Australasian Political Studies Association Conference 2003
Hosted by the School of Government
University of Tasmania

International Politics Stream

Antislavery and Imperialism

Joel Quirk
Department of International Relations
Research School of Pacific & Asian Studies
The Australian National University

Abstract:

Organised Antislavery first emerged in Western Europe and Northern America in the second half of the eighteenth century. By breaking decisively with the historically entrenched notion that slavery was a natural, venerable and almost inevitable component of the prevailing status quo, the early Abolitionists precipitated a protracted political struggle over the legal and moral legitimacy of an institution that enjoyed substantial social, economic, political support. After a succession of legislative, political and/or military contests at both a national and international level, the Antislavery project came to occupy a prominent place in both prevailing notions of civilisation, and the normative and institutional standards of European International Society. Within this historical milieu, slavery was effectively (re)conceptualised as an ‘obvious’ evil, with both previous contests over, and earlier complicity in, the Transatlantic slave system being largely ignored.

Since the ‘civilised’ European world was now at least formally united in its condemnation of slavery, the fact that ‘backward’ peoples continued to sanction the institution was used to justify various intrusions in the affairs of non-European polities. This culminated in the ‘scramble for Africa’ in the late 19th century, with the ‘barbarous’ practice of slavery forming a prominent component of the rhetorical justification of imperial expansion. Once colonial rule was established, however, a new set of political and economic dynamics severely compromised their commitment to Antislavery. The two main issues were the abolition of indigenous forms of ‘slavery’, and the labour requirements of the colonial state. While colonial authorities adopted a range of Antislavery measures, concerns about political order and limited institutional capacities often meant that indigenous forms of slavery continued. The ‘labour issue’ was even more problematic, with colonial authorities routinely resorting to forms of forced labour that were effectively little more than slavery. In both of these cases the gulf between formal/rhetorical commitments and actual practices was significant.

This has led various sceptics to suggest that the Antislavery project was little more than a rhetorical device that was strategically utilised to advance more narrow interests. While this viewpoint provides a necessary corrective to the moral triumphalism that often characterises discussions of Antislavery, neither approach adequately captures the complex set of relations that shaped this broad sequence of events. Although the implementation of Antislavery policies undoubtedly left much to be desired, the measures taken by the colonial authorities clearly involved a range of substantial economic and political costs, precipitated considerable resistance, and ultimately brought about significant, if somewhat gradual, social change. The forced labour issue also requires a more qualified approach, in that the parameters of debate were defined by a formal commitment to Antislavery that created space for effective political action that would not have been feasible if slavery had been officially sanctioned. The long-term effects of colonial Antislavery, with many forms of ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ forms of slavery continuing to this day, can be largely understood as a reflection of the sorts of competing ideational and material factors that tempered the implementation of Antislavery ideals in the age of high imperialism.