James Ramsay

the long version

James Ramsay: the Unknown Abolitionist. By Folarin Shyllon. Pp. x + 144. Edinburgh: Canongate, 1977. £4.75. James Ramsay, naval surgeon and parish priest, died in 1789,3 few weeks after Wilberforce had moved the first motion in the Commons against the slave trade and there were few to take notice. Now, after virtually two centuries of oblivion, comes this splendid monograph arguing the case for regarding Ramsay as 'morning star' of the abolition movement. The heart of the matter is Ramsay's Essay on the Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves in the British Sugar Colonies, published in 1784 on the basis of eighteen years' experience of life in the West Indies. The substance of this pamphlet is reproduced, set in its context, and the positive and negative effects are set out in detail. If the story as a whole is well enough known it takes on here a particular poignancy widi the added value of having been written, so to speak, from the other side of the curtain. The author, from the university of Ibadan, writes with exemplary objectivity and in a measured style, often reminiscent of that of the eighteendi century and with impressive biblical overtones. But, clearly, he brings a new dimension to the account and interpretation of events containing so much of shame and of glory. Although Shyllon has concentrated on The Essay and has limited himself to one aspect of Ramsay's influence, there is evidence of wide-ranging research in a rich collection of material and that he has blazed a trail diat must be followed. There are issues here of more than historical or archaeological interest. Meanwhile, we can be grateful for the light thrown on a singularly brave and attractive man who cannot be any longer left in oblivion.