The Sweets of Liberty (15)

At the beginning of the movement in 1787, there was only a small group of "oddball" supporters. Within a few years over 300,000 people had read Equiano's book. The greatest strength of the abolitionists was the organizational skills of Clarkson which Hochschild commends throughout the novel. This skill was necessary because a lot of the information traveled around at very slow speeds. However, during Britain's industrial revolution, the newly designed postal services were becoming more efficient. Also, with the introduction of the newspaper there were more liberal topics being discussed. It became much easier for a person, probably non-voters, to get their message to the public. Coffeehouses, or 'seats of English liberty', were a great place for citizens to gather and debate various issues. Britain was becoming more proactive.

After discussing all the freedoms and advances, Hochschild goes into the time of slavery that many Britons were forced into. Around the world where Britain occupied, there were revolts that captured British soldiers. The worst type of forced labor was when the government implemented 'the press'. This was a way to recruit members to serve as soldiers. Soldiers would go into various homes and rip men away from their families in order to serve their country. The power was based on violence; therefore there would certainly uprisings and corruption. Many people could place a bribe and have a person carted away by the press. Obviously, this method of conduct would not sustain in Britain.


Just to note on a technique that Hochschild uses to engage the reader is the way he asks questions throughout the novel. He asks, "What was different about Britain?" in regards to the abolition. He then pauses by spacing out the paragraphs, giving the reader a chance to ponder the question. Another point about his writing is that he uses the phrase 'acts of kindness' whenever a white person does anything civil for a slave. If a man saves a slave from one beating he is praised by Hochschild. Just something I noticed.