Fiche de révision : Histoire coloniale et abolitionnisme britannique

📋 Plan du Cours

1. The 1st Empire centered on America in the 17th Century
2. The abolition of slavery debate from 1770s to 1831
3. The civilizing mission and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel
4. The Anglican Church as a West Indian landlord
5. Slavery justification in the scriptures
6. Labourers and factory workers' situation in Britain in the 1830s
7. Mercantilism and Britain's foreign trade at the end of the 18th Century
8. The Debate over the Corn Laws from 1815 to 1846
9. Anticolonial sentiment ( Disraeli v/ Gladstone) ● Between 1840 and 1870,The movement Little England = Liberal party, among them

📖 1. The 1st Empire centered on America in the 17th Century

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Colonialism : A system of political and economic control where a country establishes and governs territories outside its own borders, often to exploit resources or settle new populations.
• The case : A legal and moral debate initiated by the Zong massacre of 1781, which questioned the legality and ethics of slavery in Britain, though it did not address slavery in the colonies.
• Problem : The challenge of understanding how the diverse structural and administrative organization of the British Empire in America influenced imperial relationships and independence movements.
• Charter colonies : Colonies governed under a charter granted by the King, where the colonial government elects the governor.
• Royal colonies : - Royal colonies → Ruled by a governor appointed by the crown.

📝 Points essentiels

• The 1st Empire was composed of the American 13 colonies plus other American territories including Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Hudson Bay territory, Canada, ex French territories east of Mississippi, Florida, and some West Indies islands.
• Colonies were founded by chartered companies or religious groups fleeing persecution and were governed under different types: charter, royal, proprietary, protectorates, and dominions.
• Commercial exchanges in the 1st Empire were regulated by the Crown through Navigation Acts passed from 1651 to the end of the 18th century.
• The American War of Independence (1775-1783) ended the American colonies' membership in the British Empire but they remained privileged partners, marking a shift from mercantilism to more liberal trade policies.
• The 1st Empire born in the 17th Century = America centered ● Composed of the American 13 colonies + other American territories (Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Hudson Bay territory, Canada, ex French territories east of Mississippi, Florida and some islands in the West Indies) ● Founded by chartered companies or by religious groups fleeing persecution ● Commercial exchanges regulated by the Crown (Navigation Acts, passed from 1651 to the end of 18th c.) ● The seven years war (ended in 1765) ● The American War of independence (1775-1783) = American colonies no longer part of the Empire but remained privileged partners at the end of mercantilism, more liberalism, less control.

💡 À retenir

The 1st Empire was composed of the American 13 colonies plus other American territories including Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, the Hudson Bay territory, Canada, ex French territories east of Mississippi, Florida, and some West Indies islands.

📖 2. The abolition of slavery debate from 1770s to 1831

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

📝 Points essentiels

• The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was created in 1787 by Wilberforce and Clarkson to campaign against slavery and collect evidence to rally supporters.
• Visual propaganda such as the Diagram of the Brookes Slave Ship and the Wedgewood Cameo were crucial tools in illustrating the horrors of slavery and mobilizing public opinion.
• The abolitionist campaign advocated for gradual emancipation, emphasizing the moral degradation caused by enslavement and the need to educate slaves for future freedom.

💡 À retenir

The abolition debate combined moral, visual, and political strategies to challenge slavery, highlighting the complexities of public opinion and gradualist approaches in late 18th to early 19th century Britain.

📖 3. The civilizing mission and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• THE ANGLICAN CHURCH : Institution religieuse protestante qui a soutenu l'esclavage en l'intégrant dans une mission civilisatrice, utilisant la conversion religieuse comme justification et condition de la légitimité de la servitude.
• Civilizing mission : Projet religieux et colonial visant à convertir et assimiler les populations considérées comme 'barbares', notamment les Africains esclaves, en justifiant l'esclavage comme moyen de progrès moral et culturel.
• Protestant work ethics : Ensemble de valeurs protestantes qui présument la paresse naturelle des esclaves et considèrent le travail forcé comme une action moralement bonne, légitimant ainsi l'esclavage.

📝 Points essentiels

• The SPG was created in 1701 to evangelize slaves and Native Americans, prioritizing conversion as part of the civilizing mission.
• The Anglican Church viewed slavery as a tool for civilizing 'barbarian' Africans, with conversion seen as a justification or condition for slavery's legitimacy.
• Protestant work ethics justified slavery by assuming slaves were naturally lazy and that slave labor was a morally good action.
• Obedience to duly constituted authority was considered a high Protestant virtue, reinforcing acceptance of slavery within religious frameworks.

💡 À retenir

The SPG was created in 1701 to evangelize slaves and Native Americans, prioritizing conversion as part of the civilizing mission.

📖 4. The Anglican Church as a West Indian landlord

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• The US : Nation where religious and moral debates about slavery were prominent, particularly involving interpretations of the Bible and Protestant ethics.
• Wage slavery : The fate of industrialists and workers = dependent on each other The arguments of abolitionists and radicals
• Consequence : ● Background = French Revolution ● Trade unions criminal organisations until 1825 b) Major conflicts ● 1812 Luddite Riots = breaking of machines by workers
• Codrington Plantation : The Anglican Church, a West Indian landlord ● 1710
• Britain : = leading position along the Coast of Africa.

📝 Points essentiels

• The Anglican Church exercised direct economic interests in the West Indies, managing plantations that relied on slave labor.
• Missionaries sent to Barbados from 1732 operated under the authority of the Archbishop of Canterbury, linking ecclesiastical hierarchy to colonial economic exploitation.

💡 À retenir

The Anglican Church exercised direct economic interests in the West Indies, managing plantations that relied on slave labor.

📖 5. Slavery justification in the scriptures

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Struggle which : Free people of Jamaica are now maintaining against the aristocracy of skin.

📝 Points essentiels

• The Curse of Ham narrative was debated as a scriptural basis for racialized slavery despite its textual obscurity and inconsistency.
• The story of Onesimus, a baptized slave returned to his master as both slave and 'brother beloved,' was cited to morally reconcile Christian slaveholders with slavery.
• Slavery was framed as compatible with Christian doctrine, allowing slaveholders to clear their conscience through selective scriptural interpretation.

💡 À retenir

Scriptural interpretations were strategically employed to legitimize slavery, demonstrating how religious texts were contested and adapted to support economic and social institutions.

📖 6. Labourers and factory workers' situation in Britain in the 1830s

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Tariffs : = supposedly to protect the economy i I ● But why tariffs when the economy is strong enough to face competition?

📝 Points essentiels

• By the 1830s, industrial activities had shifted from cottage industries to factories with dreadful working conditions.
• Factory owners depended heavily on credit, resulting in the lowest possible wages and extreme exploitation of workers.
• Pauper apprentices, often orphans, were contracted as property of factory owners and housed in appalling conditions.
• Working hours were extremely long, typically 14 to 16 hours per day, causing severe health damage among workers.

💡 À retenir

The harsh realities of early industrial labor in 1830s Britain reveal the significant social costs of economic transformation and the rise of working-class struggles.

📖 7. Mercantilism and Britain's foreign trade at the end of the 18th Century

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Mercantilism : ○ Thrift (=l'épargne)= in the course of time a fundamental Victorian value =promoted by the Queen herself ○ The mercantile system
• Navigation Acts : A series of British laws enacted between 1651 and the late 18th century that regulated colonial trade to ensure it benefited the British Crown and merchants by reserving commerce between colonies and the mother country as a monopoly.
• Free trade : = developed by two British economists: ● Adam Smith, An Inquiry Into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) considered as the first modern work of economics.

📝 Points essentiels

• The Navigation Acts, passed from 1651 to the late 18th century, regulated colonial trade to benefit the British Crown and merchants.
• Mercantilist policies restricted foreign competition and maintained high tariffs to protect domestic producers, especially in agriculture and manufacturing.
• The end of mercantilism saw a gradual shift towards liberal economic policies and freer trade relations with former colonies.

💡 À retenir

Le mercantilisme a structuré l'économie impériale britannique en imposant des contrôles commerciaux visant à maximiser la richesse nationale et à maintenir la dépendance coloniale.

📖 8. The Debate over the Corn Laws from 1815 to 1846

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Corn Laws : Legislation passed in 1815 and 1828 that imposed high duties on imported grain to sustain agricultural prices and benefit wealthy British landowners by restricting foreign competition.

📝 Points essentiels

• These laws benefited wealthy aristocratic landowners (the plantocracy) but raised bread prices, limiting workers' purchasing power and increasing poverty.
• The Corn Laws hindered industrial growth by reducing demand for manufactured goods and causing bankruptcies and unemployment.
• The debate over the Corn Laws reflected tensions between agricultural interests and emerging industrial capitalism.

💡 À retenir

The Corn Laws controversy exemplifies how economic protectionism can create social hardship and political conflict between traditional elites and industrial forces.

📖 9. Anticolonial sentiment ( Disraeli v/ Gladstone) ● Between 1840 and 1870,The movement Little England = Liberal party, among them

🔑 Notions clés & Définitions

• Also : Ex : Henry Rider Haggards series on Allan Quatermain, "King Solomon's Mine” (1885) The character
• Evolution : The world is gradually changing (and not recent as the Bible says) and rejection of a cyclic change.

📝 Points essentiels

• Between 1840 and 1870, the Little England movement within the Liberal party advocated for reduced imperial expansion and colonial disengagement.
• Disraeli and Gladstone represented opposing views on empire: Disraeli favored imperial expansion, while Gladstone and his followers criticized colonial policies.
• Anticolonial sentiment grew as economic and moral critiques of empire intensified, influencing British political discourse.
• The Little England movement emphasized domestic reform and questioned the costs and ethics of maintaining a vast empire.

💡 À retenir

The rise of anticolonial sentiment within British politics between 1840 and 1870 highlights early challenges to imperial ideology, marked by debates between figures like Disraeli and Gladstone and the emergence of voices advocating for imperial retrenchment and reform.

📅 Repères chronologiques

📊 Tableaux de Synthèse

Comparison of Colonial Governance Types

⚠️ Pièges & Confusions Fréquentes

1. Confusing the different types of colonies (charter, royal, proprietary, protectorates, dominions).
2. Misunderstanding the shift from mercantilism to liberal trade policies after 1783.
3. Overgeneralizing the role of the Anglican Church in supporting slavery without considering its diverse views.
4. Confusing the civilizing mission with other colonial justifications.
5. Misinterpreting the economic interests of the Anglican Church as purely religious without acknowledging its colonial economic activities.
6. Overlooking the social and political implications of the abolition debate.
7. Confusing the economic effects of tariffs and the Corn Laws on different social classes.

✅ Checklist Examen

1. Recall the key dates related to the American colonies and abolition debates.
2. Understand the different colonial governance structures.
3. Explain the civilizing mission and its religious justifications.
4. Identify the economic interests of the Anglican Church in the West Indies.
5. Describe the working conditions of laborers and factory workers in Britain in the 1830s.
6. Summarize the principles of mercantilism and the impact of Navigation Acts.
7. Discuss the controversy surrounding the Corn Laws and their social effects.
8. Analyze the rise of anticolonial sentiment and the political debates between Disraeli and Gladstone.