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. 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.
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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 |