Boston King was one of the first black men to be appointed into the Methodist connexion. His missions in Sierra Leone attracted the attention of the Superintendent Thomas Coke, who was interested in the ‘salvation’ of enslaved people. Coke took King to Kingswood School in 1794. Here, King studied the Bible and developed his literacy, to further his ambitions of preaching in West Africa. Ryan Hanley explores King’s journey to Kingswood and provides an insight into his life in the school.
Tag: abolition
Performing capital punishment in an age of reform: the contentious death of Charles Bartlett
In April 1837, Charles Bartlett was executed at Gloucester Gaol for the murder of his mother-in-law. His execution was widely reported and became a subject of controversy. Not only had Bartlett theatrically declared his innocence from the gallows, but the behaviour of officers in charge of the spectacle drew comment. Abolitionists and opponents of public executions were appalled by the disorderly conduct of the hangman, the sheriff and the governor. In this article, Steve Poole explores how the death of Charles Bartlett led to heated debate over the reform of capital punishment.
The Bristol General Election of 1830
The General Election which followed the death of King George IV in June 1830 is generally remembered in Bristol as a contest between the two Whig candidates over slavery. There were, however, two other candidates. One of them scored the greatest political triumph of his career; the other mustered barely two dozen votes. John Stevens tells the story of these Bristol electorates and their political campaigns.
The Unquiet Grave: a fresh look at the Scipio Africanus story
The passing of the Slave Trade Act in London in March 1807 did little to ease the burden of slaves already held in the British Caribbean. They had to wait until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which began the slow move towards emancipation. The bicentenary of the 1807 Act was accompanied by new publications, exhibitions, and an urging of urban communities to engage in a commemoration of Abolition 200. English Heritage invited people to follow in the footsteps of the abolitionists and recall the lives of those slaves who were to end their lives here in Britain, far from their ancestor's African homelands. Visits to the graves of Africans were encouraged; one such grave was of Scipio Africanus. Colin Godman uncovers the life of Africanus through the information that is available about his master, the Earl of Gloucestershire.