Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade

by John Newton

In 'Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade' by John Newton, the author delves into the ethical and moral implications of the transatlantic slave trade, providing a detailed account of the inhumane treatment of enslaved Africans. Newton's writing style is poignant and introspective, offering a firsthand perspective from his own experiences as a former slave ship captain turned abolitionist. This work serves as a significant piece in the anti-slavery movement, shedding light on the atrocities committed against Africans during the era of colonization. Newton's use of vivid imagery and personal anecdotes adds a compelling layer to the narrative, making it a powerful and thought-provoking read. John Newton's background as a former participant in the slave trade lends credibility to his impassioned plea for the abolition of such exploitative practices. His transformation from slave trader to advocate for justice speaks to the transformative power of redemption and the capacity for individuals to change. 'Thoughts upon the African Slave Trade' is a must-read for readers interested in exploring the historical and ethical dimensions of the transatlantic slave trade and its lasting impact on society.

Genres: Nonfiction

46 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1787

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Please see: John Newton


John Newton was born in London and at age eleven went to sea with his father, a shipmaster on the Mediterranean. Disregarding his mother's prayer that he enter the ministry, he engaged in the lucrative but brutal African slave trade for a number of years. Afterwards, he served in the Church of England as pastor of Olney parish and later of the combined church of St. Mary's in London. In addition to the words of "Amazing Grace," Newton was a prolific songwriter whose other well-known hymns include "Glorious Things of Thee are Spoken" and "How Sweet the Name of Jesus Sounds."

Reviews

[Betsy Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Newton (1725-1807), best known for writing Amazing Grace after his conversion from slave trader (captain of a slave ship) to pastor and abolitionist, reports this stomach-turning and eminently necessary account of how Africans were captured, shipped, raped, tortured, and killed for profit. It was a trade that “was always unjustifiable, but inattention and interest prevented, for a time, the evil from being perceived.” He describes the political culture in Africa that participates in this trade. Then after a short reprise of the “packaging” of humans on board, recounts what awaits them when they land:

Yet, perhaps, they would wish to spend the remainder of their days on ship board, could they know, beforehand, the nature of the servitude which awaits them, on shore; and that the dreadful hardships and sufferings they have already endured, would, to the most of them, only terminate in excessive toil, hunger, and the excruciating tortures of the cart-whip, inflicted at the caprice of an unfeeling Overseer, proud of the power allowed him of punishing whom, and when, and how he pleases.

This very short text, considered historically important, is available free many places. (I got my copy from the Gutenberg Library.)

Not included in this book, but worth mentioning is the fact that this heinous industry has deep roots in the British Monarchy, a tradition that is founded on the belief that British royalty are descended from God, and therefore superior to other humans.

[Kiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the last two years I have used the film Amazing Grace, about the life and work of William Wilberforce, in the ethics portion of my senior classes, in a unit designed to explore Christian engagement in politics. In the film John Newton, slave traded turned priest and abolitionist, recounts his experience of slave business. I looked it up last year and found this, a brief but devastating account of British slave trade from Africa to the West Indies and America. He leads off with an analysis of how detrimental the trade is to the slave ship workers themselves, physically and spiritually, then enumerates the awful realities of those bought in sold in some detail. I continue to have a growing sense that the societies that dealt in this trade have not really healed for lack of processing the trauma they have caused and experienced from those times, nor acknowledged the need for processing in each generation. Like everyone else I’m not sure how well the world will do with healing, but I do think a great familiarity with primary resources from the past are a necessary part of the process. A quick one hour listen in audio format, otherwise 48 pages of confession about a dark era we should never forget nor repeat.

[Daniel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This pamphlet was a belated statement of repentance for John Newton's part in the slave-trade, which, contrary to popular myth, he only came to regard as iniquitous towards the end of his life. There is a superb comment about how public policy should not be framed in defiance to God's law, however, most of the rest of the pamphlet consists of observations, which are useful but not earth-shattering. It is interesting that he tries to deny that Britain fomented wars among the Africans, but then states that they engaged in their wars in order to have commodities to trade with the Europeans. Of course, this remark reveals that white people were not the only ones implicated in chattel slavery, which is something that the Liberal intelligentsia [sic] often forget.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Probably not one most modern readers would appreciate 1) for its pamphlet length, and 2) the “thoughts” Newton lays out. We’ve been societally trained that the discussion of slavery MUST and CAN ONLY be a straight-forward denunciation of the evils of 1) “owning” a human being, and 2) the inhumane treatment of slaves in the U.S. This book presumes the first, wherein it doesn’t need a repeated denunciation. More importantly, it goes back BEFORE the arrival of slaves on western soil, to many of the atrocious interactions, common practices, and the steady moral hardening of the slave trade experienced by sailors. This doesn’t remove or shift from preeminence the inhumane treatment of slaves on Western plantations. Rather, it supplements and complements such discussions by pointing out the many opportunities PRIOR to plantation life wherein the wickedness of the slave trade SHOULD have been recognized as such and ended. The perspectives in this little pamphlet should show how easy it has historically been to ignore the first twinges of moral alarm for the sake of economics and expediency, and how ignoring those twinges causes a decline into deeper and worse moral inaction until the consciences of those involved can no longer be seared.

[Nathan DiBagno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite a descriptive indictment on the horrendous practice of slavery.
John Newton goes into detail but also gets to the point.
It starts with a verse:
“So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.”
Matthew 7:12
His closing paragraph:
“Though unwilling to give offence to a single person; in such a cause, I ought not to be afraid of offending many, by declaring the truth; if, indeed, there can be many, whom even interest can prevail upon to contradict the common sense of mankind, by pleading for a commerce, so iniquitous, so cruel, so oppressive, so destructive, as the African Slave Trade!”

[Galicius · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Henry Newton (24 July 1725 – 21 December 1807), sailor, captain, clergyman who regrets commanding slave ships from Africa to the West Indies after he converted and became an abolitionist. He is credited with writing the hymn "Amazing Grace." I have heard and read contradictory stories about his life. Regardless of the dispute about true events of his life he gives enough here gives about slavery that should move the hard hearts of even succeeding generations of the slavers of the mid-18th Century.

[Kazeem Olalekan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whao!

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

An honest, eye-witness account of what the African slave trade was like in the 1700s.


(In my copy, many S's in words were exchanged for F's. But it's not too hard to understand/get the hang of.)

[Tim Hazelbaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

😭

[Matt Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book back in 2020. I wanted to know more about the man behind the song Amazing Grace.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Newton describes what he saw while living in Africa and on slave ships. Not an easy read. Among other things, says that slavery practiced by Africans is far more mild than the Atlantic trade.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it at this link: https://cowperandnewtonmuseum.org.uk/...

Really liked it...this isn't the kind of thing one really likes...I mean I really liked it in terms of being an interesting and thought provocative primary source.

Interesting to read this, being written when the slave trade was still going on. Newton makes a number of points against the slave trade, some of which, valid though they may be, seem somewhat strange to make in light of the primary issues. Yet I think we do this same kind of thing now...maybe because multiple aspects are relevant...or maybe because we have a hard time being so "radical" as to say certain things are right or wrong, period and end of story without getting tangle up in all the multiple interests and multiple facets involved in the situation. Probably some of both.