Untitled - Memorial University of Newfoundland

wickedness, that the very idea of it is shocking, and the whole nature of
it is horrible and infernal (81) .
Cugoano made his appeal on humanitarian, theological and economic grounds. If
Africans were allowed to live freely. they could still produce the raw materials; they
could also buy manufactured goods which would boost Britain 's economy. Although it
is not known what impact Cugoano had on the abolition of slavery. it is important to
note how he articulated his resistance to slavery . In 1807. twenty yean after his book
waspublished. slave trade was abolished but the practice of slaverycarried on well
into the following dcc:ades. The freed blacks in England, who werereferred to as the
"white man's burden,-lO were transported in overcrowded ships under terrible
conditions to populate the colonies in West Africa. By this time, the British had
already extended their empire to include their trading posts in the Gambia. the Gold
Coast (Ghana), Nigeria and Siena Leone; the Berlin Conference just made their
occupation official .
The oppressed, like Cugoano, reversed the political and philosophical
arguments that the British used to validate slavery, as resistance against slavery. Such
arguments had a powerful impact on the British authorities. Contrary to the philosophy
of the Europeans, these slaves proved that they were capable of learning and
reasoning, just like intelligent human beings. However, although the slaves were
emancipated. it was evident from colonization that the Europeans still considered them
morally . mentally and physically inferior.
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