SE 2

There is freedom and then there is freedom. In the late 18th century, most Africans living in Europe had freedom but they didn’t have freedom. Both the English and the French prided themselves on the freedom from slavery on their own soil, while condoning and depending on the institution in their colonies. It is hard to understand how the Africans living in these places felt about the concept of freedom especially if they were manumitted slaves. Freedom is relative and any free “negro” in Europe had to appreciate their new freedom more than their enslaved cousins yet they were far from being treated as equals.
Ouladah Equino was an English slave who was not your garden variety slave. He was educated and obviously so if he wrote a narrative. He was also fortunate enough to have a skill set that allowed him freedom from plantation slavery. As a shipboard steward, Equino had the freedom to travel and see the world. But if asked what he thought freedom was, he might reply that the freedom he wanted most was the ability to choose his own master(of a ship, not slaves) and especially chooses his own method of worship. Equino spent a lot of time discussing religion and his struggle to be a perfect Christian. I was surprised at the lack of racism involved in his quest for a good church. It seemed that every religioso that he met treated him very kindly and invited him into their homes and churches. This freedom to worship must have been very important to him.
The Africans who lived in 18th century England and France had much in common, although their experiences were not generally identical. Both countries had a liberal view of freedom within their traditional borders although slavery did still exist there. There was no massive agricultural slavery practiced in Europe but instead plantation owners and some other well-to-do would bring or buy enslaved African servants. Depending on the year (and which French court district), a slave in either place could gain their freedom if they were proactive and took their case to court. France, for a time, only allowed domestic slavery for those that wished their slave to learn a trade or for religious training. Since this was seldom the case many slaves went to court and sued for freedom. Most were successful, especially in Paris. English courts, though later than France, manumitted slaves as well. Slavery there was turned on its head by the Somerset case which put slaves in a better position to demand wages or flee from abusive masters. But freedom from bondage was not necessarily equal to “freedom”.
The relationship between Africans and Europeans in this era was obviously biased. Most Europeans only knowledge or experience of Africans was “slave race”. Generations of Europeans were born and died “knowing” that Africans were godless primitives who were culturally backward and were made for slavery. Even many of the abolitionists, who abhorred the conditions and treatment the slaves experienced, fought for their freedom, but not their equality. Shortly after either country championed freedom from slavery, there were movements to ship the free Africans away from their shores.