Some Historical Account of Guinea, Its Situation, Produce, and the General Disposition of Its Inhabitants An Inquiry into the Rise and Progress of the Slave Trade, Its Nature and Lamentable Effects

ACTS xvii. 24, 26. GOD, that made the world hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the--bounds of their habitation.

PHILADELPHIA: Printed MDCCLXXI.

LONDON: Re-printed MDCCLXXII.

Introduction.

CHAPTER I. A GENERAL account of Guinea; particularly those parts on the rivers Senegal and Gambia.

CHAP. II. Account of the Ivory-Coast, the Gold-Coast and the Slave-Coast.

CHAP. III. Of the kingdoms of Benin, Kongo and Angola.

CHAP. IV. Guinea, first discovered and subdued by the Arabians. The Portuguese make descents on the coast, and carry off the natives. Oppression of the Indians: De la Casa pleads their cause.

CHAP. V. The English's first trade to the coast of Guinea: Violently carry off some of the Negros.

CHAP. VI. Slavery more tolerable under Pagans and Turks than in the colonies. As christianity prevailed, ancient slavery declined.

CHAP. VII. Montesquieu's sentiments of slavery. Morgan Godwyn's advocacy on behalf of Negroes and Indians, &c.

CHAP. VIII. Grievous treatment of the Negroes in the colonies, &c.

CHAP. IX. Desire of gain the true motive of the Slave trade. Misrepresentation of the state of the Negroes in Guinea.

CHAP. X. State of the Government in Guinea, &c.

CHAP. XI. Accounts of the cruel methods used in carrying on of the Slave trade, &c.

CHAP. XII. Extracts of several voyages to the coast of Guinea, &c.

CHAP. XIII. Numbers of Negroes, yearly brought from Guinea, by the English, &c.

CHAP. XIV. Observations on the situation and disposition of the Negroes in the northern colonies, &c.

CHAP. XV. Europeans capable of bearing reasonable labour in the West Indies, &c.

Extracts from Granville Sharp's representations, &c.

Sentiments of several authors, viz. George Wallace, Francis Hutcheson, and James Foster.

Extracts of an address to the assembly of Virginia.

Extract of the bishop of Gloucester's sermon.

INTRODUCTION.

The slavery of the Negroes having, of late, drawn the attention of many serious minded people; several tracts have been published setting forth its inconsistency with every christian and moral virtue, which it is hoped will have weight with the judicious; especially at a time when the liberties of mankind are become so much the subject of general attention. For the satisfaction of the serious enquirer who may not have the opportunity of seeing those tracts, and such others who are sincerely desirous that the iniquity of this practice may become effectually apparent, to those in whose power, it may be to put a stop to any farther progress therein; it is proposed, hereby, to republish the most material parts of said tracts; and in order to enable the reader to form a true judgment of this matter, which, tho' so very important, is generally disregarded, or so artfully misrepresented by those whose interest leads them to vindicate it, as to bias the opinions of people otherwise upright; some account will be here given of the different parts of Africa, from which the Negroes are brought to America; with an impartial relation from what motives the Europeans were first induced to undertake, and have since continued this iniquitous traffic. And here it will not be improper to premise, that tho' wars, arising from the common depravity of human nature, have happened, as well among the Negroes as other nations, and the weak sometimes been made captives to the strong; yet nothing appears, in the various relations of the intercourse and trade for a long time carried on by the Europeans on that coast, which would induce us to believe, that there is any real foundation for that argument, so commonly advanced in vindication of that trade, viz. "_That the slavery of the Negroes took its rise from a desire, in the purchasers, to save the lives of such of them as were taken captives in war, who would otherwise have been sacrificed to the implacable revenge of their conquerors._" A plea which when compared with the history of those times, will appear to be destitute of Truth; and to have been advanced, and urged, principally by such as were concerned in reaping the gain of this infamous traffic, as a palliation of that, against which their own reason and conscience must have raised fearful objections.