red flannel pieces
I have been reading about the Royal Africa Company who traded some Stroud cloth and have also been reading a play which was written by Helen Street and Jane Ford about Stroud and the abolition of slavery movement.
The play begins with a section from a book ‘To be a slave.’
‘Granny Judith said that in Africa where she was a girl they had very few pretty things one day some strangers with pale faces came and dropped a small piece of red flannel on the ground. All the black folks grabbed for it. The strangers dropped more and more pieces of the red cloth leading the whole village down to the riverbank. When they got there they saw a ship with many brightly coloured things on the deck. They rushed forward in excitement but when they turned round , the gate was chained up and they could not get back. This is how granny Judith said she got to America’
To be a slave based on material by ex slaves 1930’s University of Chicago Press 1945
*We always think of slavery as a thing of the past but more can be found on contemporary slavery HERE
I also visited Stroud Anti Slavery arch
“Erected to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the British Colonies the first of August AD MDCCCXXXIV” it is unique as the only monument of this size in Britain to this great event that had taken so many years to achieve
”Henry Wyatt, 1793-1847, was born in Stroud and began his working life as a clothier in Slad. He became a wealthy local businessman and magistrate with banking and brewing interests. He was associated with the Stroud Anti-Slavery Society which in 1832 put pressure on the newly-elected MP for Stroud, Mr W. H. Hyett, who had promised to support the abolition of Slavery in Parliament. More HERE
”The history of the abolition of the trafficking in Africans and eventual emancipation has largely been told and interpreted through the eyes of white abolitionists; individuals like William Wilberforce have been immortalised as having accomplished the abolition of the trade in Africans and emancipation single-handedly. The truth is that African people played the most significant role in liberating themselves; the Haitian Revolution (1791-1804) resulted in the first republic found by Africans outside the African continent. The role of British women and the working class who organised petitions and campaigns to boycott goods produced using slave labour also played a significant part in lobbying for the abolition of slavery. Conversely, some religious groups, the church, plantation owners, merchants and business societies fought to maintain the trade.” More information HERE
February 24th, 2010 at 02:41 pm
the battle continues: being African, i find it interesting that our story is most often told through the eyes of the enslavers themselves – the written accounts of the ‘great’ missionaries and explorers. my schooling in a former British colony was thoroughly British and socially, many Africans continue to live in awe of ‘Great’ Britain. When people think of slavery, not often would one consider the experience of those Africans who were not transported, but remained on the African continent; initially to work on plantations there, and then later to live in segregation under oppressive regimes. In common usage, the term ‘colonialism’ has a somewhat romantic and often nostalgic connotation, which inadvertently renders it a euphemism of slavery. whether the former empire is too ashamed, afraid or unwilling to confront this issue, the tendency to resort to ‘tokenistic’ gestures which lack meaningful impact, or any real sense of justice - leaving a lot of African descendants frustrated and often angry. as time carries on, the untold story lingers like cobwebs in an abandoned home
February 24th, 2010 at 03:00 pm
i wonder about the idea of making some sort of chain with links made from the Stroud cloth. in terms of literary implications, the idea of ‘links’ is would probably fit in very well with the other stuff you’ve done like trade, past and present, and even sport
April 6th, 2010 at 01:00 pm
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/kevin_bales_how_to_combat_modern_slavery.html