Anti-slavery medallion by Wedgwood, Stoke-on-Trent, c.1790-1799
Over 200,000 medallions like this were made to campaign against the slave trade in the 1700s. The medallion shows a kneeling African in chains. He is asking, âAm I not a man and a brotherâ?
Europeans who supported the slave trade treated Africans as goods to be bought and sold. âAm I not a man and a brother?â reminded British people that Africans should be treated as human beings. The logo was an early and very successful brand for a political campaign.
Slavery abolitionists used the image of a kneeling slave as their emblem in the late 1700s and early 1800s. It is based on an anti-slavery design created at Josiah Wedgwoodâs pottery factory in 1787. William Hackwood, a worker at the factory, modelled the design.
The kneeling slave image was first used on medallions like this one. The design also appeared on ceramics, hairpins and jewellery. Fob signets with the kneeling slave design were used to seal letters in wax. Clay pipes and tobacco boxes were made to remind people that the tobacco they smoked was grown by slaves. The public showed their support for the campaign to abolish the slave trade by buying these items.
This slave design has been criticised because it shows Africans as passive people pleading for their freedom. In reality, many Africans fought against their own enslavement.
The design is more revealing about how white European anti-slavery campaigners saw themselves. However, the logo was extremely successful and provoked sympathy from those it was aimed at; the British public and Parliament. It became a very important brand for the anti-slavery campaign.
People across the country also supported the campaign by signing anti-slavery petitions. These were handed to Parliament. 100 petitions were produced in 1788, increasing to 519 in 1792. Some contained over 20 000 signatures. The British slave trade was abolished in 1807.
