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Following my last post, I've been doing more research into abolitionism in York, especially that centred on Castlegate, the street where the Tuke family lived, and where Equiano stayed. And I found that another abolitionist author visited the Tukes.  John Wollman, a Quaker from Philadelphia wrote a two-part essay entitled Some Considerations on the Keeping of Negros published in 1754, 1762. This was an abolitionist text which contained some insightful responses to outright racist, or lukewarm defenses of abolitionism common at the time. He argued that at least some of the enslaved were quite capable of taking charge of their own lives, but that even if they were not, this could not be grounds for their enslavement. This was a radical argument which Condorcet, for instance, would have benefitted from reading when he argued in 1781, that abolition could only happen (excruciatingly) slowly because the enslaved were not fit to live independent lives. Woolman was, as well as a sound thinker, a principled person, and this somewhat interfered with his desire to travel and spread the word of abolitionism. He did not travel by horse, as he thought that horse riding, or using horses to draw carriages was a form of cruelty against animals, which he did not accept. And his egalitarian principles meant he rejected any comfort that came from privilege. When he travelled to England in 1772, he decided to travel in steerage, not in a cabin, in order to experience an approximation of what kidnapped Africans had when transported across the ocean. His adherence to Quaker principles of equality also meant he did not wish to travel in better conditions than others simply because he could afford it. He travelled first to London, where he shared his enthusiasm for abolition with the London Friends. Then he went North, reaching York on foot. He was met by 17-year-old Henry Tuke, to be taken as a guest to the Tuke’s house on Castlegate – the same house where Equiano stayed twenty years later. But, perhaps because he was already sick, Woolman could not bear the noises and smells of the city so Esther Tuke arranged for him to stay instead just outside the York city walls, in the home of Thomas and Sarah Priestman, in Marygate. Offered the best room in the house, Wollman turned it down and picked for himself the smallest one. Three weeks later, he died in that room, of smallpox, nursed by Esther and her daughter Sarah. Despite his very short stay there, Wollman seems to have been a catalyst for the Tuke’s interest in abolitionism. Ann Tuke, Esther’s daughter, who was only 5 at the time of Woolman’s visit, traveled to America in 1791 to witness firsthand the evils of slavery.  Almary Garth, the home of the Priestmans, where Woolman died. Some References:
https://www.quakersintheworld.org/quakers-in-action/62/john-woolman https://yorkcivictrust.co.uk/heritage/civic-trust-plaques/john-woolman/ Julia Jorati, Slavery and Race. Philosophical Debates in the Eighteenth Century OUP, 2024. The Tukes of York, Presented by William K. and E. Margaret Sessions. 1971. Sessions Book Trust. The Ebor Press, York, England.
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In 1791, the celebrity abolitionist author known as Gustavus Vassa and Olaudah Equiano, having supervised the printing of the third edition of his 1789 Interesting Narrative, set off on a book tour in England, Ireland and Scotland. He spent the spring of 1791 in Yorkshire, staying first in Huddersfield, then Leeds, and finally York. He stayed with friends of friends, subscribers to his book, and members of the abolitionist networks. In York, Equiano stayed with Quaker William Tuke in a house on Castlegate. We know as much because Equiano advertised the fact in the Yorkshire Chronicle, on 24 April. As a self-published author, who had chosen to retain his copyright, Equiano did much of his own selling, so needed people to find him.  Screenshot from Vincent Carretta's Penguin Edition of The Interesting Narrative, p.570. Although he does not give the house number, it is likely that the inhabitants of York would have known where Tuke’s house was, or found it easily. Tuke was a grocer who sold tea, coffee and chocolate, and Castlegate is a very small street. The building still stands, and currently houses a dental clinic.  No1 Castlegate, York. Previously house of William Tuke, Tea Merchant and Philanthropist.
Welcome to my new blog!
Before I add any content, I wanted to pay tribute to the beautiful location for my research. As well as having access to everything the University of York has to offer, including the amazing King's Manor library, the city of York has plenty of useful and beautiful resources. This week I'll be mostly working in the Explore Library and Archives, a lovely big building located in the Museum Gardens, home to Medieval buildings and a ruined abbey. I will be looking up local history relevant to my project - lots of abolitionists spent time in York - and spending my breaks (weather allowing) sketching old stones and pretty trees in the garden. So watch this space for posts on Olaudah Equiano and on the Fairfax family of York in the coming weeks. |
Recovering Marginalised Voices of the Abolitionist Debates.Between September 2024, and August 2028, I will be British Academy Global Professor at the University of York. My project is to study the abolionist debates of France and Britain in the 18th century, and in particular, to uncover marginalised voices from that debate. Here I blog about what I find out in the process. ArchivesCategories |
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