John Gabriel Stedman - Stedman and Slavery

Stedman and Slavery

Stedman's attitude toward slaves and slavery has been the subject of scholarly debate. In spite of the abolitionist utility of the text, Stedman himself was far from an abolitionist. A defense of slavery runs throughout the text, emphasizing problems that would arise from sudden emancipation and claiming that Englishmen treated their slaves better than other colonizers. In fact, Stedman believed that slavery was necessary in some form to continue allowing Britain and other European nations to indulge their excessive desires for commodities such as tobacco and sugar. A seemingly pro-slavery attitude is espoused throughout much of his text, reflecting his patriotism as much as his attitude toward slaves themselves.

Yet according to his Narrative, Stedman often treats and describes slaves with an implicit dignity unusual for his place and time. His love affair with Joanna further complicates his views toward slavery. Their relationship does not seem, as one critic has claimed, to be rooted in a sort of "colonial sexual exploitation," particularly considering his superlative description of her in comparison with Western women. He describes their relationship as one "of romantic love rather than filial servitude." Their interracial domesticity expresses open-minded cultural integration which even many abolitionists were unwilling to pursue; his attitudes about slavery notwithstanding, he demonstrated a very different view toward slaves themselves than was common at the time.

However, while modern readers might be sympathetic to Stedman's personal encounters with slaves, the Narrative is a hugely ethnocentric text. Some critics argue that the book made Stedman seem like a much more consistent pro-slavery advocate than he intended. But Stedman's attitudes toward individual slaves did not coincide with his attitude toward the institution of slavery. His sympathy for the suffering slaves, expressed throughout the book, is consistently obfuscated by his opinion about slavery as an institution, which according to Werner Sollors was "complicated, its representation strongly affected by the revisions."