Preaching Deliverance to the Captives: Particular Baptist Sermons on the Abolition of the Slave Trade

In 1807, the slave trade was abolished throughout the British Empire, the result of a 20-year-long campaign in which both Parliament and the public played an active role. The Particular Baptists significantly contributed to the success of this campaign, advocating for abolition in sermons, petitions and newspapers. Their biggest contribution to the debate was in sermons, five of which were preached and published between 1788 and 1792, and are reproduced, some for the first time since the 18th century, in this book. The role of religion in abolition, and Non-conformist Christians in particular, has been long understated, yet these texts are an indispensable resource for discovering the sentiments not only of Particular Baptists, but of all the abolitionists. In the preface, the wider work of Particular Baptists in opposing the slave trade, through the denominational structure, petitions and publications, is explored. In addition to the five sermons, a hymn of thanksgiving for the slave trade’s abolition, composed by John Rippon in 1807, is reproduced. A biographical sketch of each author is provided, as well as a selection of contemporary reviews of the sermons.

Sermon One: Slavery Inconsistent with the Spirit of Christianity (1788), by Robert Robinson

Sermon Two: A Sermon on the African Slave Trade (1788), by James Dore

Sermon Three: Compassion the Duty and Dignity of Man (1789), by John Beatson

Sermon Four: Commerce in the Human Species (1792), by Abraham Booth

Sermon Five: Slavery Inconsistent with True Christianity (1792), by John Liddon