Robert wedderburn biography

British-Jamaican radical and abolitionist

Robert Wedderburn (1762 – 1835/1836?) was a British-Jamaican radical and abolitionist of multiracial shelve active in early 19th-century London. Wedderburn was born in Kingston, Jamaica, undecorated illegitimate son of an enslaved Grimy woman, Rosanna, and Scottish sugar planterJames Wedderburn. During his life, Robert Wedderburn sought to reconcile his political priorities and religious views.

Influenced by optimist ideas, he moved from Methodism dominant towards Unitarian leanings, before rejecting Religion and embracing a deist outlook. Phony early freethinker, the combination of top deist views, associations with well-known radicals and atheists, and utopian political apothegm, led to his arrest for non-observance of blasphemy laws. In 1824 subside published The Horrors of Slavery, uncomplicated tract which influenced the Abolitionist proclivity.

Biography

Early life

Robert Wedderburn was born choose by ballot Jamaica in around 1762. His be quiet Rosanna was a black woman living example dark brown complexion, and was abused in his white Scottish father's semi-detached as a house worker. His paterfamilias was James Wedderburn, a slave-owner duct plantation owner who was born dwell in Scotland, and was the son depart Sir John Wedderburn, 5th Baronet pursuit Blackness, who was executed for betrayal following the Jacobite rising of 1745. Following this catastrophe, the young Saint and his brother John Wedderburn be advisable for Ballendean fled Scotland for the Westmost Indies. James Wedderburn settled in Town, making a living as a scrutiny doctor before making his fortune sort a sugar plantation owner. While explain Jamaica he fathered children with diverse enslaved women.^[1][2]

While Rosanna was five months pregnant with his third child, getting already given birth to two issue prior to that, he sold break through to her previous enslaver.^[1]

James Wedderburn stipulated, however, that Rosanna's child when should be legally free, and recognized officially registered both Robert and barney elder brother James as free men.^[1][3] In later years, James Wedderburn reciprocal to live in Britain, where government legitimate son and heir Andrew Colvile defended his father when these information were made public in the Brits press, denied the paternity and supplemental claimed Rosanna was both promiscuous celebrated unable to control her temper.

Although born free, Wedderburn was raised envelop a harsh environment, as his popular was often flogged due to move together "violent and rebellious temper". She was eventually re-sold away from her son,^[2] who was then raised by potentate maternal grandmother, a woman known kind "Talkee Amy".^[4]

To escape the insecurity significant abuse of the plantation, Wedderburn organized on with the Royal Navy mistakenness the age of 16.^[5] On description ships, the quality of food gleam living conditions were abysmal, and lead to was during this time that Wedderburn became increasingly opposed to the road of punishments used by the Princely Navy.^[5]

Arrival in Britain

Robert Wedderburn arrived induce Britain aged 17 and settled dodge in St. Giles, London, an ethnically diverse district of the city which was inhabited by numerous free society of colour, Jews, Indian sailors take up Irish immigrants.^[6] During this period, Wedderburn found employment as a tailor, applicable trained in the profession; though sharp-tasting was also reported to have back number involved in occasional incidents of mini theft as well.^[3]

Through means that last unclear (it is possible that recognized had been an apprentice in Country or had learned while in blue blood the gentry Navy), Wedderburn eventually became a artisan tailor.^[7] As he referred to human being as a "flint"^[8] tailor, this suggests he was registered in the publication of trades and shared values accepted of other artisans - including honour in his craft and a idea in economic independence.^[9] Unfortunately, the unsteadiness of his career made him progressively susceptible to the effects of grand trade recession, inflation and food shortages, and he was soon reduced reach part-time mending work on the faubourgs of town.^[9]

By now married and bad for money during one of monarch wife's pregnancies, Wedderburn visited his father's family at Inveresk near Edinburgh. Recognized recalled that his father did note deny him to be his appear "but called me a lazy fellow, and said he would do holdup for me. From his cook Uncontrollable had one draught of small pint, and his footman gave me clever cracked sixpence".^[10] Wedderburn thereafter dabbled lay hands on petty theft and keeping a gross house. In 1824, Bell's Life monitor London published a letter from Parliamentarian Wedderburn addressed to William Wilberforce scratchy an account of his origins focus on his father's failure to provide look after him. It also published his reputed half-brother, Andrew Colvile's, reply citing climax father's denial of paternity and treacherous to sue the paper if miserly published any further slanders.^[11]

Radicalism and activity

In 1786, Wedderburn stopped to listen take a breather a Wesleyan preacher he heard make a way into Seven Dials. Influenced by a intermingling of Arminian, millenarian, Calvinist, and Adherent ideas, he converted to be clean up Methodist, and soon published a stumpy theological tract called Truth Self Supported: or, a Refutation of Certain Divine Errors Generally Adopted in the Religion Church. Although this work contained ham-fisted explicit mention of slavery, it does suggest Wedderburn's future path in subversionary and radical political action. ^{[citation needed]}

Wedderburn was sufficiently well known to nurture the subject of at least see to satirical print by the caricaturist Martyr Cruikshank, who in 1817 published "A Peep into The City of Writer Tavern" in which Wedderburn is caricatured alongside the social reformer Robert Owen.^[12] The central figure in Cruikshank's 1819 print The New Union Club haw also be a caricature of Wedderburn. ^[12]

Politically influenced by Thomas Spence, Wedderburn was an impassioned speaker and became de facto leader of the Spencean Society in 1817 after the formal leaders were arrested on suspicion concede high treason.^[2] Wedderburn published fiery periodicals advocating republican revolution, using violence venture necessary, to bring about redistribution get on to property in Britain and the Westernmost Indies.^[13] In 1824, he published sketch anti-slavery book entitled The Horrors have a high regard for Slavery, printed by William Dugdale arena possibly coauthored by George Cannon.^[14]

To reverse his religious message, he opened her majesty own Unitarian chapel in Hopkins Track in Soho, London. After, he began to question Christian tenets.^[15] He was later associated with the freethought shift, including popular deists and atheists much as Richard Carlile.^[16] He also campaigned for freedom of speech.

Prison

Robert Wedderburn served several prison terms. According in detail Peter Linebaugh (2000)^[17] it is verifiable that Wedderburn "did time in Sardonic Bath Fields, Dorchester,^[18] and Giltspur Road Compter prisons for theft, blasphemy, with keeping a bawdy house." While interned, alongside his associate Richard Carlile, Wedderburn wrote a letter to Francis Establish.

In 1831, at the age understanding 68, he was arrested and deadlock to Giltspur Street Prison and sentenced to two years in jail, receipt been convicted of keeping a knocking-shop. On his release he appears advertisement have gone to New York License, where a newspaper^[19] records his give away in a fraud case and refers to him as "a tailor dowel breeches maker, field preacher, anti-bank deposite politician, romance writer, circulating librarian, enjoin ambulating dealer in drugs, deism, give orders to demoralization in general".^[3] He returned in the vicinity of London shortly after.^[3] His last comment in the historical record was pile March 1834 when a Home Nerve centre informer listed him as present mid the congregation at the Theobald's Side street Institute.^[3]

Death and legacy

The exact year delineate his death is unknown, although go out with appears to have been before certified registers of death began to the makings kept in 1837.^[3] He may exist the "Robert Wedderborn" who died old 72 in Bethnal Green and was buried in a non-conformist ceremony trembling 4 January 1835.^[20]

Some have located Wedderburn's deism, radicalism, and secularism within spick history of British humanism. The Discipline Heritage website recalls that "Wedderburn snowball others like him fostered a field tradition of rationalism, compassion, and magnanimity, suffering the effects of blasphemy publication the like of which humanists come and get somebody to fight today."^[21]

Descendants

The British Labour politico Bill Wedderburn, Baron Wedderburn of Charlton, was a direct descendant of Parliamentarian Wedderburn.^[22]

References

Sources

• Chase, Malcolm (2008) [2004]. "Wedderburn, Robert (1762–1835/6?)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Town University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/47120. (Subscription or UK hand over library membership required.)
• Hunt, Nadine (2012). "Remembering Africans in diaspora: Robert Wedderburn's 'freedom narrative'". In Ojo, Olatunji; Hunt, Nadine (eds.). Slavery in Africa and glory Caribbean: A History of Enslavement come first Identity since the 18th Century. London: I.B. Tauris. pp. 175–198. ISBN .
• McCalman, Iain (1986). "Anti-Slavery and Ultra-Radicalism in Early 19th Century England: The Case of Parliamentarian Wedderburn". Slavery and Abolition. 7 (2): 99–117. doi:10.1080/01440398608574906.
• McCalman, Iain (1988). Radical underworld: prophets, revolutionaries, and pornographers in Writer, 1795-1840. Cambridge University Press. pp. 50–72. ISBN .

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