Injured humanity ; being a representation of what the unhappy children of Africa endure from those who call themselves Christians

Dublin Core

Title

Injured humanity ; being a representation of what the unhappy children of Africa endure from those who call themselves Christians

Subject

Slavery -- West Indies, British
Slaves -- West Indies, British -- Social conditions

Description

This anti-slavery broadside was written to encourage consumers to refrain from purchasing goods produced by West Indian slaves. It uses examples of abuses presented to Parliament and published in An Abstract of the evidence delivered before a select committee of the House of Commons in the years 1790 & 1791 on the part of the petitioners for the abolition of the slave trade to refute the arguments of pro-slavery apologists who "extol a state of servitude as a happy asylum ..."

The broadside was published by Samuel Wood of New York City. Wood was at the address noted in the imprint from 1805-1808. The engravings were created by Alexander Anderson. The text and illustrations in this broadside also appear in The mirror of misery, or, Tyranny exposed first issued by Wood in 1807.

Publisher

Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Date

ca. 1805-1808

Rights

This material is protected by copyright law (Title 17, U.S. Code). For reproduction queries: Rights and reproductions

Format

jpeg

Language

eng

Type

Text

Identifier

MS 2011.5

Document Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Ink on paper

Text

INJURED HUMANITY ;
BEING
A Representation of what the unhappy Children of Africa endure from those who call themselves CHRISTIANS.


The respectable and increasing numbers of those,
who, from motives of humanity, have concurred in
rejecting the produce of West-India slavery, cannot
but afford a subject of the sincerest joy to every
friend of mankind. Even those who, from motives
of interest, still favour or engage in the trade, have
been obliged to be silent upon the injustice of first
procuring the Negroes, and have not had the hardi-
ness to excuse or palliate the horrors of the middle
passage: but still they assert, that the treatment the
slaves meet with in the West-Indies amply counter-
balances their previous sufferings; nay, they have not
scrupled to extol a state of servitude as a happy asy-
lum from African despotism, and calmly maintain,
that the condition of the labouring poor in England
is much harder than that of the Negroes in the West-
India islands. Upon this ground, the opposers of
slavery are willing to meet its advocates, and the
design of the following extracts is to enable the pub-
lic to form an impartial and decisive judgment on the
subject.

WHEN a ship arrives at the port in the West-In-
dies, the slaves are exposed to sale, (except those
who are very ill, they being left in the yard to perish
by disease or hunger.) The healthy are disposed of
by public auction, the sickly by scramble. The sale
by scramble is thus described; the ship being dark-
ened by sails, the purchasers are admitted, who,
rushing forward with the ferocity of brutes, seize as
many slaves as they have occasion for. In none of
the sales, is any care taken to prevent the separation
of relatives or friends; but husbands and wives, pa-
rents and children, are parted with as little con-
cern as sheep and lambs by the butcher. Abstract
of the evidence, as laid before a committee of the
British parliament, page 46 and 47.

With respect to the general treatment of the slaves,
Mr. Woolrich says, that he never knew the best mas-
ter in the West-Indies use his slaves so well, as the
worst master his servants in England. Abstract of
the evidence, see page 53.

To come to a more particular description of their
treatment, it will be proper to divide them into dif-
ferent classes: the first consisting of those bought
for the use of the plantations: the second of the in
and out-door slaves.

The field slaves are called out by daylight to their
work: if they are not out in time, they are flogged.
When put to their work, they perform it in rows, and,
without exception, under the whip of drivers, a cer-
tain number of whom are allotted to each gang.
Such is the mode of their labour: as to the time of it,
they begin at daylight, and continue with two inter-
missions (one for half an hour in the morning, the
other for two hours at noon) till sunset. Besides
this, they are expected to range about and pick grass
for the cattle, either during their two hours rest at
noon, or after the fatigues of the day.

Sir G. Young adds, that women were, in general,
considered to miscarry, from the cruel treatment they
met with: and Captain Hall says, that he has seen a
woman seated to give suck to her child, roused from
that situation by a severe blow from the cart-whip.
Abstract of the evidence, see pages 53, 54, 55.

The above account of their labour is confined to
that season of the year which is termed out of crop.

In the crop season, the labour is of much longer
duration. Mr. Dalrymple says, they are obliged to
work as long as they can, that is, as long as they can
keep awake or stand. Sometimes, through excess of
fatigue, they fall asleep, when it has happened to
those who feed the mills, that their arms have been
caught therein and torn off. Mr. Cook, on the same
subject, states, that they work, in general, eighteen
hours out of the twenty-four: he knew a girl lose
her hand by the mill while feeding it, being over-
come with sleep, she dropped against the rollers.
Abstract of the evidence, page 55, 56.

To this account of their labour, it should be add-
ed, that it appears, that on some estates, the slaves
have Sunday and Saturday afternoon to themselves;
on others, Sunday only, and on others, only Sunday in
part. It appears again, that in crop, on no estate have
they more than Sunday for the cultivation of their
own lands. Abstract of the evidence, page 56.

The point next to be considered is the food of the
slaves, which appears to be subject to no rule: on
some estates, they are allowed land; on others, provis-
ions; and some are allowed provisions and land
jointly. The best allowance is at Barbadoes, of which
the following is the account. The slaves, in gen-
eral, says Gen. Tottenham, appeared to be ill fed:
each slave had one pint of grain for 24 hours, and
sometimes, half a rotten herring. When the herrings
were unfit for the whites, they were bought up for
the slaves
. Nine pints of corn, and one pound of
salt-fish a week, are, in general, the utmost allowance
As a proof that some have not food enough, Mr. Cook
says, that he has known both Africans and Creoles
eat the putrid carcasses of animals through want. Ab-
stract of the evidence, page 57 and 58.

As to the accusation of their being thieves, all the
evidences maintain, that it was on account of their
being half starved. Abstract of the evidence, p. 58.

Concerning the property of the field-slaves, all the
evidences agree in asserting, that they never heard of
a field-slave amassing such a sum as enabled him to
purchase his freedom. Abstract of the evidence,
page 60.

Having now described the state of the plantation,
it will be proper to say a few words on that of the in
and out-door slaves.

The in-door slaves are allowed to be better cloth-
ed and fed, and less worked, than the plantation;
on account, however, of being constantly exposed to
the cruelty and caprice of their masters and mis-
tresses, their lives are rendered so wretched, that
they not unfrequently wish to be sent to the field:
the out-door slaves are porters, coopers, &c. who are
obliged to bring to their masters a certain sum every
day.

The ordinary punishment of the slaves are inflict-
ed by the whip and cow-skin. This, says Mr. Wool-
rich, is generally made of plaited cow-skin, with a
thick strong lash, it is so formidable an instrument,
that some of the overseers can by means of it take
skin off a horse's back, he has seen them lay the marks
of it into a deal board: the incisions (according to Dr.
Harrison and the Dean of Middleham) are some-
times so deep that you may lay your finger into the
wounds, and are such as no time can erase. As a
farther proof of the severity of the punishments, the
following facts are adduced. Mr. Fitzmaurice has
known pregnant women so severely whipped, as
to have miscarried in consequence of it. Davidson
knew a negro girl die of a mortification of her
wounds two days after whipping. Dr. Jackson re-
collects a negro dying under the lash, or soon after.
Abstract of the evidence, see page 66 and 67.

We now proceed to the extraordinary punishments,
in the infliction of which, malice, fury, and all the
worst passions of the human mind, rage with un-
bridled license. Benevolence recoils at the dreadful
perspective, and can scarce collect composure to
disclose the bloody catalogue.

Captain Rap has known slaves severely punished,
then put into the stocks, a cattle chain of sixty or
seventy pounds weight put on them, and a large
collar round their necks, and a weight of fifty-six
pounds fastened to the chain, when they were driv-
en afield: the collars are formed with two, three,
or four projections, which hinder them from lying
down to sleep.

A negro man, in Jamaica, (says Dr. Harrison) was
put on the picket so long, as to cause a mortification
of his foot and hand, on suspicion of robbing his
master, a public officer, of a sum of money, which
it afterwards appeared the master had taken himself.
Yet the master was privy to the punishment, and the
slave had no compensation. Abstract of the evi-
dence, page 69.

Mr. Fitzmaurice mentions the practice of drop-
ping hot lead upon the slaves, which he saw per-
formed by a planter of the name of Rushie in Ja-
maica, this same man, in three years, destroyed by
severity forty negroes out of sixty. The rest of the
conduct of this planter was suppressed by the house
of commons, as containing circumstances too horrible
to be given to the world
.

An overseer on the estate where Mr. J. Turry was,
in Granada, threw a slave into the boiling cane juice,
who died in four days.

Captain Cook relates, that he saw a woman named
Rachel Lauder, beat a slave most unmercifully, and
would have murdered her, had she not been prevent-
ed; the girl's crime was, the not bringing money
enough from on board of a ship, whither she had been
sent by her mistress, for the purpose of prostitution
.

Lieutenant Davidson relates, that the wife of the
clergyman at Port-Royal, used to drop hot sealing-
wax on her negroes after flogging; he was sent for
as surgeon to one of them whose breast was terribly
burnt.

If it should be asked, for what offences the punish-
ments cited have taken place, the following answer
may be given:

Under the head of ordinary punishments, the
slaves appear to have suffered for not coming to the
field in time, not picking a sufficient quantity of
grass, for staying too long of an errand, and theft,
to which they were often driven by hunger.

Under the head of extraordinary punishments, the
following have been alleged as reasons: for run-
ning away, for breaking a plate, or to extort con-
fession in the moments of passion, and one on a dia-
bolical pretence, which the master held out to the
world to conceal his own villainy, and which he knew
to be false
. Women punish their slaves for being
found pregnant, for not bringing home the full wages
of prostitution
, and others, without even the allegation
of a fault
.

All the facts that have been now adduced are of
unquestionable authority, having been extracted from
the evidence laid before the house of commons by
eye-witnesses of the facts. Let now every honest
man lay his hand on his breast, and seriously reflect,
whether he is justifiable in countenancing such bar-
barities; or whether he ought not to reject, with
horror, the smallest participation in such infernal
transactions. To the weaker sex, whose amiable
characteristic it is, to be "tremblingly alive" to
every tale of wo, the friends of the abolition return
their warmest acknowledgments, for the zeal with
which many of them have espoused the cause of hu-
manity, and for the noble example they have shewn,
in rejecting the produce of slavery and misery.

 

PRINTED AND SOLD BY SAMUEL WOOD, NO. 362, PEARL-STREET.

Citation

“Injured humanity ; being a representation of what the unhappy children of Africa endure from those who call themselves Christians,” John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed March 28, 2024, https://rocklib.omeka.net/items/show/445.