Remembering the bicentenary (of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade)

23.MAR.07

Two hundred years ago this Sunday, on March 25th, 1807, the British Parliament passed an Act outlawing the grossly inhuman and dehumanising traffic in human flesh across the Atlantic. The Act is widely praised for paving the way to the end of chattel slavery in the Caribbean in 1838, but in itself did not totally end the practice of slave trading across the Atlantic since violation of it was punishable with a fine of 100 pounds but unscrupulous slavers sometimes took risks and would often dump their human cargo if in danger of getting caught to avoid paying the fine.{{more}}

This year, many Caribbean nations are organizing some activities to mark the occasion and have even led the way to get a Resolution passed in the United Nations condemning the evil practice. Regrettably, those activities, while laudable in themselves, do not seem to get the full support and attention they deserve. There are even people in our midst who question the wisdom of expending resources on such commemorative activities. The Caribbean governments themselves as a whole seem reluctant to give the Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Atlantic Slave Trade the prominence that should be accorded it. There is not even one percent of the time, energy and resources devoted to hosting the World Cup, set aside for the Bicentenary activities.

It reveals a profound lack of understanding and appreciation of our history. In trying to comprehend that history, we need as well to have a clear view of the role of the oppressed, the slaves and in the case of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the courageous Callinago/Garifuna people in helping to bring about Abolition of the slave trade and later, Emancipation. Much is known for instance, of the role of the British evangelists – the Wilberforces, Clarkson, Ramsays etc – in the campaign to get slavery ended. Not enough is known of the efforts of black people to free themselves, making chattel slavery less and less financially viable. And precious little light is shed on the argument of a freed slave, Olaudah Equiano who vigorously campaigned against it, including making the case that it did not make sound economic sense.

The daily resistance on the plantations, the constant slave rebellions including the successful Haitian Revolution which triumphed on January 1st 1804, all had the effect of undermining the system of slavery. In this context must be put the heroic resistance of the Callinago/Garifuna which prevented the full takeover of plantation slavery on our soil until after Chatoyer’s death in 1795.

These are all powerful reasons why we cannot treat important dates in our history lightly. March 14th 1795 is one chapter and March 25th, 1807 another. Generations have come and gone, since then blissfully “blind, deaf, dumb and not aware.” We owe it to future generations not to let this re-occur. Making the Bicentenary and etching it forever in the annuals of our history and daily life must be the duty of our generation.