Conclusion
-
Eleanor Bird
Abstract
The Conclusion explores the contradiction demonstrated in this book that Canadian readers and enslavers may not have recognised their own complicity in slavery, even as they may have known that slavery was practiced in Canada. It suggests that one reason this has been overlooked is that scholars have undervalued newspapers in the study of Atlantic slaveries and that they have not explored newspapers holistically and examined the framing context of texts printed in newspapers, meaning their full meaning is missed. Rather than contributing to the dichotomised debate that – slavery did not exist in Canada and the important recovery work that shows that slavery did exist in Canada, the book has explored the shades of complexity within texts that show that slavery and antislavery and antislavery and anti-Black racism often co-existed together. The book has shown that the attitude that slavery in Canada was somehow not as a bad as slavery in the United States that persists today can be found in eighteenth-century newspapers. In these, Canadians situated their stance on slavery in Canada in relation to the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the wider Americas and used this broader context to claim a higher moral ground when it came to slavery even while acknowledging its existence in Canada.
Abstract
The Conclusion explores the contradiction demonstrated in this book that Canadian readers and enslavers may not have recognised their own complicity in slavery, even as they may have known that slavery was practiced in Canada. It suggests that one reason this has been overlooked is that scholars have undervalued newspapers in the study of Atlantic slaveries and that they have not explored newspapers holistically and examined the framing context of texts printed in newspapers, meaning their full meaning is missed. Rather than contributing to the dichotomised debate that – slavery did not exist in Canada and the important recovery work that shows that slavery did exist in Canada, the book has explored the shades of complexity within texts that show that slavery and antislavery and antislavery and anti-Black racism often co-existed together. The book has shown that the attitude that slavery in Canada was somehow not as a bad as slavery in the United States that persists today can be found in eighteenth-century newspapers. In these, Canadians situated their stance on slavery in Canada in relation to the Atlantic slave trade and slavery in the wider Americas and used this broader context to claim a higher moral ground when it came to slavery even while acknowledging its existence in Canada.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Figures vi
- Acknowledgements viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The representation of slavery in Quebec’s newspapers, 1789–93 25
- 2 Canada in the antebellum slave narrative, 1849–57 59
- 3 Thomas Jones in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 93
- 4 Broken Shackles 129
- Conclusion 160
- Bibliography 165
- Index 183
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Figures vi
- Acknowledgements viii
- Introduction 1
- 1 The representation of slavery in Quebec’s newspapers, 1789–93 25
- 2 Canada in the antebellum slave narrative, 1849–57 59
- 3 Thomas Jones in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick 93
- 4 Broken Shackles 129
- Conclusion 160
- Bibliography 165
- Index 183
