Ottobah Cugoano > Quotes

“Any property taken away from others, whether by stealth, fraud or violence, must be wrong: but to take away men themselves, and keep them in slavery, must be worse.”
― Ottobah Cugoano known as John Stuart

“When they see some base wretches like themselves ensnaring, enslaving, oppressing, whipping, starving with hunger, and cruelly torturing and murdering some of the poor helpless part of mankind, they would think no harm in it, they would do the same. Perhaps the Greeks and Romans, and other crowds of barbarous nations have done so before; they can make that a precedent, and think no harm in it, they would still do the same, and worse than any barbarous nations ever did before; and if they look backwards and forwards they can find no better precedent, ancient or modern, than that which is wicked, mean, brutish, and base.”
― Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery: And Other Writings

“the base and villainous treatment and slavery which the poor unfortunate Black People meet with, is spread and made known, the cry for justice, even virtue lifting up her voice, must rise the louder and higher, for the scale of equity and justice to be listen up in their defence. And doth not wisdom cry, and understanding put forth her voice? But who will regard the voice and hearken to the cry? Not the sneaking advocates for slavery, though a little ashamed of their craft; like the monstrous crocodile weeping over their prey with fine concessions (while gorging their own rapacious appetite) to hope for universal freedom taking place over the globe. Not those inebriated with avarice and infidelity,”
― Ottobah Cugoano, Thoughts and sentiments on the evil and wicked traffic of the slavery and commerce of the human species: humbly submitted to the inhabitants of Great Britain