University Library
  • Login
A gateway to Melbourne's research publications
Minerva Access is the University's Institutional Repository. It aims to collect, preserve, and showcase the intellectual output of staff and students of the University of Melbourne for a global audience.
View Item 
  • Minerva Access
  • Arts
  • School of Culture and Communication
  • School of Culture and Communication - Research Publications
  • View Item
  • Minerva Access
  • Arts
  • School of Culture and Communication
  • School of Culture and Communication - Research Publications
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    Women Writers and Abolition

    Thumbnail
    Citations
    Altmetric
    Author
    Coleman, D
    Editor
    Labbe, JM
    Date
    2010-01-01
    Source Title
    The History of British Women's Writing, 1750-1830, Volume Five
    Publisher
    Palgrave Macmillan
    University of Melbourne Author/s
    Coleman, Deirdre
    Affiliation
    Culture and Communication
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Document Type
    Chapter
    Citations
    Coleman, D. (2010). Women Writers and Abolition. Labbe, JM (Ed.). The History of British Women's Writing, 1750-1830, Volume Five, The History of British Women's Writing, 1750-1830, Volume Five, (1), 5, pp.172-193. Palgrave Macmillan.
    Access Status
    This item is currently not available from this repository
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11343/31177
    DOI
    10.1057/9780230297012_9
    Abstract
    The years 1787–88 mark the high tide of popular abolitionism. What had begun as a small-scale protest, with Quakers submitting their first public petition to Parliament in 1783, was soon to culminate in a sudden and widespread outburst of humanitarian revulsion against the ‘abominable’ and ‘indefensible’ trade. There have been many attempts to explain the speed and breadth of the national mobilization against the slave trade. In a recent contribution Seymour Drescher dismisses arguments that attribute the new popularity to ‘chastened anxiety or national humiliation’ at the loss of the North American colonies. Nor does Drescher see abolitionism’s coming of age as a response to heightened internal class conflict, or to an economic decline in the value of the British slave trade. Without offering much explanation himself, apart from the great expansion of print media in this period, what Drescher does note is that popular abolitionism emerged at one of the most shining moments in British history, when the nation revelled in its ‘prosperity, security and power’.1 This means that, while abolitionists might express strong sentiments of outrage, the underlying premise of their protest involved a degree of complacency. As Drescher puts it, ‘how could the world’s most secure, free, religious, just, prosperous and moral nation allow itself to remain the premier perpetrator of the world’s most deadly, brutal, unjust and immoral offences to humanity? How could its people, once fully informed of its inhumanity, hope to continue to be blessed with peace, prosperity and power?
    Keywords
    Literary Studies

    Export Reference in RIS Format     

    Endnote

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format" and choose "open with... Endnote".

    Refworks

    • Click on "Export Reference in RIS Format". Login to Refworks, go to References => Import References


    Collections
    • Minerva Elements Records [53102]
    • School of Culture and Communication - Research Publications [1657]
    Minerva AccessDepositing Your Work (for University of Melbourne Staff and Students)NewsFAQs

    BrowseCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects
    My AccountLoginRegister
    StatisticsMost Popular ItemsStatistics by CountryMost Popular Authors