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ELIZABETH HEYRICK

(1789-1831) was a Quaker, abolitionist, and philanthropist. A pamphleteer, she famously wrote Immediate, not gradual abolition, or, An inquiry into the shortest, safest, and most effectual means of getting rid of West Indian Slavery, published in 1824. With the help of friends, she campaigned for a sugar boycott in Leicester. “She visited the city’s grocers to urge them not to stock slave-grown goods. Her message was clear. She described the West India planters as being like thieves and those who bought their produce, like receivers of stolen goods” (The Abolition Project).

 

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Continuity and Change

 

Enslavement officially ended in the British Empire 1 August 1834. Over 180 years later, enslavement still exists in the world. Was the Abolition movement, of which Mary Prince was a participant, a harbinger of a world-embracing anti-slavery movement that continues today?

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Explore foodispower.org (paying particular attention to their sections on “Human Labour and Slavery” and “Our Food Choices”) and nochildforsale.org. You might also look at "'When People Eat Chocolate, They Are Eating My Flesh': Slavery and the Dark Side of Chocolate," which is a post appearing on ActiveHistory.ca. Another site of interest is freetheslaves.net. Are organizations such as World Vision and Free the Slaves continuing the work of earlier abolitionists?

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For information about Elizabeth Heyrick, visit Quakers in the World.

Bangladeshi Garment Worker, photograph courtesy of World Vision.

Chromium Mining in Albania, photograph courtesy of World Vision.

Coffee Worker in Guatemala, photograph courtesy of World Vision.

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