Transatlantic Abolitionism in the Age of Revolution
Throughout his life, the marquis de Lafayette fought vehemently for personal freedoms. He advocated for women’s rights in America and civil rights for Protestants in France, and promoted respect for the identity and sovereignty of American Indians. His most extensive efforts in support of human liberty were his work to end slavery and the African slave trade. While Lafayette respectfully nudged his slave-owning friends to embrace emancipation, he became increasingly disturbed by the contradiction of the American republic, a beacon of liberty for the world, continuing to endorse the practice of enslaving other human beings. To offer insight on what influenced Lafayette’s efforts, John Oldfield, Ph.D., emeritus professor of slavery and emancipation at the University of Hull (UK), examines the anti-slavery debates of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries in the Atlantic World.