^ The Slave Trade 



(or unappetising). Their nakedness showed their good sense, 

 and such spun and woven clothes they might wear, their inherent 

 good taste. Agriculture seems to have been much more 

 advanced than in present times, and the quantities of live-stock 

 superior to their present resources. 



But to return to Christianity : the Portuguese, though 

 they were ruthless man-catchers, and very often preferred kid- 

 napping to fair trading, were really scrupulous about their 

 self-imposed duties in this respect. Once the Negroes reached 

 Portuguese America, they were well treated, had no ignominious 

 servitude, and were certainly made into convinced Roman 

 CathoHc Christians. Those Negroes who reached the Spanish 

 Main or Spanish West Indies found a sterner master in the 

 Spaniard, but a fanatical proselytiser. The Dutch dealt with their 

 slaves much better as regards the condition of their transport 

 overseas, but do not seem to have worried themselves much 

 with religious propaganda. Throughout they treated the whole 

 transaction in the most prosaic, businesslike way, and did not 

 seek to clothe their eager prosecution of this traffic with any 

 sickening protestations of zeal for Christianity such as pro- 

 foundly affected most of the English and French writers of that 

 period.^ 



On the other hand, it was amongst English-speaking people 

 first of all that the revolt against slavery and the slave trade 

 began. The Quakers — to their honour be it said — led the 

 way from 1670 (George Fox preached in that year against 

 slavery in Barbados) ; they lighted a candle which, though it 

 flickered uncertainly for a hundred years, could not be put out. 

 The great body of Nonconformists in England and America came 



' Opinions collected from intelligent travellers during the eighteenth century 

 seem to have resulted in the slave-holding nations being placed thus in order of 

 kindliness : Portuguese, Spaniards, Danes, French, English, Dutch, 



