Chapter 15
The enslaved in late-Enlightenment stories for children
The real and the imaginary
On the long road towards the abolition of the
slave trade and enslavement, European and American books for
children, published in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries, sought to engage their intended young readers in the
debate. In this chapter I counterpoint fictional characterizations
of the enslaved with those in autobiographical accounts and in
newspaper fugitive slave advertisements. The children’s books of the
time depicted the enslaved as objects of pity and in need of
rescuing. That positioned them as ideal subjects for authors
attempting to cultivate empathy and sensibility in their young
readers. Actual enslaved people told a different story, recording
both the brutality and savagery of enslavers and their own sustained
resistance to enslavement.
Article outline
- Enslaved people and sensibility in early children’s books
- The slavery question
- Recruiting armies of (White) children
- Amelioration as one answer to the slavery question
- The very different stories told by enslaved people
- Towards reparations: Stories from the past make the case for the future
- Conclusion
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Notes
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References