Granville Sharp's Cases on Slavery

Erscheinungsjahr 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5099-3011-1
Verlag: Hart Publishing

Buch, Englisch, 448 Seiten, Paperback, Format (B × H): 170 mm x 243 mm, Gewicht: 780 g

The purpose of Granville Sharpe's Cases on Slavery is twofold: first, to publish previously unpublished legal materials principally in three important cases in the 18th century on the issue of slavery in England, and specifically the status of black people who were slaves in the American colonies or the West Indies and who were taken to England by their masters. The unpublished materials are mostly verbatim transcripts made by shorthand writers commissioned by Granville Sharp, one of the first Englishmen to take up the cause of the abolition of the slave trade and slavery itself. Other related unpublished material is also made available for the first time, including an opinion of an attorney general and some minor cases from the library of York Minster. On the slave ship Zong, there are transcripts of the original declaration, the deposition by the chief mate, James Kelsall and an extract from a manuscript that Professor Martin Dockray was working on before his untimely death.

The second purpose, outlined in the Introduction, is to give a social and legal background to the cases and an analysis of the position in England of black servants/slaves brought to England and the legal effects of the cases, taking into account the new information provided by the transcripts. There was a conflict in legal authorities as to whether black servants remained slaves, or became free on arrival in England.

Lord Mansfield, the chief justice of the court of King's Bench, was a central figure in all the cases and clearly struggled to come to terms with slavery. The material provides a basis for tracing the evolution of his thought on the subject. On the one hand, the huge profits from slave production in the West Indies flooded into England, slave owners had penetrated the leading institutions in England and the pro-slavery lobby was influential. On the other hand, English law had over time established rights and liberties which in the 18th century were seen by many as national characteristics. That tradition was bolstered by the ideas of the Enlightenment.

By about the 1760s it had become clear that there was no property in the person, and by the 1770s that such servants could not be sent abroad without their consent, but whether they owed an obligation of perpetual service remained unresolved.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Lyall, Andrew

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Geschichte der Sklaverei
• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsgeschichte, Recht der Antike
• Rechtswissenschaften Ausländisches Recht Common Law (UK, USA, Australien u.a.)

Inhaltsverzeichnis

INTRODUCTION

Granville Sharp (1735-1813)

The Manuscripts

Jonathan Strong

The King (Lewis) v Stapylton

Somerset v Stuart

Gregson v Gilbert (The Zong)

Black Servants Brought to England

Factual Background

State of the Law

The Case Law

Blackstone

The Royal Navy

The Cases

Jonathan Strong

The King (Lewis) v Stapylton (1771)

Somerset v Stewart

Versions of the Judgment

The Order

Scope of the Judgment

Attempts to Evade Somerset

Habeas Corpus and Foreigners

Slave Law in the Colonies

Villeinage in England

Gregson v Gilbert (The Zong)

The "Absolute Necessity"

Marine Insurance and Slave Trade Acts

Navigation and the Longitude Problem

Did it Really Happen?

TRANSCRIPTIONS

Jonathan Strong

King (Lewis) v Stapylton

Proceedings in the King's Bench

Motions for Judgment

Granville Sharp's Argument

Granville Sharp's Remarks on the Case

Somerset v Stuart

First Hearing in the King's Bench

Third Day, "Second Hearing" in the King's Bench

Lord Mansfield's Judgment

1. The Scots Magazine/Estwick version

2. Granville Sharp MS of the Judgment

3. Letter to the General Evening Post

4. Lincoln's Inn, Hill MS version

5. Lincoln's Inn, Ashhurst Paper Book

6. Lofft's Report

Sharp's Memoranda on Somerset v Stuart

Gregson v Gilbert

The Declaration in the King's Bench

Proceedings on a Motion for a New Trial

Letter from Granville Sharp to Admiralty

An Account of the Murder of Slaves on the Zong

Letter from Granville Sharp to Duke of Portland

Bill in the Court of Exchequer

James Kelsall's Answer

Gregson's Answer

Extract from Martin Dockray MS

Minor Cases

De Grey Opinion

Cay v Crichton

Hylas v Newton

Sharp's Remarks on Hylas v Newton

Legislation

Habeas Corpus Act 1679

Act of the Scottish Parliament, 1701 c 6

Slave Trade Act, 1788

Slave Trade Act, 1793

Slave Trade Act, 1798

Slave Trade Act, 1799

Letters

Letter from Blackstone to Sharp

Letter from Dr Fothergill to Sharp

Blackstone's Commentaries

Über Autor(innen)

Lyall, Andrew
Andrew Lyall was a member of staff in Law at University College Dublin and a Fellow of The Royal Historical Society (FRHistS).

Andrew Lyall is a retired member of staff in Law at University College Dublin.