02.04.2013 Views

THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

THERE IS DEATH IN THE POT - The University of Texas at Arlington

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

their own hearings about the trade. <strong>The</strong> hearings were monopolized by pro-slavery<br />

interests until Parliament adjourned, effectively ending any hopes <strong>of</strong> passing the bill. 86<br />

As British abolitionists regrouped after defe<strong>at</strong> in the spring <strong>of</strong> 1792, events in<br />

France took a violent turn. In the summer <strong>of</strong> 1792, King Louis XVI was taken prisoner.<br />

In September, two thousand French royalists, clergy, and aristocr<strong>at</strong>s were killed.<br />

Conserv<strong>at</strong>ives in Britain were horrified by the events. <strong>The</strong> Times reported: “<strong>The</strong> streets<br />

<strong>of</strong> Paris [are] strewed with the carcasses <strong>of</strong> the mangled victims . . . Read this yea<br />

ENGL<strong>IS</strong>HMEN, with <strong>at</strong>tention and ardently pray th<strong>at</strong> your happy constitution may never be<br />

outraged by the despotic tyranny <strong>of</strong> Equaliz<strong>at</strong>ion.” On January 21, 1793, as British<br />

abolitionists were <strong>at</strong>tempting to schedule another hearing on the abolition <strong>of</strong> the slave<br />

trade, the French king was executed. “Every bosom burns with indign<strong>at</strong>ion in this<br />

kingdom against the ferocious savages <strong>of</strong> Paris,” declared the Times. <strong>The</strong> French<br />

ambassador was expelled from Britain, and conditions between Britain and France<br />

spiraled downward ending in France’s declar<strong>at</strong>ion <strong>of</strong> war against Britain on February 1. 87<br />

<strong>The</strong> popular abstention writer William Fox took a strong anti-war stance arguing<br />

th<strong>at</strong> Britain was the aggressor and wished to destroy the new French republic because the<br />

revolution held dangerous possibilities for Gre<strong>at</strong> Britain. Fox mocked a British<br />

government th<strong>at</strong> worried about the affairs <strong>of</strong> other European n<strong>at</strong>ions while neglecting<br />

British issues such as the slave trade. It was, Fox noted, easier “to express the warmest<br />

emotions, and the most indignant feelings against them, . . . than to pursue the thorny p<strong>at</strong>h<br />

86 Hochschild, Bury the Chains, 226-234.<br />

87 Hochschild, Bury the Chains, 235-236. <strong>The</strong> Times as quoted in Hochschild.<br />

41

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!