1 00:00:00,780 --> 00:00:13,520 Good, good morning. I'd like to tell the story, I've told the story many times before, but so bear with me if you've heard it and forgive me, 2 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:17,930 but I want to mention it primarily because I believe these individuals, 3 00:00:17,930 --> 00:00:24,320 including to some extent my prince, were the architects of the world that were what developed after 1834. 4 00:00:24,320 --> 00:00:28,790 These individuals, 38 individuals, will be the ones who I'll talk about, so I'll begin with them. 5 00:00:28,790 --> 00:00:32,030 On the 13th of January 18 34, a group in Bermuda, 6 00:00:32,030 --> 00:00:37,490 a group of free college and free black men as they were called a met to put together a petition and a 7 00:00:37,490 --> 00:00:43,190 petition basically stated this was called the petition for the further amelioration of their condition. 8 00:00:43,190 --> 00:00:51,220 What was happening at the moment was that there was a beginning to start the debate over well over the emancipation of slavery that began in 1833. 9 00:00:51,220 --> 00:00:58,040 The British had sent had sent a bill for the colonies to amend as it was their practise, 10 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:04,850 and they were about to construct this new system abolition society that was going to happen post 1834. 11 00:01:04,850 --> 00:01:09,140 These men started to got to work, got some. It got concerned about this because they feared, understandably, 12 00:01:09,140 --> 00:01:13,880 that what they will get was something that was going to look a whole lot like what they had before. 13 00:01:13,880 --> 00:01:18,500 So they decided to meet and put together a petition. They were strange array of people. 14 00:01:18,500 --> 00:01:23,840 They include a planter. They included a branch pilot. They included a clerk. 15 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:29,060 And they also included one of the wealthiest black men in Bermuda, shipbuilder by the name of James ATL. 16 00:01:29,060 --> 00:01:33,520 I'm. By the time this bill. 17 00:01:33,520 --> 00:01:39,280 Their purpose was to ensure that Bermuda's legislation would in fact reflect their concerns and particularly would concern, 18 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:47,710 but the deal with the problem of civil disabilities, our state was systematically placed on the basis of race. 19 00:01:47,710 --> 00:01:54,370 My purpose here is to set the context and the character for this particular style of activism. 20 00:01:54,370 --> 00:01:59,530 The context in which there was a demographic revolution that occurred in Bermuda roughly around the same time, 21 00:01:59,530 --> 00:02:04,600 but also place this in the large international context for which this occurred. 22 00:02:04,600 --> 00:02:09,670 We have to what is never given or never seen as part of the context has been 23 00:02:09,670 --> 00:02:16,270 the what we call what some writers have called the humanitarian revolution. 24 00:02:16,270 --> 00:02:23,230 And I would like to show and discuss it's this event and its application to Bermuda. 25 00:02:23,230 --> 00:02:27,400 Let me explain, first of all, what I mean by the humanitarian revolution on my day. 26 00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:38,740 My good thank you. The great historian Franklin Wright once noted that the American Revolution was a struggle for civil and political rights. 27 00:02:38,740 --> 00:02:45,490 But then, he said, and this is significant what would occur in the Caribbean that would occur in what we call stand make? 28 00:02:45,490 --> 00:02:52,570 I will call it sound to me until it becomes Haiti in nature for what happened in 29 00:02:52,570 --> 00:02:57,250 those words that we moved from the the conflict for civil rights to the conflict, 30 00:02:57,250 --> 00:02:58,090 for human rights. 31 00:02:58,090 --> 00:03:07,090 As Dr Jarvis had mentioned, and that was the fundamental shift that would occur as a result of the struggle that was occurring in the Caribbean, 32 00:03:07,090 --> 00:03:15,520 as well as in Latin America, which would be pushed forward by people like Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico and Simon Bolivar in Venezuela. 33 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:24,460 The human rights struggle with therefore have two components that the great historian and my mentor, my my. 34 00:03:24,460 --> 00:03:27,320 What's the word I'm looking for? His great hero theory? 35 00:03:27,320 --> 00:03:38,950 Go the great Edward Brathwaite once called the humanitarian revolution, in which he said it was, he called it, the struggle for the international. 36 00:03:38,950 --> 00:03:45,790 The International Atlantic struggle for the abolition of slavery, the push for by blacks, 37 00:03:45,790 --> 00:03:50,830 particularly for religious education, because they believe and they've been believing this from sixteen hundreds, 38 00:03:50,830 --> 00:03:55,600 that education was a tool for their emancipation and more important, most important, 39 00:03:55,600 --> 00:04:03,480 sorry, the push for the removal of civil disabilities based on race. 40 00:04:03,480 --> 00:04:08,730 That's the addition that is the two I'm going to focus on will be the push against ability 41 00:04:08,730 --> 00:04:14,820 for the push for abolition and the push against severe disabilities based on race. 42 00:04:14,820 --> 00:04:21,600 As I said, the inspiration for this was occurring in a place we never would expected and that is the French Revolution, 43 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:26,340 the French Revolution and stand amongst this sad slave uprising, 44 00:04:26,340 --> 00:04:31,980 which I believe is distinctly different from what would be called the Haitian Revolution that would begin in eight or three or four. 45 00:04:31,980 --> 00:04:36,330 Why do I mention this? Because all this, these things settle for two things. 46 00:04:36,330 --> 00:04:39,720 Two most important elements one the push for civil liberties. 47 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:48,180 By the time that revolution was finished, it had had constructed as a regime in which civil liberties would be spread throughout the world. 48 00:04:48,180 --> 00:04:56,640 The French Empire slavery ended in 1794, partly because of the insurgency carried out by blacks and sentiment. 49 00:04:56,640 --> 00:05:04,470 Let me repeat that point. Partly because of the insurgency that blacks carried out in the island of sentiment, that was their condition. 50 00:05:04,470 --> 00:05:13,790 We will support the revolution if and only if this there is a movement toward the abolition of slavery and the increasing of civil rights. 51 00:05:13,790 --> 00:05:18,120 First, what was that to do? You're probably saying with Bermuda because they were watching this. 52 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:22,170 How do we know this? The record says it. 53 00:05:22,170 --> 00:05:29,670 Henry Hamilton complained that the blacks were constantly in contact with people in the Caribbean, in the islands, in resistance. 54 00:05:29,670 --> 00:05:36,960 Andrew Dunford complained that there's a manifest behavioural change amongst black people in Bermuda. 55 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:41,570 You, Goodrich Goodridge complaining along with them at the same petition, saying there was a manifest change in their behaviour. 56 00:05:41,570 --> 00:05:47,630 Why? Because they were reading the same newspapers that everybody else was reading and that those newspapers were 57 00:05:47,630 --> 00:05:56,150 filled with stories of to salt literature blasting his way across the across and make as well as other events, 58 00:05:56,150 --> 00:06:02,750 democratic events occurring at the same time. In 5:52, we see the end for the first time for most of his history. 59 00:06:02,750 --> 00:06:08,660 As Dr. Charles has mentioned, Bermuda was in fact dominated was a white numerical domination and my my my other mentor, 60 00:06:08,660 --> 00:06:13,470 Elaine Forman Crane, makes the point it was a female majority domination by you. 61 00:06:13,470 --> 00:06:20,450 Six That changed from making a six. It went from white dominant numerical domination to black numerical domination. 62 00:06:20,450 --> 00:06:29,120 And that was both seen, as well as was was quantified as well as seen just a small point. 63 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:35,630 The white population was four thousand seven hundred ninety eight instead of six, the black population of five thousand two hundred and forty. 64 00:06:35,630 --> 00:06:42,080 It had dwarfed it. It passed it by five hundred forty two people. 65 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:48,470 By the time they're talking about abolition, the black population was four thousand eight hundred ninety eight. 66 00:06:48,470 --> 00:06:51,740 The white, the white population was four thousand two hundred ninety seven. 67 00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:56,330 That's the context for discussing the abolition of slavery because it became very, 68 00:06:56,330 --> 00:07:01,820 very clear from that point forward that it was going to be now a society in which blacks were numerically dominant. 69 00:07:01,820 --> 00:07:09,590 What I like to call the the the the white area, what it had come to an end in and a six in terms of miracle domination and more to the point. 70 00:07:09,590 --> 00:07:19,150 The flag free black population had now reached seven percent and was going to reach 12 percent by the end by 1833. 71 00:07:19,150 --> 00:07:27,790 That led to the political activism, which I'll summarise in two sets. That was petition ism to which the narrative Mary Prince must be seen. 72 00:07:27,790 --> 00:07:31,780 It was, in fact a very large petition against slavery. 73 00:07:31,780 --> 00:07:39,040 She would became herself a free black, and therefore that was her petition. And of course, the petition I mentioned by these 38 backed black men, 74 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:43,960 both of them one ended slavery became part of the discourse for the ending of slavery. 75 00:07:43,960 --> 00:07:47,620 The other became part of the discourse, the ending of abolition. What did they ask for? 76 00:07:47,620 --> 00:07:51,160 They asked simply for the removal of severe disabilities placed on race. 77 00:07:51,160 --> 00:07:58,180 What did they get? Abolition Act one and Abolition Act two abolition that one would end slavery. 78 00:07:58,180 --> 00:08:04,250 As Mary Prince, who eloquently put it up to slavery, would be done up forevermore. 79 00:08:04,250 --> 00:08:08,650 But abolition at two would be the for the first time establishing and putting into place 80 00:08:08,650 --> 00:08:15,880 systems that were eradicated racial race based on race based systems of segregation. 81 00:08:15,880 --> 00:08:18,970 So while you're probably asking for me to still became so good, what happened? 82 00:08:18,970 --> 00:08:25,050 It moved from the public sphere if I'm free from the public square to the private sphere. 83 00:08:25,050 --> 00:08:33,570 From this point forward, racism would be privatised. Understand the condition of that, because what that would mean that education, 84 00:08:33,570 --> 00:08:40,140 which should have been a public system, would have to become private in order for it to be segregated. 85 00:08:40,140 --> 00:08:47,560 That meant large numbers of people would not be able to have access to it because they'll have to pay for it at a time and movements around the world. 86 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:54,470 We're moving to what public? Much, much they are moving toward public education available to all. 87 00:08:54,470 --> 00:09:02,390 Also last but not least, I'll make this one last point. There was a black activism took on a different role instead of just being instead, 88 00:09:02,390 --> 00:09:07,220 it would become one in which they would bring in allies in support for their cause, 89 00:09:07,220 --> 00:09:10,670 and that would become the methodology that would dominate from the rest of the period. 90 00:09:10,670 --> 00:09:14,060 As I said, what they got from it was quite simple. To a large extent. 91 00:09:14,060 --> 00:09:17,930 The men got what they wanted. Mary Prince certainly got what she wanted. 92 00:09:17,930 --> 00:09:22,430 Slavery was done up forever more, she's eloquently stated. I know what a slave is. 93 00:09:22,430 --> 00:09:26,000 I know how slave feels. And I want all people to know, too. 94 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:32,210 So they may they break our chains and set us free. That was a statement. I memorised it. 95 00:09:32,210 --> 00:09:37,910 But but for the most part, it, of course, this group of men excluded women. 96 00:09:37,910 --> 00:09:41,750 That's another thing. But whatever. 97 00:09:41,750 --> 00:09:47,510 And therefore, the issue of female suffrage never showed up and what they got, what they got. 98 00:09:47,510 --> 00:09:50,210 However, having said that, and I'll conclude on this point, 99 00:09:50,210 --> 00:09:55,430 what they got was an abolitionist post abolition society, according to the petition that they had asked for. 100 00:09:55,430 --> 00:09:58,640 They are in many ways the though both as in Mary Prince. 101 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:02,720 On one side, these three men on the other are the architects of the Post Abolition Society as well. 102 00:10:02,720 --> 00:10:11,108 Thank you very much.