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. |
From inside the book
Results 1-3 of 27
... servant , Pamela represents Britain's majority , an indentured servant population . Ironically , however , the poem hearkens to a brutal chattel slavocracy that is more consistent with the Euro - African trade than with Pamela's inden ...
... servant . " Gronniosaw does not direct this hostile , newly acquired English language toward his enslavers , but rather to his fellow domestic servants . The envy and rivalry that he cites among servants is all too common in an ...
... servants included poor whites who fit the status of the indentured servant and whose servitude was usually limited to seven years . Indentured servants , particularly women , hardly escaped abuse , however , often including rape ...
Contents
Enlightenment Humanism | 1 |
Perspectives on a Theological Chain | 31 |
Conclusion | 149 |
Copyright | |
1 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
African-British Writings in the Eighteenth Century: The Politics of Race and ... Helena Woodard No preview available - 1999 |