The Abolition of the Slave Trade
"The Abolition of the Slave Trade, Or the inhumanity of dealers in human flesh exemplified in Captn. Kimber's treatment of a young Negro girl of 15 for her virjen [sic] modesty" , by Isaac Cruikshank, 1792, showing Captain John Kimber of Bristol flogging a slave girl
Originally published in London, April 10, 1792
Shows John Kimber with a whip in his hand and an African girl suspended by her ankle from a rope over a pulley.
An anti-slave trade cartoon, reflecting an important and well-documented episode in the British campaign against the slave trade.
John Kimber was the captain of a slave ship, the "Recovery," owned by Bristol merchants, which had left New Calabar (present-day Nigeria) bound for the West Indies in 1791.
In a speech before the House of Commons in 1792, William Wilberforce, the abolitionist leader, accused Kimber of having caused the death of the girl by inflicting injuries on her because she had refused to dance naked on the deck of his ship.
As a result of Wilberforce's speech, Kimber was arrested and tried before the High Court of Admiralty in June 1792; he was also charged with having murdered another girl on his ship.
Kimber was quickly acquitted of all charges, the jury having concluded that disease, not maltreatment, had caused their deaths.
John Kimber was the captain of a British slave ship who was tried for murder in 1792, after the abolitionist William Wilberforce accused him of killing two female slaves.
Kimber was acquitted, but the trial gained much attention in the press, and established that slave ships' crew could be tried for murder.
In 1791, John Kimber was the captain of the Recovery, a slave ship of 189 tons from Bristol, England. The Recovery travelled from Bristol to New Calabar in West Africa, where it collected approximately 300 slaves who were to be sold at Grenada in the Caribbean. The vessel left Africa on 1 September, and arrived at Grenada on 28 October, by which time 27 of the slaves had died.
"Dancing the slaves" was a regular part of the routine of a slave ship on the Middle Passage, and aimed to ensure that slaves who were confined to the extremely cramped and unhygienic conditions below decks received at least a degree of regular exercise. Those who refused to take part were flogged.
On 2 April 1792, William Wilberforce made a speech to parliament at the end of a debate on the abolition of the slave trade. In his speech, Wilberforce gave two examples of the atrocities associated with the slave trade, aiming to earn the sympathy of his fellow members of parliament. Firstly, he described an attack on Calabar by British slave ships, which bombarded the city in order to force it to lower the price of slaves. The second example was the case of Captain Kimber, who Wilberforce alleged had murdered a slave girl who refused to dance for him. In his speech, Wilberforce emphasised the innocence of the girl, and downplayed the accusation (subsequently reported in the press) that she suffered from gonorrhea.
Isaac Cruikshank's depiction of Kimber's assault on a "virjen" also emphasizes her innocence in the face of Kimber's aggression and moral corruption.
On 7 April 1792, Kimber placed advertisements in several newspapers proclaiming his innocence. Reports of the charges against Kimber soon began to appear in the press, as did accounts of his trial. Such reports soon crossed the Atlantic, and appeared in ten American newspapers.
Kimber was arrested in Bristol on 8 April, and taken to London the next day. His trial at the Admiralty Sessions of the Old Bailey began on 7 June 1792, and was attended by many prominent public figures, including Horatio Nelson.
The trial revealed little about Kimber's alleged crimes beyond what had been stated in parliament and the press. The attention soon turned to the key witnesses testifying against Kimber. One witness, Thomas Dowling, was revealed to have a vendetta against Kimber; another, named Stephen Devereux, was a former mutineer. Three witnesses attested to Kimber's good character, but no witness was called to affirm that Kimber had not ordered a slave girl to be tied up and flogged.
Kimber was acquitted, and in 1793 Dowling and Devereux were tried for perjury, with Dowling being found guilty. Several accounts of the trial were published, which were supportive of Kimber to varying degrees.
Kimber pursued Wilberforce for damages after the trial, and continually loitered outside his house. Wilberforce later noted that Kimber's acquittal had been one of the few instances in the abolition campaign that had brought him distress.
Isaac Cruikshank (1764–1811), Scottish painter and caricaturist, was born in Edinburgh. His sons Isaac Robert Cruikshank (1789–1856) and George Cruikshank also became artists, and the latter in particular achieved fame as an illustrator and caricaturist. Cruikshank is known for his social and political satire.
The Abolition of the Slave Trade
"The Abolition of the Slave Trade, Or the inhumanity of dealers in human flesh exemplified in Captn. Kimber's treatment of a young Negro girl of 15 for her virjen [sic] modesty" , by Isaac Cruikshank, 1792, showing Captain John Kimber of Bristol flogging a slave girl
Originally published in London, April 10, 1792
Shows John Kimber with a whip in his hand and an African girl suspended by her ankle from a rope over a pulley.
An anti-slave trade cartoon, reflecting an important and well-documented episode in the British campaign against the slave trade.
John Kimber was the captain of a slave ship, the "Recovery," owned by Bristol merchants, which had left New Calabar (present-day Nigeria) bound for the West Indies in 1791.
In a speech before the House of Commons in 1792, William Wilberforce, the abolitionist leader, accused Kimber of having caused the death of the girl by inflicting injuries on her because she had refused to dance naked on the deck of his ship.
As a result of Wilberforce's speech, Kimber was arrested and tried before the High Court of Admiralty in June 1792; he was also charged with having murdered another girl on his ship.
Kimber was quickly acquitted of all charges, the jury having concluded that disease, not maltreatment, had caused their deaths.
John Kimber was the captain of a British slave ship who was tried for murder in 1792, after the abolitionist William Wilberforce accused him of killing two female slaves.
Kimber was acquitted, but the trial gained much attention in the press, and established that slave ships' crew could be tried for murder.
In 1791, John Kimber was the captain of the Recovery, a slave ship of 189 tons from Bristol, England. The Recovery travelled from Bristol to New Calabar in West Africa, where it collected approximately 300 slaves who were to be sold at Grenada in the Caribbean. The vessel left Africa on 1 September, and arrived at Grenada on 28 October, by which time 27 of the slaves had died.
"Dancing the slaves" was a regular part of the routine of a slave ship on the Middle Passage, and aimed to ensure that slaves who were confined to the extremely cramped and unhygienic conditions below decks received at least a degree of regular exercise. Those who refused to take part were flogged.
On 2 April 1792, William Wilberforce made a speech to parliament at the end of a debate on the abolition of the slave trade. In his speech, Wilberforce gave two examples of the atrocities associated with the slave trade, aiming to earn the sympathy of his fellow members of parliament. Firstly, he described an attack on Calabar by British slave ships, which bombarded the city in order to force it to lower the price of slaves. The second example was the case of Captain Kimber, who Wilberforce alleged had murdered a slave girl who refused to dance for him. In his speech, Wilberforce emphasised the innocence of the girl, and downplayed the accusation (subsequently reported in the press) that she suffered from gonorrhea.
Isaac Cruikshank's depiction of Kimber's assault on a "virjen" also emphasizes her innocence in the face of Kimber's aggression and moral corruption.
On 7 April 1792, Kimber placed advertisements in several newspapers proclaiming his innocence. Reports of the charges against Kimber soon began to appear in the press, as did accounts of his trial. Such reports soon crossed the Atlantic, and appeared in ten American newspapers.
Kimber was arrested in Bristol on 8 April, and taken to London the next day. His trial at the Admiralty Sessions of the Old Bailey began on 7 June 1792, and was attended by many prominent public figures, including Horatio Nelson.
The trial revealed little about Kimber's alleged crimes beyond what had been stated in parliament and the press. The attention soon turned to the key witnesses testifying against Kimber. One witness, Thomas Dowling, was revealed to have a vendetta against Kimber; another, named Stephen Devereux, was a former mutineer. Three witnesses attested to Kimber's good character, but no witness was called to affirm that Kimber had not ordered a slave girl to be tied up and flogged.
Kimber was acquitted, and in 1793 Dowling and Devereux were tried for perjury, with Dowling being found guilty. Several accounts of the trial were published, which were supportive of Kimber to varying degrees.
Kimber pursued Wilberforce for damages after the trial, and continually loitered outside his house. Wilberforce later noted that Kimber's acquittal had been one of the few instances in the abolition campaign that had brought him distress.
Isaac Cruikshank (1764–1811), Scottish painter and caricaturist, was born in Edinburgh. His sons Isaac Robert Cruikshank (1789–1856) and George Cruikshank also became artists, and the latter in particular achieved fame as an illustrator and caricaturist. Cruikshank is known for his social and political satire.