We here discussed this the other day in the light of Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand for the national anthem. Some Trump supporter made a stupid remark about Great Britain introducing slavery while the US ended it.
The abolitionist movement gathered strength following the Zong massacre in 1781 when 133 ‘cargo’ were thrown overboard to preserve potable water supplies onboard. When insurers refused to compensate the ship's owners the legal proceedings had to consider whether slaves were cargo or human beings.
‘No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,’ - The Star Spangled Banner –
refers to black slaves hired to fight on the side of the British during the War of 1812. They were promised their freedom in return for military service.
After the U.S. and the British signed a peace treaty at the end of 1814, the U.S. government demanded the return of American “property,” which by that point numbered about 6,000 people. The British refused. Most of the 6,000 eventually settled in Canada.
The abolitionist movement gathered strength following the Zong massacre in 1781 when 133 ‘cargo’ were thrown overboard to preserve potable water supplies onboard. When insurers refused to compensate the ship's owners the legal proceedings had to consider whether slaves were cargo or human beings.
‘No refuge could save the hireling and slave
From the terror of flight or the gloom of the grave,’ - The Star Spangled Banner –
refers to black slaves hired to fight on the side of the British during the War of 1812. They were promised their freedom in return for military service.
After the U.S. and the British signed a peace treaty at the end of 1814, the U.S. government demanded the return of American “property,” which by that point numbered about 6,000 people. The British refused. Most of the 6,000 eventually settled in Canada.
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