African-British Writings in the Eighteenth Century: The Politics of Race and ReasonThe eighteenth century was a time of great cultural change in Britain. It was a period marked by expeditions to the New World, Africa, and the Orient, and these voyages were reflected in the travel literature of the era. It was also a period in which seventeenth-century empiricism and the scientific method became dominant, and in which society became increasingly secular. Fundamental to the eighteenth-century worldview was the notion of the Great Chain of Being, in which all creatures and their Creator stood in a hierarchical relationship with one another. The years from 1660 to 1833 witnessed both Britain's participation in slavery and the appropriation of the Great Chain of Being by social anthropologists and political leaders. With the rise of the slave trade, blacks were brought to Britain against their will, where they were enslaved. At the same time, intellectuals of the period tried to place these slaves within the hierarchical frame provided by the Great Chain of Being. |
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... literature - African influences . 2. African literature ( English ) -Black authors - History and criticism . 3. Politics and literature - Great Britain - History - 18th century . 4. English literature - 18th century - History and ...
... literature . Percy Adams claims that " as propaganda for international trade and for colonization , travel accounts had no equal . " 2 He might have added that Africans were without a doubt among the most clear and direct targets of the ...
... Literature . Ithaca : Cornell University Press , 1992 . " Review of Letters of Ignatius Sancho . " European Magazine and London Review 2 ( September 1782 ) : 199 . " Review of Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho , an African . " The ...
Contents
Enlightenment Humanism | 1 |
Perspectives on a Theological Chain | 31 |
Conclusion | 149 |
Copyright | |
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African-British Writings in the Eighteenth Century: The Politics of Race and ... Helena Woodard No preview available - 1999 |