47

A Winter in the West Indies, Described in familiar letters to Henry Clay of Kentucky

Een winter in de West-Indiën: beschreven in gemeenzame brieven aan Henry Clay van Kentucky (Amsterdam: Binger, 1843). Dutch. Un hiver aux Antilles en 1839-40, ou Lettres sur les résultats de l’abolition de l’esclavage dans les colonies anglaises des Indes Occidentales (Paris: Firmin-Didot Frères, 1842). French.

Friends House Library, London. Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature, University of London. British Library. Kongelige Bibliotek, Danmark. Biblioteca Nacional de España. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Nederland.

Letters Travel Winter British West Indies Colony Emancipation Cuba Slavery

The Quaker abolitionist Joseph John Gurney visited the British West Indies and Cuba in 1840, two years after the end of the apprenticeship system in order to report on the conditions in the islands. He concluded that progress (in moral and material terms) was being made, and that the economy of the British colonies was not adversely affected. The thirteenth letter describes his visit to Cuba, where he saw large slave ships moored in the harbour, and prison-like 'barracoons' where the newly arrived slaves were taken.