© This work is the property of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. It may be used freely by individuals for research, teaching and personal use as long as this statement of availability is included in the text.

 

Frontispiece

Title Page

Verso

A
TRIBUTE FOR THE NEGRO:
BEING
A VINDICATION
OF THE
MORAL, INTELLECTUAL, AND RELIGIOUS CAPABILITIES
OF
The Coloured portion of Mankind;
WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE AFRICAN RACE.

ILLUSTRATED BY
NUMEROUS BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES,
FACTS, ANECDOTES, ETC.
AND MANY
SUPERIOR PORTRAITS AND ENGRAVINGS.

BY

WILSON ARMISTEAD.

Manchester:
WILLIAM IRWIN, 39, OLDHAM STREET
LONDON:
CHARLES GILPIN, BISHOPSGATE STREET.
AMERICAN AGENT:
WM. HARNED, ANTI-SLAVERY OFFICE,
61, JOHN STREET, NEW YORK;
AND MAY BE HAD OF
H. LONGSTRETH AND G. W. TAYLOR,
PHILADELPHIA.
1848.

Page verso

MANCHESTER:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM IRWIN,
39, OLDHAM STREET.

Page vi

TO
JAMES W. C. PENNINGTON, FREDERICK DOUGLASS,
ALEXANDER CRUMMELL,
AND
MANY OTHER NOBLE EXAMPLES OF ELEVATED HUMANITY
IN THE NEGRO;
WHOM FULLER BEAUTIFULLY DESIGNATES
"THE IMAGE OF GOD CUT IN EBONY:"
THIS VOLUME,
DEMONSTRATING, FROM FACTS AND TESTIMONIES,
THAT THE
WHITE AND DARK COLOURED RACES OF MAN
ARE ALIKE THE CHILDREN OF ONE HEAVENLY FATHER,
AND
IN ALL RESPECTS EQUALLY ENDOWED BY HIM;
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED.

Page vii

PREFACE.

        In reviewing the history of mankind, we may observe, that very soon after the creation of our first parents in innocence and happiness, sin and misery entered into the world. The evils of life commenced in the earliest ages, and subsequent history and experience testify, that in all their variety of form and character they have continued to exist in every successive generation to the present time.

        To combat these evils, by endeavouring to effect their removal or correction, is the most pleasing and useful occupation in which we can engage ourselves. Providence has wisely instituted, in every age and in every country, a counteracting energy to diminish the crimes and miseries of mankind, which the influences of Christianity have increased, by unfolding to it the widest possible domain. "At her command, wherever she has been fully acknowledged, many of the evils of life have already fled. The prisoner of war is no longer led into the amphitheatre to become a gladiator, and to imbrue his hands in the blood of his fellow-captive, for the sport of a thoughtless multitude. The stern priest, cruel through fanaticism and custom, no longer leads his fellow-creature to the altar, to sacrifice him to fictitious gods. The venerable martyr, courageous through faith and the sanctity of his life, is no longer hurried to the flames. The haggard witch, poring over her incantations by moonlight, no longer scatters her superstitious poison amongst her miserable neighbors, nor suffers for her crime."

Page viii

        So long as any of the evils of life shall remain, accompanied, as they must inevitably be, with misery and guilt, the Christian will find himself impelled by an impulse of duty to oppose them; and his energies will be roused into active resistance, in proportion to the magnitude of the evil to be overcome.

        The most extensive and extraordinary system of crime the world ever witnessed, which has now been in operation for several centuries, and which continues to exist in unabated activity, is NEGRO SLAVERY. This hateful system, involving a most incalculable amount of evil, and entailing a measure of misery on the one hand, and guilt on the other, beyond the powers of language to describe, entitles its victims to the strongest claims on our sympathy.

        "If, among the various races of mankind," says the pious Richard Watson, "one is to be found which has been treated with greater harshness by the rest--one whose history is drawn with a deeper pencilling of injury and wretchedness--that race, wherever found, is entitled to the largest share of compassion; especially of those, who, in a period of past darkness and crime, have had so great a share in inflicting this injustice. This, then, is the Negro race--the most unfortunate of the family of man. From age to age the existence of injuries may be traced upon the sunburnt continent; and Africa is still the common plunder of every invader who has hardihood enough to obdurate his heart against humanity, to drag his lengthened lines of enchained captives through the deserts, or to suffocate them in the holds of vessels destined to carry them away into interminable captivity. Africa is annually robbed "of FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND" of her children. Multiply this number by the ages through which this injury has been protracted, and the amount appals and rends

Page ix

the heart. What an accumulation of misery and wrong! Which of the sands of her deserts has not been steeped in tears, wrung out by the pang of separation from kindred and country? And in what part of the world have not her children been wasted by labours, and degraded by oppressions?"

        The hapless victims of this revolting system are men of the same origin as ourselves--of similar form and delineation of feature, though with a darker skin--men endowed with minds equal in dignity, equal in capacity, and equal in duration of existence--men of the same social dispositions and affections, and destined to occupy the same rank in the great family of Man.

        The supporters and advocates of Negro Slavery, however, in order to justify their oppressive conduct, profess, either in ignorance or affected philosophy, to doubt the African's claim to humanity, alleging their incapacity, from inherent defects in their mental constitution, to enjoy the blessings of freedom, or to exercise those rights which are equally bestowed by a beneficent Creator upon all his rational creatures.

        White men, civilized savages, armed with the power which an improved society gives them, invade a distant country, and destroy or make captive its inhabitants; and then, pointing to their colour, find their justification in denying them to be men. A petty philosophy follows in the train, and confirms the assumption by a specious theory which would exclude the Negro from all title to humanity. Thus would they strike millions out of the family of God, the covenant of grace, and that brotherhood which the Scriptures extend to the whole race of Adam.

        The calumniators of the Negro race--those who have robbed them of their lands, and still worse, of themselves--

Page x

delight to descant upon the inferiority of their victims, withholding the fact, that they have been for ages exposed to influences calculated to develope neither the moral nor the intellectual faculties, but to destroy them. It may, perhaps, be fairly questioned, whether any other people could have endured the privations or the sufferings to which they have been subjected, without becoming still more degraded in the scale of humanity; for nothing has been left undone, to cripple their intellects, to darken their minds, to debase their moral nature, and to obliterate all traces of their relationship to mankind; yet, how wonderfully have they sustained the mighty load of oppression under which they have been groaning for centuries!

        Prejudice and misinformation have, for a long series of years, been fostered with unremitting assiduity by those interested in upholding the Slave system--a party, whose corrupt influence has enabled them to gain possession of the public ear, and to abuse public credulity to an extent not generally appreciated. In an age so distinguished for benevolence, we call only thus account for the indifference manifested towards this unfortunate race, and from the fact that they are supposed to be in reality destined only for a servile condition, entitled neither to liberty nor the legitimate pursuit of happiness.

        Has the Almighty, then, poured the tide of life through the Negro's breast, animated it with a portion of his own Spirit, and at the same time cursed him, that he is to be struck off the list of rational beings, and placed on a level with the brute? Is his flesh marble, and are his sinews iron, or his immortal spirit condemned, that he is doomed to incessant toil, and to be subjugated to a degradation, bodily and mental, such as none of the other of the children of Adam have ever endured? Away for ever with an idea so

Page xi

absurd! The subjugation of a large portion of mankind to the domination and arbitrary will of another, is as unnatural as it is contrary to the principles of justice, and repugnant to the precepts and to the spirit of Christianity; and in the advancing circumstances of the world, nothing can be more certain, than that Slavery must terminate. It is a blot which can never remain amidst the glories of Messiah's reign.

        My present purpose is not to enter into a recital of the horrors of the Slave system in any of its revolting details. The secrets of the dreadful traffic are veiled in those coffin-like spaces in the interior of Slave ships, in which the wretched victims are packed as logs of wood, their limbs loaded with manacles and chains, to be succeeded by the scourgings of the cruel driver! But I will forbear; the mind shudders at the idea of a serious discussion of deeds so hateful, which no prospect of private gain, no consideration of public advantage, no plea of expediency, can ever justify.

        The purport of the present volume, in contradistinction to the idea of the Negro being designed only for a servile condition, is to demonstrate that the Sable inhabitants of Africa are capable of occupying a position in society very superior to that which has been generally assigned to them, and which they now mostly occupy;--that they are possessed of intelligent and reflecting minds, and however barren these may have been rendered by hard usage, and have become indeed as "fountains sealed," that they are still neither unwatered by the rivers of intellect, nor the pure and gentle streams of natural affection. By a relation of facts, principally of a biographical nature, many of them now published for the first time, I hope to counteract that deeply-rooted prejudice, the growth of centuries, which

Page xii

attaches itself to this despised race--facts which render a practical negative to the imputation of inevitable inferiority; demonstrating, on the other hand, that, when participating in equal advantages, they are not inferior in natural capacity, or deficient of those intellectual and amiable qualities which adorn and dignify human nature.

        How far the attempt is successful must be left to the reader's decision, Whether it result in convincing the sceptical, or in confirming those already persuaded of the truth of the position maintained, may it engender a more lively feeling of brotherly sympathy towards this afflicted people, by demonstrating them to be capable of every generous and noble feeling, as well as of the higher attainments of the human understanding. Once convinced of this, we cannot contemplate with indifference their bodily and mental sufferings, but rather desire that every barrier may be removed which impedes their attaining to that station in society which an all-wise and beneficent Creator designed for them.

        Should the facts recorded be deemed of too insulated a nature to elucidate any general theory (most countries having produced some individuals of unusual powers, both of body and of mind), I may observe, that they are only a fractional part of what might have been adduced. I have still in reserve a mass of additional facts, teeming with evidence the most unequivocal, that the Almighty has not left the Negro destitute of those talents and capabilities which he has bestowed upon all his intelligent creatures, which, however modified by circumstances in various cases, leave no section of the human family a right to boast that it inherits, by birth, a superiority which might not, in the course of events, be manifested and claimed with equal justice by those whom they most despise.

Page xiii

        I should be wanting in gratitude, were I to omit to acknowledge the kindness of many friends who have aided me during the progress of the work. Amongst these, I may particularly mention Thomas Thompson, of Liverpool; Thomas Scales,* and Thomas Harvey, of Leeds; Jacob Post, of London; Edward Bickersteth,* Rector of Watton; Joseph Sturge, of Birmingham; James Backhouse, of York; Thomas Winterbottom, M.D., North Shields; Captain Wauchope, of the Royal Navy; with many others. To Robert Hurnard, of Colchester, I am indebted for a Narrative and several M.S. letters of Solomon Bayley, of which I regret being able to avail myself only to a limited extent. Nor should I omit a tribute of thanks to my friend Bernard Barton, for his appropriate Introductory Poem, which adds to the interest of the volume.

        I may also acknowledge having frequently availed myself of the researches of Dr. Lawrence, and the more recent ones of Dr. J. C. Prichard, whose work on the History of Man is the ablest extant in any language.

        I have also derived much information from the work of the Abbé Grégoire, entitled "De la Littérature des

        * The reader will observe, throughout the present volume, except in the first plate, engraved under other auspices, an omission of the title of "Reverend," usually applied to Ministers of the Gospel. It is far from my wish to appear uncourteous; but whilst esteeming the virtuous and the good of every class, I feel a decided objection to the use of this title, on the ground of its being one assigned to the Almighty himself, whose name is Holy and Reverend. (Psalm cxi. 9.) It is to be regretted that Christian ministers, servants of Him who "made himself of no reputation," should feel satisfied with this appellation being used, both in public and private addresses, from their fellow-mortals. Neither the prophets of old, nor the apostles, nor any of the immediate followers of Christ, however eminent, required such an adulatory title, the tendency of which is, to exalt the fallen creature rather than to honour the Divine Creator.


Page xiv

Nègres, ou Recherches sur leur Facultés Intellectuelles, leur Qualités Morales, et leur Littérature," &c. I am indebted to Thomas Thompson, of Liverpool, for this scarce volume, who kindly presented me with a copy of it, which is rendered additionally valuable from its being one presented by the Abbé in his own hand-writing to the late William Phillips, of London. To Gerrit Smith of Peterboro', U. S., I am also indebted for an English translation of the same, by D. B. Warden, Secretary of the American Legation at Paris. This admirable work includes a mass of information, the accuracy of which may be thoroughly relied upon, being the production of a man of great erudition and rare virtues, well known in the learned societies of his day. He was formerly Bishop of Blois, a member of the Conservative Senate, of the National Institute, the Royal Society of Gottingen, &c.

        It was partially announced that a list of Subscribers would be appended to the present volume, but as this would have occupied nearly thirty pages, it was thought preferable to extend the Biographical portion of the work, which now exceeds by about one hundred pages the number originally intended. The only object in publishing such a list, would have been to afford a demonstration of the feeling and interest existing on behalf of the oppressed race. Suffice it to say, that it embraces nearly a thousand of the most conspicuous characters in the walks of benevolence and philanthropy, both in Great Britain and America, including the Sovereign of the most enlightened country of the world.

        The proceeds arising from the sale of the "TRIBUTE for the NEGRO" will be appropriated for the benefit of the Negro race. On this ground, as well as in consideration of the primary design of publication, the friends of

Page xv

humanity will be interested in promoting its circulation. By so doing, they will advance the cause of freedom, by establishing the claims of depressed, degraded, suffering, and almost helpless millions.

        It may be observed, that in making the Biographical selection for this work, the author has been governed by no sectarian prejudice. With due regard to the primary object in view, he has embraced, in support of the proposition maintained, all classes, irrespective of their particular religious tenets. The Episcopalian, the Presbyterian, the Quaker, and the Moravian, are all alike included, not even excepting the half-civilized barbarian, on whom the light has but dimly shone. Whatever our own particular views may be, charity compels us to believe that the virtuous and the good are acceptable to the Universal Parent. A good life is the soundest orthodoxy, and the most benevolent man is the best Christian. Diversity of opinion is not a bar to the favour of Heaven, and it ought not to operate to the prejudice of our neighbor. We ought rather to bear and forbear with each other, remembering that the Sacred Mount of Divine Mercy is open alike to every humble traveller--"God is no respecter of persons; but in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." 'Tis these that constitute the "countless myriads" that shall be gathered from "all nations, kindreds, and tongues," to ascribe, throughout the boundless ages of eternity, hallelujahs and songs of incessant praise before the throne of the King Supreme.

        Having now completed my undertaking, after soliciting the Divine blessing upon it, I bequeath it as a legacy to the injured and oppressed. Though the design of the publication will, I trust, be deemed a sufficient apology for its appearance, I am prepared for a diversity of sentiment

Page xvi

being expressed as to its propriety or necessity. I should count myself unworthy the name of a man or a Christian, if the calumnies of the bad, or even the disapprobation of the well-disposed, had deterred me from the performance of that which a feeling of duty prompted me to undertake. I court no man's applause, neither do I fear any man's frown. Conscious of many imperfections, I feel thankful in having completed this humble "Tribute" in aid of the cause of Freedom, Justice, and Humanity; and it will be a satisfaction to reflect, that a portion of my time has been employed on behalf of the most oppressed portion of our race, at least with a design to promote their welfare.

W. A.

Leeds, 10th Month, 1848

Page xvii

CONTENTS.

Page xxii

Page xxxi

List of Portraits and Engravings.

Page xxxiii

INTRODUCTORY POEM:
BY
BERNARD BARTON.


                         A TRIBUTE for the Negro Race!
                         With all whose minds and hearts
                         Have known the power of Gospel Grace,
                         The love which it imparts.


                         Who know and feel that God is Love!
                         And that His high behest,
                         Given from His throne in Heaven above
                         Says--"Succour the oppress'd!"


                         A TRIBUTE for our Brother Man!
                         Our Sister Woman too!
                         With all whose feeling hearts can own
                         What unto each is due:


                         Who cherish holy sympathy
                         With human flesh and blood,
                         And feel the inseparable tie
                         Of that vast Brotherhood!

Page xxxiv


                         That the same God hath fashion'd all,
                         Moulded in human frame;
                         And bade them on His mercy call,
                         Pleading--A Father's Name!


                         That the same Saviour died for each,
                         So each to Him might live!
                         That the same Spirit sent to teach,
                         To ALL can Wisdom give.


                         A TRIBUTE to the mental power
                         Of Blacks, as well as Whites;
                         For Nature, in her ample dower,
                         Owns all her Children's rights:


                         And scorns, by casual tint of skin,
                         Those sacred rights to adjust,
                         Which, to the immortal Soul within,
                         Her God hath given in trust!


                         A TRIBUTE to fair Freedom's spells,
                         The boon of God on high;
                         For--ever--where His Spirit dwells,
                         There must be Liberty!


                         That Spirit breaks each galling yoke--
                         Fetters of cruel thrall,
                         The brand's impress, the scourge's stroke,
                         It loathes, laments them all.

Page xxxv


                         Lastly,--A TRIBUTE unto HIM,
                         OUR FATHER! throned in Heaven!
                         For all who yet, in life or limb,
                         Succumb to Slavery's leaven.


                         That He for such His arm may bare,
                         Their Liberator be;
                         And in His Will and Power declare
                         "The Negro shall be free!"


                         That as His mighty, outstretch'd hand
                         Led Israel forth of yore,
                         So He to Afric's injured land
                         Would Freedom--Peace restore.


                         That Gospel Love, and Gospel Grace,
                         May there His Power proclaim;
                         Make glad each solitary place,
                         And glorify His Name!

Page 2

A Tribute for the Negro.
PART I.

An Inquiry into the claims of the Negro
Race to humanity, and a Vindication of
their original equality with the other
portions of Mankind; with a few
observations on the inalineable rights of
Man, the sin of Slavery, &c., &c.

Illustration

Page 3

CHAPTER I.

AN INQUIRY INTO THE CLAIMS OF THE NEGRO RACE TO HUMANITY, &c.

Sin of Slavery increasingly acknowledged--Delusion respecting the moral and intellectual capacity of the Negro--An important question--To despise a fellow-being on account of any external peculiarity, a sin-- Christianity the manifestation of universal love--Inquiry into the causes of the diversity characterising various nations and people--Analogous in animals--Remarks of Buffon and Lawrence on this subject--Connection between the physiological, moral, and intellectual characters in Man--The diversities trifling in comparison with those attributes in which they agree--Nothing to warrant us in referring to any particular race an insurmountable deficiency in moral and intellectual faculties-- Scripture testimony to unity of origin in the human race.

        In the present enlightened age, talent and piety have combined their energies, in endeavouring to promote the welfare and emancipation of the degraded and enslaved African. The grievous sin of man making merchandise of his fellow-creatures, and holding them in perpetual slavery, has long been a subject of eloquent declamation, and has for some time been denounced by the unanimous voice of the British public. England has given to the nations a noble example, in abolishing, at a great sacrifice, a system of injustice and cruelty, in which she had long taken a guilty part.


                         " 'Twas Britain's mightiest sons that struck the blow!"


                         "And monarchs trembled at the o'erpowering sound,
                         And nations heard, and senates shook around,
                         And widely struck, by the victorious spell,
                         From Negro limbs, the enslaving shackles fell!"

Page 4

        Yet notwithstanding the evils of Slavery are becoming increasingly felt and acknowledged, it is evident that there still exists, in the minds of many who deprecate the whole system as unjust, a strong delusion with regard to the moral and intellectual capacities of the Coloured portion of mankind, and as regards their proper station in the scale of intelligent existence.

        It is an important question, whether the Negro is constitutionally, and therefore irremediably, inferior to the White man, in the powers of the mind. Much of the future welfare of the human race depends on the answer which experience and facts will furnish to this question; for it concerns not only the vast population of Africa, but many millions of the Negro race who are located elsewhere, as well as the Whites who are becoming mixed with the Black race in countries where Slavery exists, or where it has existed till within a very recent period. Many persons have ventured upon peremptory decisions on both sides of the question; but the majority appear to be still unsatisfied as to the real capabilities of the Negro race. Their present actual inferiority in many respects, comparing them as a whole with the lighter coloured portion of mankind, is too evident to be disputed; but it must be borne in mind that they are not in a condition for a fair comparison to be drawn between the two. Their present degraded state, whether we consider them in a mental or moral point of view, may be easily accounted for by the circumstances amidst which Negroes have lived, both in their own countries, and when they have been transplanted into a foreign land. But if instances can be adduced of individuals of the African race exhibiting marks of genius, which would be considered eminent in civilized European society, we have proofs that there is no incompatibility between Negro organization and high intellectual power.

        It has been well observed by a late writer, that it is important to elucidate this question, if possible, on several

Page 5

accounts; and that if it be proved to be correct, the Negro qualified to occupy a different situation in society to that which has been declared to belong to him, by the almost unanimous acclaim of civilized nations. If the capabilities and aptitudes of the Negro are such as some writers argue, he is only fitted, by his natural constitution and endowments, for a servile state; and the zealous friends of his tribe, Wilberforce and Clarkson, Allen and Gurney, with many others, who were thought to have obtained an exalted station among the great benefactors of the human race, must be regarded as having been simply well-meaning enthusiasts, who, under an imagined principle of philanthropy, argued with too much success for the emancipation of domestic animals, of creatures destined by nature to remain in that condition, and to serve the lords of the creation in common with his oxen, his horses, and his dogs. If science has led to this conclusion, as the true and just inference from facts, the sooner it is admitted the better: the opinion which is opposed to it must be unreasonable and injurious.

        But the purport of the present volume is to prove from facts which speak loudly, that the Negro is indubitably, and fully, entitled to equal claims with the rest of mankind; --a task by no means difficult, no more so indeed, to the impartial judge, than to demonstrate the self-evident truths


                         "That smoke ascends, that snow is white."
The claims of the Negro are, however, called in question by so many, and their rights as men denied by those who point at the colour which God has given them, with the finger of scorn, that some counteracting influence seemed desirable.

        To despise a fellow-being, or attach a degree of inferiority to him, merely on account of his complexion, or any other external peculiarity which may have been conferred upon him, is to arraign the wisdom of the Allwise Creator, and, consequently, an offence in the Divine sight. "He

Page 6

who cannot recognise a brother," says Dr. Channing, "a man possessing all the rights of humanity, under a skin darker than his own, wants the vision of a Christian." It proves him a stranger to justice and love, in those universal forms by which our benign religion is characterised. Christianity is the manifestation and inculcation of universal love; its great teaching is, that we should recognise and respect human nature in all its forms, in the poorest, most ignorant, most fallen. We must look beneath "the flesh," to "the spirit;" for it is the spiritual principle in Man that entitles him to our brotherly regard. To be just to this is the great injunction of our religion: to overlook this, on account of condition or colour, is to violate the great Christian law. The greatest of all distinctions in Man, the only enduring ones, are moral goodness, virtue, and religion. A being capable of these, is invested by God with solemn claims on his fellow-creatures, and to despise millions of such beings, to stamp them with inevitable inferiority, and to exclude them from our sympathy, because of outward disadvantages, proves, that in whatever we may surpass them, we are not their superiors in Christian virtue.

        But when erroneous opinions become thoroughly imbibed, it is difficult speedily, or, perhaps, in some instances, ever, entirely to eradicate them from the mind, however unfounded they may be. Although it is a common, and very just observation, that two individuals are hardly to be met with, possessing precisely the same features, yet there is generally a certain distinctive cast of countenance common to the particular races of men, and often to the inhabitants of particular countries. The differences existing in various regions of the globe, both in the bodily formation of Man and in the development of the faculties of his mind, are so striking that they cannot have escaped the notice of the most superficial observer.

        There is scarcely any question relating to the history of organized beings, calculated to excite greater interest,

Page 7

than inquiries into the nature of those varieties in complexion, form, and habits, which distinguish from each other the several races of men. Our curiosity on this subject ceases to be awakened when we have become accustomed to satisfy ourselves respecting it with some hypothesis, whether adequate or insufficient to explain the phenomenon; but, if a person previously unaware of the existence of such diversities, could suddenly be made a spectator of the various appearances which the tribes of men display in different regions of the earth, it cannot be doubted that he would experience emotions of wonder and surprise. To enter into a full consideration of this interesting subject is not within the province of this work. It will, however, be necessary to make a few observations upon it, so far as to demonstrate that the whole family of Man is identically of the same species. Those who desire to enter more largely into this study, may refer to Prichard's "Researches into the Physical History of Mankind," or to Dr. Lawrence's well known "Lectures," in which the able authors have maintained, with the greatest extent of research, and fully proved, a unity of species in all the human races.

        Notwithstanding the great diversity which is found to exist the extent of mental acquirements, as well as of the physiological peculiarities, and physical qualities, characterizing, the inhabitants of various portions of the world, there can be little doubt that this diversity is more attributable to external or adventitious causes, to the circumstances in which they live, to their particular habits, their progress in the culture of arts and sciences, and their advancement in civilization and refinement, and to a variety of physical and moral agencies and local circumstances, rather than to any singularity or variation in their original natural organization and endowment. To the operation of all these causes, may be added, the surprising effects of education when almost universally applied, which are sufficiently obvious wherever its influence extends.

Page 8

        That climate should also exert a powerful influence on Man may be very reasonably supposed; it has an analogous influence on the other tribes of animated beings. The animal kingdom presents us with numerous striking instances of diversity in the texture and colour of their coverings, occurring, undoubtedly, in the same species. Sheep are particularly marked by the great difference of their fleece, in different latitudes. In Africa, and very warm countries, a coarse rough hair is substituted in the place of its wool, which, in other situations, is soft and delicate. The dog loses its coat entirely in Africa, and has a smooth soft skin. The wool of the sheep is thicker and longer in the winter and in hilly northern situations, than in the summer and on warm plains. Climate, coupled with food, appear to be the great modifying agents, in the production of these and many other varieties in the animal world; but no attempt has been made to assign a separate origin in their case. The white colour, in the northern regions, of many animals, which possess other colours in more temperate latitudes, as the bear, the fox, the hare, beasts of burden, the falcon, crow, jackdaw, chaffinch, &c., seems to arise entirely from climate. This opinion is strengthened by the analogy of those animals which change their colour, in the same country, in the winter season, to white or grey, as the ermine and weasel, hare, squirrel, reindeer, white game, snow bunting, &c. The common bear is differently coloured in different regions.

        With regard to the physiological distinctions of Man, there is no point of difference between the several races, which has not been found to arise, in at least an equal degree, among other animals as mere varieties, from the usual causes of degeneration, &c. What differences are there in the figure and proportion of parts in the various breeds of horses; in the Arabian, the Barb, and the German! How striking the contrast between the long-legged cattle of the Cape of Good Hope and the short-legged

Page 9

of England! The same difference is observed in swine. The cattle have no horns in some breeds of England and Ireland; in Sicily, on the contrary, they have very large ones. A breed of sheep, with an extraordinary number of horns, as three, four, or five, occurs in some northern countries--as, for instance, in Ireland--and is accounted a mere variety. The Cretan breed of the same animals has long, large, and twisted horns. We may also point out the broad-tailed sheep of the Cape, in which the tail grows so large that it is placed on a board, supported by wheels, for the convenience of the animal. "Let us compare," says Buffon, "our pitiful sheep with the mouflon, from which they derived their origin. The mouflon is a large animal; he is fleet as a stag, armed with horns and thick hoofs, covered with coarse hair, and dreads neither the inclemency of the sky nor the voracity of the wolf. He not only escapes from his enemies by the swiftness of his course, scaling with truly wonderful leaps, the most frightful precipices; but he resists them by the strength of his body and the solidity of the arms with which his head and feet are fortified. How different from our sheep, which subsist with difficulty in flocks, who are unable to defend themselves by their numbers, who cannot endure the cold of our winters without shelter, and who would all perish if man withdrew his protection! So completely are the frame and capabilities of this animal degraded by his association with us, that it is no longer able to subsist in a wild state, if turned loose, as the goat, pig, and cattle are. In the warm climates of Asia and Africa, the mouflon, who is the common parent of all the races of this species, appears to be less degenerated than in any other region. Though reduced to a domesticated state, he has preserved his stature and his hair; but the size of his horns is diminished. Of all the domesticated sheep, those of Senegal and India are the largest, and their nature has suffered least degradation. The sheep of Barbary, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, Tartary, &c.,

Page 10

have undergone greater changes. In relation to Man, they are improved in some articles, and vitiated in others; but with regard to nature, improvement and degeneration are the same thing; for they both imply an alteration of original constitution. Their coarse hair is changed into fine wool; their tail, loaded with a mass of fat, and sometimes reaching the weight of forty pounds, has acquired a magnitude so incommodious, that the animals trail it with pain. While swollen with superfluous matter, and adorned with a beautiful fleece, their strength, agility, magnitude, and arms are diminished. These long-tailed sheep are half the size only of the mouflon. They can neither fly from danger, nor resist the enemy. To preserve and multiply the species they require the constant care and support of Man. The degeneration of the original species is still greater in our climates. Of all the qualities of the mouflon, our ewes and rams have retained nothing but a small portion of vivacity, which yields to the crook of the shepherd. Timidity, weakness, resignation, and stupidity, are the only melancholy remains of their degraded nature."*

        The pig-kind afford an instructive example, because their descent is more clearly made out than that of many other animals. The dog, indeed, degenerates before our eyes; but it will hardly ever, perhaps, be satisfactorily ascertained whether there is one or more species. The extent of degeneration can be observed in the domestic swine; because no naturalist has hitherto been sceptical enough to doubt whether they descended from the wild boar; and they were certainly first introduced by the Spaniards into the new world. The pigs conveyed in 1509, from Spain to the West Indian island Cubagua, then celebrated for the pearl fishery, degenerated into a monstrous race, with toes half a span long.** Those of Cuba became more than
* Buffon, by Wood, vol. 4, page 7.

** Clavigero, Storia Antica del Messico, vol. 4, page 145.

Page 11

twice as large as their European progenitors.* How remarkably, again, have the domestic swine degenerated from the wild ones in the whole world: in the loss of the soft downy hair from between the bristles, in the vast accumulation of fat under the skin, in the form of the cranium, in the figure and growth of the whole body. The varieties of the domestic animal, too, are very numerous: in Piedmont, they are almost invariably black; in Bavaria, reddish brown; in Normandy, white, &c. The breed in England, with straight back, is just the reverse of that in the north of France, with high convex spine and hanging head; and both are different from the German breed; to say nothing of the solidungular race, found in herds in Hungary and Sweden, known by Aristotle, with many other varieties.

        The ass, in its wild state, is remarkably swift and lively, and still continues so in his native Eastern abode.

        Common fowl, in different situations, run into almost every conceivable variety. Some are large, some small, some tall, some dwarfish. They may have a small and single, or a large and complicated comb; or great tufts of feathers on the head. Some have no tail. The legs of some are yellow and naked, of others, covered with feathers. There is a breed with their feathers reversed in their direction all over the body; and another in India with white downy feathers, and black skin. All these exhibit endless diversities of colour.**

        Most of the mammalia which have been tamed by Man betray their subjugated state, by having the ears and tail pendulous, a condition which does not belong to wild animals; and in many, says Lawrence, the very functions of the body are changed.

        The application of these facts to the human species is very obvious. If new characters are produced in the
* Herrera, Hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas, &c., vol. 1, page 239.

** Lawrence.

Page 12

domesticated animals, because they have been taken from their primitive condition, and exposed to the operation of many, to them unnatural causes; if the pig is remarkable among these for the number and degree of its varieties, because it has been most exposed to the causes of degeneration; we shall be at no loss to account for the diversities in Man, who is, in the true, though not ordinary sense of the word, more a domesticated animal than any other.* He, like the inferior animals, is liable to run into varieties of form, size, stature, proportions, features, and colour, which being gradually increased, through a long course of ages, have become, to a certain extent, hereditary in families and nations.

        That the superficial observer, on beholding the great variation existing between the inhabitants of one portion of the world, and those of another, should be led to query, "Are all these brethren?" need not surprise us; yet, if we examine into the subject, we shall find that there is no one of the varieties to which Man is liable, which does not exist in a still greater degree in animals confessedly the same species, and the numerous examples of the widest deviation in the colour and physiological distinctions of these, fully authorize the conclusion, that, however striking may be the contrast between the fair European and the ebon African, and however unwilling the former may be to trace up his pedigree to the same Adam with the latter, the superficial distinctions by which they are characterized, are altogether insufficient to establish a diversity of species or any insurmountable disparity between the two.

        Having adverted to the diversities of external appearance exhibited in the various races of Man, and alluded to the physiological distinctions by which they are marked, let us inquire to what extent their moral and intellectual characters exhibit such peculiarities as the numerous modifications of physical structure might lead us to expect;
* Lawrence.

Page 13

whether the appetites and propensities, the moral feelings, and dispositions, and the capabilities of knowledge and reflection, are the same in all. There can be little doubt, that the races of Man are no less characterized by a diversity in the development of the mental and moral faculties, than by those differences of organization which have been already explained. There is an intimate connection between the mind and the body, and the various causes which exert their influence physically, have, to a certain degree, a corresponding effect upon the mental constitution of Man. That climate, again, and other elements of the external condition, are powerful agents in this respect, is very probable, if we may judge from their analogous influence on various animals. We are informed that the dog in Kamtschatka, instead of being faithful and attached to his master, is malignant, treacherous, and full of deceit. He does not bark in the hot parts of Africa, nor in Greenland; and in the latter country, loses his docility so as to be unfit for hunting.*

        There is a decided coincidence between the physical characteristics of the varieties of Man, and their moral and social condition, and it also appears that their condition in civilized society produces considerable modification in the intellectual qualities of the race. But this is a subject so extensive in its bearings, and in many particulars so intricate and complex, that I shall not attempt its further investigation here, but refer again to the works of Lawrence and Prichard, in which it is very ably elucidated.

        To whatever causes we may, ultimately, be able to attribute the numerous varieties existing amongst mankind, it is evident, if they have not been ordained to bind them together, they were never ordained to subdue the one to the other; but rather to give means and occasions of mutual aid. The good of all has been equally intended in the distribution of the various gifts of heaven; and certain
* Rees.

Page 14

it is, that the diversities among men are as nothing, in comparison with those attributes in which they agree: it is this which constitutes their essential equality. "All men have the same rational nature, and the same powers of conscience, and all are equally made for indefinite improvement of these divine faculties, and for the happiness to be found in their virtuous use. Who that comprehends these gifts, does not see that the diversities of the race vanish before them?"*

        It was long since declared, and it has been repeated thousands of times, that the Indian and the African, from their nature, are incapable of civilization, and only adapted to a state of servitude. Early in the sixteenth century, the question was regarded as one of such moment that Charles the Fifth ordered a discussion of the subject to be conducted before him. The advocate in favour of this idea was first heard, when a zealous champion, in answer, warmed by the noble cause he was to maintain, and nothing daunted by the august presence in which he stood, delivered himself with fervent eloquence that went directly to the hearts of his auditors. "The Christian religion," he concluded, "is equal in its operation, and is accommodated to every nation on the globe. It robs no one of his freedom, violates no one of his inherent rights, on the ground that he is of a slavely nature, as pretended; and it well becomes your majesty to banish so monstrous an oppression from your kingdoms, in the beginning of your reign, that the Almighty may make it long and glorious!"

        I am convinced, that the more we examine into the diversities characterizing the various families of Man, the more thoroughly shall we be able to prove, that the coincidence between them is greater than the diversity, and that we shall find nothing to warrant us in referring to any particular race, any further than we should between the rough-hewn and polished marble, a deficiency of those moral and
* Dr. Channing.

Page 15

intellectual faculties, which it has pleased the all-wise and beneficent Creator, who "hath made of one blood all the nations of men," to bestow alike on every portion of the human family. Thought, Reason, Conscience, the capacity of Virtue and of Love, an immortal destiny, an intimate moral connection with God,--these are the attributes of our common humanity, which reduce to insignificance all outward distinctions, and make every human being unspeakably dear to his Maker. No matter how ignorant he may be, the capacity of improvement allies him to the more instructed of his race, and places within his reach, the knowledge and happiness of higher worlds. "The Christian philosopher," says Dr. Chalmers, "sees in every man, a partaker of his own nature, and a brother of his own species. He contemplates the human mind in the generality of its great elements. He enters upon a wide field of benevolence, and disdains the geographical barriers by which little men would shut out one half of the species from the kind offices of the other. Let man's localities be what they may, it is enough for his large and noble heart, that he is bone of the same bone."

        A powerful argument may yet be adduced, which appears to me conclusive of the whole question relating to man's unity of origin, and that is, the testimony of the sacred Scriptures, which ascribe one origin to the whole human family. Our Scriptures have not left us to determine the title of any tribe to the full honours of humanity by accidental circumstances. One passage affirms, that "God hath made of one blood all the nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth;" that they are of one family, of one origin, of one common nature: the other, that our Saviour became incarnate, "that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man." "Behold then," says the pious Richard Watson, "the foundation of the fraternity of our race, however coloured and however scattered. Essential distinctions of inferiority and superiority

Page 16

had been, in almost every part of the Gentile world, adopted as the palliation or the justification of the wrongs inflicted by man on man; but against this notion, Christianity, from its first promulgation, has lifted up its voice. God hath made the varied tribes of men 'of one blood.' Dost thou wrong a human being? He is thy brother. Art thou his murderer by war, private malice, or a wearing and exhausting oppression? 'The voice of thy brother's blood crieth to God from the ground.' Dost thou, because of some accidental circumstances of rank, opulence, and power on thy part, treat him with scorn and contempt? He is thy 'brother for whom Christ died;' the incarnate Redeemer assumed his nature as well as thine; He came into the world to seek and to save him as well as thee; and it was in reference to him also that He went through the scenes of the garden and the cross. There is not, then, a man on earth who has not a Father in heaven, and to whom Christ is not an Advocate and Patron; nay, more, because of our common humanity, to whom he is not a Brother."

Page 17

CHAPTER II.

The idea that moral and intellectual inferiority is inseparable from a coloured skin, a fallacious one--Refuted by facts--The apparent inferiority of the Negro principally arises from Slavery and the ravages of the Slave trade--Extent of these--Their pernicious consequences--Prevent the Negro from advancing in civilization or improvement--Justified on the ground of Christianizing them, &c.--This plea philosophically false--What can we expect from Negroes in their present condition--The reproach falls on their treatment, &c.--Similar effects observable on any people--Instanced in European Slaves--Loose his shackles, and the Negro will soon refute the calumnies raised against him.

        If, as I have already shown, the claims of all mankind to one universal brotherhood are so clearly and unequivocally defined, we can have no authority for impressing upon a large portion of the great family the stigma of inferiority, under the mere pretext of some external peculiarities which the Creator has been pleased to confer upon them. Nothing can be more fallacious, nothing has ever been more pernicious in its consequences, than the assumption, that moral and intellectual inferiority are inseparable from a coloured skin. Oh! when will prejudice give way, if not through the influence of Christian kindness, before the pressure of facts? How long shall the White Man answer "No!" to the appeal of the injured Negro, "Am I not a man and a brother?" How long shall we persist in turning a deaf ear to the united cry of the whole ebon race of Africa:


                         "Deem our nation brutes no longer,
                         'Till some reason ye shall find,
                         Worthier of regard and stronger,
                         Than the colour of our kind.


                         "Slaves of gold! whose sordid dealings
                         Tarnish all your boasted powers,
                         Prove that you have human feelings,
                         Ere you proudly question ours."

Page 18

        I would invite all who entertain the opinion that the dark coloured portion of mankind necessarily belong to a race of beings inferior to the fairer portion of our species, casting aside all previously imbibed prejudice, to peruse the facts narrated in the following pages. They will be found to exhibit many striking instances of good and commendable traits existing naturally in the African character, to which facts and testimonies innumerable might be added, amply sufficient, considering the limited advantages they have possessed, not only to refute the groundless imputation of mental and moral deficiency, and prove their title to the claim of being accounted intelligent and rational creatures, but that they are also endowed with every characteristic constituting their identity with the great family of MAN. Their physical, moral, and intellectual capabilities, have been so far put to the test, that they can no longer be charged with being deficient in intelligence, enterprise, or industry. The facts brought forward in this volume are sufficiently substantiated as to leave the question no longer a doubtful or theoretical one, but to excite us at once to regard them as brethren, in every sense of the word, entitled to equal privileges with ourselves, to the enjoyment of all those inalienable rights with which Man has been entrusted by his Creator. Surely it will be impossible for us to peruse these facts, without blushing for the enormities, which beings with a fairer skin, and professing a religion which inculcates "universal love and good will to men," are still exercising over another portion of the same family.

        Happy would it be for humanity's sake, if we could draw the curtain of night over the many dark transactions that disgrace the conduct of the White Man towards his more sable brother, which consist indeed of little else than a series of wrongs and outrages, inflicted on the innocent and the defenceless! It is a lamentable fact, that whatever checks the atrocious traffic in the flesh and sinews of the Negro may, from time to time, have experienced, it is still

Page 19

pursued with increased energy and success, so much so, that it is impossible to form any adequate idea of its extent and horrors.* Africa is annually robbed of FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND of her population, to glut the cupidity, or to minister to the pride and luxury of nominal Christians, and the followers of the False Prophet. From 2 to 300,000 of this mighty host perish by fire and sword in their original capture; by privation and fatigue, in their transit to the coast; and by disease and death, in their most horrible forms, during the middle passage. The remainder are sold into perpetual Slavery, and subjected, with their offspring in perpetuity, to all the revolting incidents of that degraded state.

        To say nothing of the disgrace and the guilt which this nefarious system attaches to the civilized nations who are implicated in it, it is an utter impossibility, whilst the ravages consequent upon these violations of all the rights and feelings of man continue to be perpetrated against the natives of Africa, whilst the inhabitants of the whole continent, both on her defenceless coasts, and to her very centre, continue to be hunted like wild beasts of the forest; I say, it is an utter impossibility, whilst this state of things is permitted to exist, that Africa or her sons should experience any advances, either in civilization or improvement.

        The present apparent inferiority of the Negro race is undoubtedly attributable in a great measure to the existence of the Slave traffic in Africa, with all the baneful influences necessarily attendant upon it, and subsequently, to the degraded condition to which its unfortunate victims are
* When the contest against the Slave Trade first commenced, half a century ago, IT WAS CALCULATED THERE WERE FROM TWO TO THREE MILLIONS OF SLAVES IN THE WORLD! There were recently, according to documents quoted by Sir T. F. Burton, SIX TO SEVEN MILLIONS! When, fifty years ago, the Anti-Slavery operations began, it was estimated that ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND SLAVES WERE ANNUALLY RAVISHED FROM AFRICA! There are now calculated to be FOUR HUNDRED THOUSAND ANNUALLY TORN FROM THEIR HOMES AND FRIENDS!!! These are the great facts regarding Slavery and the Slave Trade at this moment!

Page 20

reduced, and held by their oppressors. It is only when they are in possession of privileges and advantages equivalent to the rest of mankind, that a fair comparison can be drawn between the one and the other. The Negro, by nature our equal, made like ourselves after the image of the Creator, gifted by the same intelligence, impelled by the same passions and affections, and redeemed by the same Saviour, has now become reduced through cupidity and oppression, nearly to the level of the brute, spoiled of his humanity, plundered of his rights, and often hurried to a premature grave, the miserable victim of avarice and heedless tyranny! "Men have presumptuously dared to wrest from their fellows the most precious of their rights--to intercept, as far as they can, the bounty and grace of the Almighty--to close the door to their intellectual progress --to shut every avenue to their moral and religious improvement --to stand between them and their Maker. Oh! awful responsibility; how shall they answer for such a crime?" *

        But the Slave, we are told, is taught religion and Christianity. This is a cheering sound to be wafted from the land of bondage. It is cause of rejoicing to hear that any portion of the Negroes taken into Slavery are instructed in religion. But if ever this is the case, it forms the exception a