. The contributors examine poetry, plays, petitions, treatises, and life-writing that engaged with contemporary debates about abolition.

This book highlights the significant role played by Ignatius Sancho (c. 1729-80), the first black man to vote in England, in the British abolitionist movement. Examining the letters of Sancho, and especially his correspondence with the influential novelist and preacher, Laurence Sterne, the author analyses the relationship between sensibility and antislavery in eighteenth-century Britain. The book demonstrates how Sancho navigated the bawdy, riotous conditions of commercial London, which was the headquarters of a growing and war-torn Empire. It shows how Sancho mastered the fashionable and gendered language of the culture of sensibility, navigating the contemporary issues of race, slavery, and politics. The book also touches on the White metropolitan and colonial preoccupation with Black men’s sexuality, which was intensified by the Somerset decision of 1772. Sancho’s was a unique and influential voice in eighteenth-century Britain, making this book an insightful read for scholars of anti-slavery as well as gender, race and imperialism in British history.

Seminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2,0, University of Potsdam, language: English, abstract: In the following, the author wants to explore in what way the poem "Slavery, A Poem" by Hannah More serves abolitionist means. A quote of Hannah More (1745 - 1833) in a letter to her sister states: “I grieve I did not set about it sooner; as it must now be done in such a hurry... but, good or bad, if it does not come out at the particular moment when the discussion comes on in Parliament, it will not be worth a straw.” (Feldman, 1997, p. 470) This statement is referring to her poem “Slavery, A Poem.” that she wrote in 1788. Reading this quotation one can act on the assumption that the poem and its time of publication served a specific purpose. Knowing that Hannah More was an active member of the British abolitionism and knowing that she wrote the poem for this very reason; we can come to the following study question: In what way is the typical British abolitionism represented in Hannah Mores poem?

Srividhya Swaminathan examines contemporary books, pamphlets, and literary works to trace the changes in rhetorical strategies utilized by both sides of the abolitionist debate. Suggesting that the debate to abolish the slave trade helped to construct a British national identity and character, she reads the arguments of pro- and anti-abolitionists as a series of dialogues among diverse groups at the center and peripheries of the empire.

DIV In the first book to investigate in detail the origins of antislavery thought and rhetoric within the Society of Friends, Brycchan Carey shows how the Quakers turned against slavery in the first half of the eighteenth century and became the first organization to take a stand against the slave trade. Through meticulous examination of the earliest writings of the Friends, including journals and letters, Carey reveals the society’s gradual transition from expressing doubt about slavery to adamant opposition. He shows that while progression toward this stance was ongoing, it was slow and uneven and that it was vigorous internal debate and discussion that ultimately led to a call for abolition. His book will be a major contribution to the history of the rhetoric of antislavery and the development of antislavery thought as explicated in early Quaker writing. /div

Discourses of Slavery and Abolition brings together for the first time the most important strands of current thinking on the relationship between slavery and categories of writing, oratory and visual culture in the 'long' Eighteenth-century. The book begins by examining writing about slavery and race by both philosophers and by authors such as Aphra Behn. It considers self-representation in the works of Ignatius Sancho, Olaudah Equiano, James Williams and Mary Prince. The final section reads literary and cultural texts associated with the abolition movements of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, moving beyond traditional accounts of the documents of that movement to show the importance of religious writing, children's literature and the relationship between art and abolition.