Black and British: A Forgotten History, from the acclaimed historian and star of 'Celebrity Traitors'

by David Olusoga

the women of Britain. Denied the vote or any meaningful role in politics – which was regarded as being an entirely male preserve – women were, to some extent and in some quarters, permitted to become active participants in individual causes. Significantly, it had long been deemed socially acceptable for women to raise petitions, which were then delivered to Parliament – an assembly which, of course, was then entirely male. Propriety set limits on how active and how vocal women were able to become in their chosen cause but the humanitarian nature of the abolitionist crusade, with its emphasis on mercy, compassion and the preservation of the family, was deemed fittingly feminine. The energies and compassion of women were thus given an outlet and female abolitionists formed their own organizations and committees. They held abolitionist events, wrote pamphlets, tracts and poems, gathered signatures for the petitions and raised campaign money. At certain times and in certain places they were the engine room of the movement. Traditionally confined to the domestic sphere, women brought anti-slavery politics into the home via the sugar boycott. It was women who did the most to promote and propagate that campaign which drew the mocking scorn of journalists and the engravers of satirical cartoons. The abolitionist movement, especially in its campaigns of the 1820s and 1830s, could not possibly have achieved what it did without their involvement.