Summary Of Bury The Chains By Adam Hochschild

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world”, quotes Adam Hochschild. In Bury the Chains, Hochschild argues that twelve British men ended slavery in the British Empire. He argues that it was the men who started the abolitionist movement in the British Empire, specifically Thomas Clarkson, who were most influential in ending slavery in the British Empire. Although he discusses the contributions of slaves and women, Bury the Chains shows bias towards the white men’s contributions to ending slavery in the British Empire. The author focuses on comparing and contrasting the white male abolitionists, and not so much on the contributions of slaves and women. Even when he discusses the contributions of slaves

and women, he focuses on the white men’s role in these contributions. The ending of Bury the Chains entices hope and inspiration, but its story on the ending of slavery in the British Empire is not persuasive.
That is not to say the white male abolitionists contributed little.

Hochschild’s exposition of Thomas Clarkson shows that Clarkson did go lengths to end slavery. The white men and the abolition movement were like a pebble thrown into a pond. They created the ripples of change needed to begin ending slavery. By using their positions of privilege the white abolitionists helped give a voice to slaves by organizing for the slaves to speak of their experiences in London’s debating societies. This went further with Olaudah Equiano, who wrote a book and could go on a book tour with the support of Thomas Clarkson.

The examples above are some of the many Hochschild gives to support his argument that the “twelve men in a print shop” ended slavery. However, he also mentions the numerous slave revolts during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Hochschild argues that the black slaves also played a role in the ending of slavery in the British Empire.

He goes into detail about the Haitian Revolution of 1791-1804, and is clearly empathetic towards the slaves in his depiction of the Haitian Revolution. The author also tells part of the story of the Haitian Revolution from the viewpoint of Toussaint L’Ouverture. L’Ouverture was a freed black slave who initially joined the revolution as a participant, though he quickly emerged as the leader of the slave revolt. Hochschild portrays him as a leader who efficiently led the revolution and who the Europeans opposing him regarded with

awe.
However, this is where Hochschild’s narrative on the role of slave revolts in abolition is problematic.

He describes most of L’Ouverture’s actions and achievements from the point of view of white men. Besides L’Ouverture’s story, the author presents the Haitian Revolution exclusively from accounts of white men. These accounts are diverse and number many, some prominent examples being the accounts of Europeans fighting against the slaves and of white St. Domingue residents during the revolt. Using first-hand accounts from officers like Thomas Phipps Howard, Hochschild goes into detail about the suffering of the European troops while in St. Domingue. Similarly, he includes many accounts of the European military officials and their comments and correspondence during the revolt. He also includes the testimonies of white residents “at the foot of [Mount] Vesuvius”, of their terror when the slaves

revolted.
There are even more accounts on the Haitian Revolution from different Europeans that this paper did not mention. Yet despite having so many accounts from whites, Hochschild has no accounts from the slaves. There are no accounts from the slaves taking part in the revolt, or slaves that simply observed, or the reactions of slaves in other countries. Of course this can be attributed to the fact that perhaps no records from these slaves remain as it was less likely that they were literate. However, this excuse does not apply to the fact that Hochschild barely mentions the revolting slaves at all, neither through the eyes of slaves or whites. Instead he focuses on the European side of the revolution. Hochschild’s narration of the Haitian Revolution through the eyes of whites contradicts his argument that the Haitian slaves freed themselves. His narrative of the Haitian Revolution suggests that the slaves contributed much to the ending of slavery in the British Empire. Considering this, he does not devote enough of the book to the slaves’ contributions. Although even mentioning the slave revolts in the history of British slavery abolition is refreshing, doing so in this contradictory way does not add to the author’s argument that a few individuals ended slavery.
Similar to the ex-slaves, women publically spoke at the debating societies. One lady in particular astonished the crowd with her knowledge of the slave trade and her desire to abolish it. Hochschild acknowledges that women also played a role in ending slavery in the British Empire. Since sugar was a product heavily dependent on slave labour, boycotting sugar was one method used by the abolitionists. And since sugar was mostly used in the kitchen, a primarily female domain at the time, women played a large role in making the boycott work. Women educated themselves on the issue of slavery. Women felt they were in a situation similar to the slaves, in which they were treated as lesser humans compared to men.
Despite being “lower” than men in the social hierarchy, some women challenged the abolitionists. By the early nineteenth century the British government abolished slave trade. The women were not completely satisfied. They believed the abolitionists were taking too long in abolishing slavery itself. Elizabeth Heyrick was one of these women, and one of the few female anti-slavery activists that Hochschild singles out. A former schoolteacher, Heyrick published a pamphlet on the urgency of abolishing slavery immediately. The women’s society Heyrick was in was the first antislavery group in Britain to demand immediate emancipation.
That being said, none of these women were part of the group that Hochschild argues were instrumental in ending slavery in the British Empire. In a chapter seemingly devoted to women as it is called “Am I Not a Woman and a Sister?”, the author only discusses the role of women for less than one third of the chapter. Hochschild presents the women’s part in the abolition movement as extensions of what the men had already set into motion. He quotes Clarkson that the male abolitionists “fermented [anti-slavery] in the public mind”. In other words, credit was given to the white men for putting the idea of anti-slavery into the minds of women. Not only this but Hochschild argues that it was the abolition movement that drew women into the public life, rather than on their own accord.
In the chapter on women’s role in ending slavery in the British Empire, much of the accounts Hochschild uses are the opinions of white men. Some of these reactions are positive, like Clarkson’s, and some are very negative, like Wilberforce. There are few direct references to the women involved.
Hochschild argues that it was the small group of white men who brought the end of slavery in the British Empire because this is more inspirational. Bury the Chains is not a strictly academic book. The author writes in a way that makes the book more accessible and enjoyable to the general public, and the sources are not as numerous and multifaceted as most academic books. As the book’s target audience is the general public, having the small group of men be the protagonists reinforces the message that individuals can create great social change. However, if Hochschild showed the readers the contributions of the slaves and women in a less-biased light, the ending would be more persuasive. The contributions of slaves and women emphasize the book’s theme that even the smallest marginalized people can change the world.
Hochschild’s Bury the Chains is a well-written book with great messages about inspiration. Be that as it may, the book’s theme of the “twelve men in a printing shop” ending slavery is not so persuasive. He argues that it was the contributions of Thomas Clarkson and other individuals to the abolitionist movement that brought the end of slavery in the British Empire. Their actions were the first step of a chain reaction. However, the end of slavery in the British Empire was more multifaceted. Although Hochschild discussed the role of slaves themselves and women in the abolishment of slavery, he wrote from a bias towards the white men. If the book’s story focused more on the contributions of people besides the white male abolitionists it would be more persuasive. It would strengthen the theme of small, determined groups creating big change in the world.