Category Archives: British Government
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 5 August 1789
05/08/1789
By August 1789, Taylor expressed relief that the question of abolishing the slave trade had been stalled by a parliamentary enquiry. He conceded to Arcedeckne that some sorts of regulations to the trade might be acceptable but also began to further stake out his argument that ending the slave trade would lead to the ruin […]
Also posted in Abolitionism, Defence of slavery, Kingston, Slave trade abolition, Slave trading, The Letters, Trade Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 5 August 1789
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 5 July 1789
05/07/1789
By July 1789, the House of Commons had launched an inquiry to the slave trade. Wilberforce made his first speech on the subject in May of that year, and it was clear that he had the support of his friend, Prime Minister William Pitt. Taylor was incensed by these turns of events in England and […]
Also posted in Abolitionism, Defence of slavery, Enslaved people, Kingston, Slave trade abolition, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Lord Sheffield, Simon Taylor, William Pitt Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 5 July 1789
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 3 June 1787
03/06/1788
Taylor continued to rail against British trade policy throughout the 1780s. He criticised the 1786 Anglo-French commercial treaty, which liberalised aspects of trade between the two nations, and continued to complain about the difficulty of obtaining plantation supplies and about other perceived shortcomings of the post 1783 Atlantic commercial regime. […] I sincerely hope the […]
Also posted in Kingston, North America/USA, Rum, The Letters, Trade Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 3 June 1787
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 19 April 1788
19/04/1788
In common with other planters in Jamaica (and across the West Indies) Taylor was taken aback by the popularity and success of the incipient abolition movement in Britain. He contemplated its effects in Jamaica and strongly asserted that he thought an end to the slave trade would result in the economic ruin of the colonies […]
Also posted in Abolitionism, Defence of slavery, Kingston, Slave trade, Slave trade abolition, The Letters, Trade Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Charles Fox, Duke of Chandos, Lord Onslow, Lord Romney, Simon Taylor, William Pitt Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 19 April 1788
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 May 1787
01/05/1787
Taylor’s discussion of breadfruit relates to the infamous 1787 expedition of the HMS Bounty, commanded by Captain William Bligh, to collect plants in Tahiti and introduce them to the West Indies, where it was anticipated that they would help provided food for the enslaved people on sugar estates and other properties. Taylor’s discussion on this […]
Also posted in Disease/health, Enslaved people, Food/provisions, Hurricanes, Navy, Sugar, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor, William Bligh, William Pitt Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 May 1787