Introduction

This two-semester documents-based course examines the process by which slaves in the British colonies in the Caribbean, the Cape Colony, and Mauritius acquired juridical freedom.  We will begin with an assessment of the slave system in the 1820s, before investigating the debates and controversies in Britain and the slave colonies that led up to emancipation, including the slave rebellion in Jamaica in 1831.  We will then look in detail at the structure and dynamics of the transitional ‘apprenticeship’ period (1834 to 1838), paying particular attention to former slaves’ efforts to challenge the system.  In the second semester we will examine developments in the first ten years after full emancipation, including the establishment of ‘free villages’ in Jamaica, the introduction of migrant labourers to British Guiana, Mauritius, and Trinidad, and the political action of freed people.  We will then turn to an assessment of the meaning of emancipation within British society.  The final section of the course examines emancipation in three places outside the British Empire, to provide a comparative perspective on British emancipation: Haiti, the US South, and Cuba.  Central questions will include: Why did slave emancipation take place at the time and in the manner that it did?  What can we learn about the cultures and world views of slaves and former slaves from what we know about how they acted in the process of achieving freedom?  What were the gains and limits of emancipation?

In addition to tutorials (for details of which, see course requirements), students are welcome to meet with me to discuss the course at any point in the semester.  Please come to my office during my office hours or by appointment.  The best way to contact me is via e-mail.

Most of the primary documents will be distributed to students in a photocopied packet at the beginning of each semester.  Others may be distributed individually at later points during the term.

The following books are available for purchase at Waterstones:

Thomas Holt, The Problem of Freedom: Race, Labor, and Politics in Jamaica and Britain, 1832-1938.
Frank McGlynn and Seymour Drescher, eds., The Meaning of Freedom: Economics, Politics, and Culture after Slavery.
Hilary Beckles and Verene Shepherd, eds., Caribbean Freedom: Economy and Society from Emancipation to the Present.
Mary Turner, ed., From Chattel Slaves to Wage Slaves: The Dynamics of Labour Bargaining in the Americas.
Frederick Cooper, Thomas Holt, and Rebecca J. Scott, Beyond Slavery: Explorations of Race, Labor, and Citizenship in Postemancipation Societies.