In 1785, vice-chancellor of Cambridge University, Peter Peckard, posed the following question as the topic of a Latin essay competition:
Thomas Clarkson’s response to this prompt considered the question of the ongoing human slave trade. Reading everything he could on the subject, Clarkson was challenged and appalled by what he discovered. Clarkson’s essay addressing the horrors of the slave trade won the Latin essay competition, and the English translation of his essay would be widely distributed in pamphlet form becoming a catalyst that would kick off the movement leading to the eventual abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire.
Humans are not the only ones being kept without giving consent. Peckard’s question could just as well spark intellectual debate and public controversy today as it did over two centuries ago. Clarkson’s essay was a great step in beginning to address this difficult question; however, the time has come to answer Peckard’s question in a more general sense. What should determine whether an entity is enslaved or whether an entity may be enslaved without consent? To whom else should the protections against being enslaved without consent be afforded?
In researching his essay, Clarkson would interview persons profiting from the slave trade, those opposed to the trade, as well as those who had suffered firsthand as a result of slavery. Hearing the voices from all sides of the subject is an essential part of answering Peckard’s question, and one that poses new challenges once we move beyond merely questioning enslaved humans.
The Ask the Question Campaign is a rights movement seeking to expand our circle of compassion to all those whose interests are deserving of our consideration. #AskTheQuestion is a challenge to every individual to take on Peter Peckard’s question for themselves. Is it right to enslave the unconsenting? E-mail essay responses or any questions to AskTheQuestionCampaign@gmail.com.
Anne liceat invitos in servitutem dare (Is it right to enslave the unconsenting?)
Thomas Clarkson’s response to this prompt considered the question of the ongoing human slave trade. Reading everything he could on the subject, Clarkson was challenged and appalled by what he discovered. Clarkson’s essay addressing the horrors of the slave trade won the Latin essay competition, and the English translation of his essay would be widely distributed in pamphlet form becoming a catalyst that would kick off the movement leading to the eventual abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire.
Humans are not the only ones being kept without giving consent. Peckard’s question could just as well spark intellectual debate and public controversy today as it did over two centuries ago. Clarkson’s essay was a great step in beginning to address this difficult question; however, the time has come to answer Peckard’s question in a more general sense. What should determine whether an entity is enslaved or whether an entity may be enslaved without consent? To whom else should the protections against being enslaved without consent be afforded?
In researching his essay, Clarkson would interview persons profiting from the slave trade, those opposed to the trade, as well as those who had suffered firsthand as a result of slavery. Hearing the voices from all sides of the subject is an essential part of answering Peckard’s question, and one that poses new challenges once we move beyond merely questioning enslaved humans.
The Ask the Question Campaign is a rights movement seeking to expand our circle of compassion to all those whose interests are deserving of our consideration. #AskTheQuestion is a challenge to every individual to take on Peter Peckard’s question for themselves. Is it right to enslave the unconsenting? E-mail essay responses or any questions to AskTheQuestionCampaign@gmail.com.
