s Anti-slavery mug, early 1800s - Hull Museums Collections

Anti-slavery mug, early 1800s

This mug was made to support the anti-slavery movement in the early 1800s. The words ‘Ye are all the children of one Father’ are a strong Christian message of opposition to slavery.

The message is that everyone, whatever their skin colour, was created by God. Many felt this made it wrong for black people to work as slaves for white people.

The picture of a black and a white child hugging one another reinforces the message of equality.

The anti-slavery campaign had a strong Christian dimension. The Quakers were the first religious group to speak out against slavery. They banned their members from owning slaves. They first petitioned the British Parliament against the slave trade in 1783.

The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was set up in 1787. Most members of the Society were Quakers. Its membership included other influential non-conformist Christians, like William Wilberforce, MP for Yorkshire. The Society promoted the campaign against the slave trade in Parliament. It also gathered support from local groups across Britain.

Anti-slavery ceramics were made in the early 1800s to support the growing campaign to abolish slavery. They were often aimed at women and produced to appeal to their ‘maternal’ instincts. Ceramics printed with pictures of enslaved women and their babies were common.

The words ‘A Trifle for Thomas’ on this mug show that it was bought as a gift. The picture and the inscription ‘Ye are all the children of one Father’ suggest it was bought for a child. The cherub-like appearance of the children shown on the mug reinforces its Christian associations.