Iain Whyte – författare

An investigation of Scotland’s role in the abolition of slavery, focussing on the Free Church of Scotland schism over funding from American slave states.When the Free Church broke from the Church of Scotland in 1843 they sought money and support from inside and outside Scotland. A delegation which went to America in 1844 brought some money back gifted by sympathisers in the Southern slave states. A huge row broke out amongst abolitionists in Scotland and America and a campaign to ‘Send Back the Money’ was launched.‘Send Back the Money!’ is a thorough and gripping examination of a fascinating and forgotten aspect of Scottish and American relations and Church history, recreating a seminal episode in the history of nineteenth-century abolitionism that divided families, communities, and the Free Church itself.Iain Whyte’s examination of the Free Church of Scotland’s early involvement with American Presbyterianism reveals the ethical furore caused by a Church wishing to emancipate itself from the domination of a state-sanctioned established religion. The Free Church therefore found a ready affinity with those oppressed elsewhere, but subsequently found itself financially supported by the Southern slave states of America. Whyte sensitively handles this inherent contradiction in the political, ecclesiastical, and theological institutions, while informing the reader of the roles of charismatic characters such as Thomas Chalmers and Frederick Douglass, key individuals who did much to shape contemporary culture with action, great oratory, and rhetoric. The author adroitly draws parallels from the twentieth century onwards, leading the reader to a fuller and more nuanced understanding of the historic and topical issues within global Christianity, and the contentious topic of slavery.‘Send back the Money!’ throws light upon nineteenth-century culture, the British and American Abolitionist movements, and the ecclesiastical politics of the day, and is written in a clear and engaging style that makes the book ideal for both scholars and general readers.

Whyte’s detailed study of the American South considers the intertwining of religion and slavery from every angle, and ultimately explores how Christianity could provide the seeds of liberation. Examining the history of slavery in the American South, it is impossible to separate the interpretations of Christianity from the arguments and counter-arguments surrounding liberation. In Tools of Control or Seeds of Liberation, Iain Whyte considers how this intertwining of ideologies impacted enslaved people and their relationship to religion. Tracing the legacy of the reformed tradition from its enthusiasm for 'instruction for all', to the weakening of views on injustice by slave-holding Christians, Whyte explores in detail the dilemmas, compromises, and self-interest of many Reformed Christians. He considers the essential incompatibility of faith in Jesus with the support of slavery, and how the movement for abolition in the mid-eighteenth century focussed Christians on this question. In the second half of this book, Whyte concentrates on the voices of enslaved people, recording first-hand experiences of religion and its connection to slavery, exploring how remarkable women such as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth liberated themselves, and returning to Scotland with Frederick Douglass to consider the Scottish protestant reaction. Whyte's detailed study considers the intertwining of religion and slavery from every angle, and ultimately explores how Christianity could provide the seeds of liberation.

Although much has been written about Scottish involvement in slavery, the contribution of Scots to the abolition of black slavery has not yet been sufficiently recognised. This book starts with a Virginian slave seeking his freedomin Scotland in 1756 and ends with the abolition of the apprenticeship scheme in the West Indian colonies in 1838.Contemporary documents and periodicals reveal a groundswell of revulsion to what was described as “the horrible traffik in humans”. Petitions to Parliament came from remote islands in Shetland as well as from large public meetings in cities. In a land steeped in religion, ministers and church leaders took the lead in giving theological support to the cause of abolition. The contributions of five London Scots who were pivotal to the campaign throughout Britain are set against opposition to abolition from many Scots with commercial interests in the slave trade and the sugar plantations.Missionaries and miners, trades guilds and lawyers all played their parts in challenging slavery. Many of their struggles and frustrations are detailed for the first time in an assessment of the unique contribution made by Scotland and the Scots to the destruction of an institution whose effects are still with us today.

Although much has been written about Scottish involvement in slavery, the contribution of Scots to the abolition of black slavery has not yet been sufficiently recognised. This book starts with a Virginian slave seeking his freedomin Scotland in 1756 and ends with the abolition of the apprenticeship scheme in the West Indian colonies in 1838.Contemporary documents and periodicals reveal a groundswell of revulsion to what was described as “the horrible traffik in humans”. Petitions to Parliament came from remote islands in Shetland as well as from large public meetings in cities. In a land steeped in religion, ministers and church leaders took the lead in giving theological support to the cause of abolition. The contributions of five London Scots who were pivotal to the campaign throughout Britain are set against opposition to abolition from many Scots with commercial interests in the slave trade and the sugar plantations.Missionaries and miners, trades guilds and lawyers all played their parts in challenging slavery. Many of their struggles and frustrations are detailed for the first time in an assessment of the unique contribution made by Scotland and the Scots to the destruction of an institution whose effects are still with us today.

In 1833 Thomas Fowell Buxton, the parliamentary successor to William Wilberforce, proposed a toast to ‘the anti-slavery tutor of us all. - Mr. Macaulay.’ Yet Zachary Macaulay’s considerable contribution to the ending of slavery in the British Empire has received scant recognition by historians.This book seeks to fill that gap, focussing on his involvement with slavery and anti-slavery but also examining the people and events that influenced him in his life’s work. It traces his Scottish roots and his torrid account of years as a young overseer on a Jamaican plantation. His accidental stumbling into the anti-slavery circle through a family marriage led to formative years in the government of the free colony of Sierra Leone dealing with settlers, slave traders, local chiefs and a French invasion. His return to Britain in 1799 began nearly forty years of research, writing, and reporting in the long campaign to get rid of what he described as ‘this foul stain on the nation.’ James Stephen rated him as the most feared and hated foe of slave interests.His weaknesses and failures are explored alongside his unswerving commitment to the cause to which he gave his energy, sacrificed his business interests, and saw as a natural result of his strong religious faith. This book is a result of extensive research of Macaulay’s own prolific writings and seeks to illustrate the man behind them, his passions and his prejudices, his steely resolve and his personal shyness, above all his willingness to work unremittingly in the background, generating the power to drive the engine of anti-slavery to victory.