The Aborigines' Protection Society (APS) was an international human rights organisation founded in 1837,
to ensure the health and well-being and the sovereign, legal and religious rights of the

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

s while also promoting the civilisation of the indigenous people who were subjected under colonial powers, in particular the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

. In 1909 it merged with the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS) to form the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society (now Anti-Slavery International). The Society published a journal variously entitled ''Aborigines' Friend, or Colonial Intelligencer'', and ''Colonial Intelligencer and Aborigines' Friend'', often abbreviated to ''Aborigines' Friend'', from 1855 until its merger with BFASS in 1909. when the journals of the two societies were merged.

Foundation

The

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

background and

abolitionism Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. ...

were significant in the setting-up of the Society. In 1835 Parliamentary MP

Thomas Fowell Buxton Sir Thomas Fowell Buxton, 1st Baronet Buxton of Belfield and Runton (1 April 1786Olwyn Mary Blouet, "Buxton, Sir Thomas Fowell, first baronet (1786–1845)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004; online ed ...

set up a Parliamentary Select Committee to examine the effect of white settlement on indigenous peoples, and various other colonial issues. Though a non-Quaker himself, Buxton was the brother-in-law of Quaker reformer and philanthropist

Elizabeth Fry Elizabeth Fry (née Gurney; 21 May 1780 – 12 October 1845), sometimes referred to as Betsy Fry, was an English prison reformer, social reformer, philanthropist and Quaker. Fry was a major driving force behind new legislation to improve the tr ...

. In 1837, British physician

Thomas Hodgkin Thomas Hodgkin Royal Medical Society, RMS (17 August 1798 – 5 April 1866) was a British physician, considered one of the most prominent pathology, pathologists of his time and a pioneer in preventive medicine. He is now best known for the firs ...

prompted the establishment of The Aborigines Committee at an annual Meeting for Sufferings of Quakers. In 1838 some of the findings of Buxton's committee were published as ''Information Respecting the Aborigines in the British Colonies''. Hodgkin's brother John Hodgkin drafted it, then it was rewritten by Thomas to sharpen the effect and reduce its references to missionary activity.Amalie M. Kass and Edward H. Kass, ''Perfecting the World: The life and times of Dr. Thomas Hodgkin, 1798–1866'' (1988), pp. 373–4. Around the same time, The Aborigines' Protection Society (APS) was established, "to ensure the health and well-being and the sovereign, legal and religious rights of the indigenous peoples while also promoting the civilization of the indigenous people who were subjected under colonial powers". Other members brought experience from around the world: Saxe Bannister (Australia), Richard King (North America), John Philip (South Africa). The founders were, on King's account, Buxton, Hodgkin, William Allen, Henry Christy,

Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...

, and Joseph Sturge. Buxton, after the 1833 British

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, but it was later used in its colonies. T ...

, had taken an interest in particular in the

Cape Colony The Cape Colony (), also known as the Cape of Good Hope, was a British Empire, British colony in present-day South Africa named after the Cape of Good Hope. It existed from 1795 to 1802, and again from 1806 to 1910, when it united with three ...

. The ''Report'' of the APS in 1838 put the case that colonisation did not inevitably have detrimental effects on indigenous peoples, as conventional wisdom had it, even to the point of their extinction: if the effects were negative, that was a criticism of the plan and regulation for the colony.

Activities

The Aborigines' Protection Society remained active for about 70 years. It operated in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Canada, South Africa and the Congo. Its

motto A motto (derived from the Latin language, Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian language, Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a Sentence (linguistics), sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of a ...

was ''Ab Uno Sanguine'', meaning "Of One Blood" (from Acts 17:26). Its focus was on equal rights, as Equality before the law, for indigenous people, although it did not extend to the protection and preservation of the cultures of these peoples. It aimed to achieve legislation that was not based on race, with "racial amalgamation". There was no commitment therefore to preserving the indigenous peoples as encountered. In 1840 the Society reported on the treatment of indigenous peoples of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

. The differing views of Buxton and Hodgkin on how to proceed caused some fundamental divisions in the early years. Hodgkin was interested in a forum for both scientific discussion (of early

ethnology Ethnology (from the , meaning 'nation') is an academic field and discipline that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology). Sci ...

, a discipline that hardly yet existed separately from the study of language), and protective activities based on lobbying. Buxton shortly became caught up in the activist drive that led quickly to the Niger expedition of 1841, the failure of which was a huge personal blow and also drove missionary considerations into the background for a time. Hodgkin was unhappy with Buxton's published criticism of Elliott Cresson, and the general British disregard for

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

as an

abolitionist Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the political movement to end slavery and liberate enslaved individuals around the world. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was Kingdom of France, France in 1315, but it was later used ...

project. King issued a prospectus for the new Ethnological Society of London in 1842, following Hodgkin's view that the humanitarian and scientific objectives should from then on be pursued separately. In 1842 the purpose of the APS was restated: "to record the history, and promote the advancement, of Uncivilized Tribes". On Buxton's death in 1845, Samuel Gurney took over as President. Finances improved, and from 1847 Hodgkin had an assistant as Secretary on the payroll for a period, the activist Louis Alexis Chamerovzow.Kass and Kass, p. 377. Chamerovzow published on the rights of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

in 1848, and worked on

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

as opinion-former, with some success (as Dickens wrote to

George Payne Rainsford James George Payne Rainsford James (9 August 1799 – 9 June 1860), was an English novelist and historical writer, the son of a physician in London. He was for many years British Consul at various places in the United States and on the Continent. ...

). He was a perceptive analyst of the difficulties in reconciling the interests of indigenous people and settlers. Other campaigns included the case of a black man in the

accused of stealing from a white man and punished by torture (1850), the use of

bonded labour Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, or whe ...

of black children in the

Transvaal Republic The South African Republic (, abbreviated ZAR; ), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second ...

(1880), and, later continued protesting the exploitation of indigenous South Africans during the time preceding the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

(1899–1902), which, they said, was often perpetrated under a "guise of philanthropy and Christianity". In 1870 the APS bought Lennox Island (Prince Edward Island) on behalf of a community of the

Mi'kmaq people The Mi'kmaq (also ''Mi'gmaq'', ''Lnu'', ''Mi'kmaw'' or ''Mi'gmaw''; ; , and formerly Micmac) are an Indigenous group of people of the Northeastern Woodlands, native to the areas of Canada's Atlantic Provinces, primarily Nova Scotia, New Bru ...

Publications

The Society published tracts, pamphlets, Annual Reports and a journal variously entitled ''The Aborigines' Friend, or, Colonial Intelligencer'', ''Aborigines' Friend, or Colonial Intelligencer'', ''Colonial Intelligencer and Aborigines' Friend'', ''The Aborigines' Friend and the Colonial Intelligencer'', also abbreviated to ''Aborigines' Friend'', from 1855 until 1909. Hodgkin's concerns over the indigenous peoples in the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

territory in western Canada were pursued both by correspondence with Sir George Simpson, and in the pages of the ''Intelligencer''. In 1889 Henry Richard Fox Bourne became its editor, and took over as Chair of the APS. He was a critic of the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, and used the ''Intelligencer'' to accuse it for the first time of "atrocities".

Merger

The Society continued until 1909, when it merged with the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society to form the Anti-Slavery and Aborigines' Protection Society (now Anti-Slavery International).

Foundation

Activities

Publications

Merger

See also

References

Further reading