The African Institution was founded in 1807 after British abolitionists succeeded in ending the slave trade based in the United Kingdom. The Institution was formed to succeed where the former

Sierra Leone Company The Sierra Leone Company was the corporate body involved in founding the second British colony in Africa on 11 March 1792 through the resettlement of Black Loyalists who had initially been settled in Nova Scotia (the Nova Scotian Settlers) afte ...

had failed—to create a viable, civilised refuge for freed slaves in Sierra Leone, in West Africa. It was led by James Stephen and William Wilberforce. From 1823, its work was mostly taken over by the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions, and it ceased to exist sometime between 1826 and 1828.

History

Where the

sought first to convert the native population through evangelism, the African Institution aimed to improve the standard of living in Freetown first. Rules and regulations were proposed at its first meeting on 14 April 1807. One aspect of its purpose was to repair the wrongs which Africans had suffered in their intercourse with Europeans. The leaders of the African Institution were James Stephen and William Wilberforce. The Duke of Gloucester, nephew of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, acted as the Institution's first president, and was joined by

clergymen Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient R ...

s. Leading Quaker families also became supporters, as well as Unitarians like

Peter Finch Martineau Peter Finch Martineau (12 June 1755 – 2 December 1847) was an English businessman and a philanthropist, with particular interest in improving the lives of disadvantaged people through education. Life and family A Unitarian, he was born into th ...

Friendly Society of Sierra Leone

The Institution showed close interest in working with

Paul Cuffe Paul Cuffe, also known as Paul Cuffee (January 17, 1759 – September 7, 1817) was an American businessman, whaler and abolitionist. Born free into a multiracial family on Cuttyhunk Island, Massachusetts, Cuffe became a successful merchant an ...

, an African-American entrepreneur. In 1810–11 they approached the British government, requesting a land grant in Sierra Leone for him. The African merchants of Freetown, Sierra Leone, were however prevented from getting ahead by the tight monopoly which the British merchant company Macaulay and Babington held over the Sierra Leone trade. On 7 April 1811 Cuffe met with the foremost black merchants of the colony, including the successful

John Kizell John Kizell was an American immigrant to Sierra Leone, who became a leader in Sierra Leone as it was being developed as a new British colony in the early nineteenth century. Believed born on Sherbro Island, he was captured and enslaved as a child, ...

. They penned a petition to the African Institution, stating that the colony's greatest needs were for settlers to work in agriculture, commerce and

whaling Whaling is the process of hunting of whales for their usable products such as meat and blubber, which can be turned into a type of oil that became increasingly important in the Industrial Revolution. It was practiced as an organized industry ...

; and that these three areas would facilitate growth for the colony best. Upon receiving this petition, the members of the Institution agreed with their findings. Cuffe and these merchants together founded the Friendly Society of Sierra Leone, a local mutual-aid merchant group dedicated to furthering prosperity and industry among the free peoples in the colony and loosening the stranglehold that English merchants held on trade. Sierra Leone Johannes 1732

Indian Ocean

The Institution took action in negotiating with

Said bin Sultan, Sultan of Muscat and Oman Sayyid Saïd bin Sultan al-Busaidi ( ar, سعيد بن سلطان, , sw, Saïd bin Sultani) (5 June 1791 – 19 October 1856), was Sultan of Muscat and Oman, the fifth ruler of the Busaid dynasty from 1804 to 4 June 1856. His rule commenced fol ...

to reduce the prevalence of slavery in his possessions, which included Zanzibar. This was in 1820, some five years after the East India Company had become involved with the Sultan, through the Governor of Bombay,

Sir Evan Nepean Sir Evan Nepean, 1st Baronet, PC FRS (9 July 1752 – 2 October 1822)Sparrow (n.d.) was a British politician and colonial administrator. He was the first of the Nepean Baronets. Family Nepean was born at St. Stephens near Saltash, Cornwall, ...

. In 1821,

Ralph Darling General Sir Ralph Darling, GCH (1772 – 2 April 1858) was a British Army officer who served as Governor of New South Wales from 1825 to 1831. He is popularly described as a tyrant, accused of torturing prisoners and banning theatrical entertain ...

, who was Governor of Mauritius, also took steps against the slave trade.

Reports

The Committee of the African Institution produced a series of annual ''Reports'', from 1807 to 1824.

First Report (1807)

In its first report, presented on 15 July 1807, "The committee expressed its view that the people of Africa were sunk in ignorance and barbarism and took for itself the task of introducing the blessings of civilisation to what they viewed as constituting a quarter of the habitable globe.".

Second Report (1808)

The second report starts with the announcement of a series of prizes valued at 50 Guineas for the being the first person to import from West Africa to Great Britain the following quantities of goods: ::One Ton of marketable Cotton ::100 weight of Indigo ::Ten Tons of White Rice :A further 50 Guinea prize was offered to the person who put the most land in West Africa under Coffee cultivation, as long as it was at least ten acres.

Third Report (1809)

In its third report, presented 25 March 1809, the directors reported that three African youths had received training in a new educational procedure developed at the Duke of York's Royal Military School from techniques developed in India. Thanks to the intervention of the Duke of Gloucester, the youths participated as teacher at the Asylum before being sent to Sierra Leone, where they were employed as teachers by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies, the

Earl of Liverpool Earl of Liverpool is a title that has been created twice in British history. The first time was in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1796 for Charles Jenkinson, 1st Baron Hawkesbury, a favourite of King George III (see Jenkinson baronets for ...

. One of the skills it was hoped they would introduce to Sierra Leone was cotton cultivation.

Fourth Report (1810)

Fourth Report of the Committee of the African Institution
presented 28 March 1810: :The Directors expressed concern that British slave traders were continuing in their trade but escaping British laws by adopting Swedish and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

flags of convenience.

Fifth Report (1811)

Fifth Report of the Directors of the African Institution
presented 27 March 1811: :The directors with dismay reported the continuing activity of British and American ships continuing to pursue the slave trade using Portuguese and Spanish flags of convenience. They identified British capital and credit playing a large part in this considerable trade. Through Henry Brougham MP they initiated a discussion in the Houses of Parliament followed by the introduction of a bill to make it easier to prosecute British nationals using flags of convenience to avoid prosecution at the Vice-Admiralty courts set up in Sierra Leone.

Sixth Report (1812)

Sixth Report of the Committee of the African Institution
presented at the

Freemasons' Tavern The Freemasons' Tavern was established in 1775 at 61-65 Great Queen Street in the West End of London. It served as a meeting place for a variety of notable organisations from the 18th century until it was demolished in 1909 to make way for the ...

, London 25 March 1812: :The directors reported with concern that they had previously underestimated the growth in the slave trade providing an estimate of 70-80,000 enslaved Africans being transported across the Atlantic in 1810. They highlighted the role of the port of

Bissau Bissau () is the capital, and largest city of Guinea-Bissau. Bissau had a population of 492,004. Bissau is located on the Geba River estuary, off the Atlantic Ocean, and is Guinea-Bissau's largest city, major port, and its administrative and ...

in this development.

Seventh Report (1813)

Seventh Report of the Committee of the African Institution
presented at the

, London 24 March 1813: :The directors were pleased to report that there had been a decline in the slave trade and expressed their gratitude to the efforts of two naval officers: Commodore

Frederick Paul Irby Rear Admiral Frederick Paul Irby (18 April 1779 – 24 April 1844) was a British Royal Navy officer and Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Birth Frederick Irby was born on 18 April 1779, the second son of Frederick, 2nd Baron Boston and h ...

and Captain Edward Scobell

Eighth Report (1814)

Report of the Directors of the African Institution
presented 23 March 1814: :The directors reported on their concern with outstanding legal cases concerning the seizure of Portuguese ships engaged in the slave trade. They again commended Captain Irby of HMS ''Amelia'' and Captain Scobell of HMS ''Thais'' for their active involvement with suppressing the slave trade as part of the

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliam ...

. They noted the action taken against a slave factory at

Cape Mesurado Cape Mesurado, also called Cape Montserrado, is a headland on the coast of Liberia near the capital Monrovia and the mouth of the Saint Paul River. It was named Cape Mesurado by Portuguese sailors in the 1560s. It is the promontory on which Afri ...

Ninth Report (1815)

Ninth Report of the Directors of the African Institution
presented London 12 April 1815: :The Directors expressed their delight with the sentiment expressed by the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

that the slave trade constituted "the desolation of Africa, the degradation of Europe and the afflicting scourge of humanity." However when this was not implemented immediately through the Treaty of Paris (1814), they expressed their disappointment. They pointed out that as there was no French Capital invested in the Slave trade, the delay of introducing a ban on the slave trade for five years amounted to an introduction of the slave trade to France.

Special Report, 1815

A ''Special Report'' was produced in 1815 to rebut an attack on the Institution by Robert Thorpe. The seventh annual report had noted a deterioration of conditions in Sierra Leone, yet had made upbeat comments about all involved. Concerned parties— William Allen and

John Clarkson John Gibson Clarkson (July 1, 1861 – February 4, 1909) was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago White Stocking ...

—expressed disquiet, while Thorpe made unmeasured criticisms, pamphleteering and targeting

Zachary Macaulay Zachary Macaulay ( gd, Sgàire MacAmhlaoibh; 2 May 1768 – 13 May 1838) was a Scottish statistician and abolitionist who was a founder of London University and of the Society for the Suppression of Vice, and a Governor of British Sierra Leon ...

. Henry Brougham headed an internal enquiry at the beginning of 1814, with Wilberforce, Macaulay and Thomas Clarkson. The outcome was that

Thomas Perronet Thompson Thomas Perronet Thompson (1783–1869) was a British Parliamentarian, a governor of Sierra Leone and a radical reformer. He became prominent in 1830s and 1840s as a leading activist in the Anti-Corn Law League. He specialized in the grass-root ...

, governor in Sierra Leone and at odds with leading

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "born again", in which an individual exper ...

s, who had already been removed in 1810, was roundly criticised.

Twelfth Report, 1818

Twelfth Report of the Directors of the African Institution
presented on 9 April 1818: :The Directors restated their fears that the activities of the West Africa Squadron in suppressing the slave trade might be severally constrained following the outbreak of peace. This, they confirmed had happened, recounting the judgement of William Scott concerning the French ship ''Le Lois''. had seized ''Le Lois'' and the Vice Admiralty Court at Sierra Leone had condemned the ship and her cargo. However, when the owners appealed to the

High Court of Admiralty Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...

, Scott overturned the previous judgement saying that the way ''Le Lois'' had been stopped and boarded was illegal as "No nation can exercise a right of visitation and search on the common and unappropriated parts of the sea, save only on the belligerent claim." He accepted that this would constitute a serious impediment to the suppression of the slave trade, but argued that this should be remedied through international treaties rather than naval officers exceeding what they were permitted to do.

Sixteenth Report (1822)

Sixteenth Report of the Directors of the African Institution
presented 10 May 1822: :The report was delivered to a meeting of over 1,500 people. After a motion of thanks to the Directors, this meeting passed a motion that they would emplore the British government to ensure that the slave trade should be declared piracy by the "concurrent sentence of all nations".

Anti-Slavery Society (1823)

The Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions, usually known as the "Anti-Slavery Society", was set up in 1823. Its leadership overlapped substantially with that of the African Institution. It involved James Cropper and Thomas Babington Macaulay, and was somewhat more open in approach.

Dormancy and demise

The ''Twentieth Report'' (1826) of the Institution concentrated on being informative, rather than summarising activity or raising funds. Wilberforce had retired. By about 1828 such activism as came from the underlying group was in practice being run by the Anti-Slavery Society.

References

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