Hannah More was a religious British playwright, abolitionist and philanthropist born in 1745. In reading her poem entitled Slavery, it is clear how strong her thoughts were on the disgusting trade of humans from Africa. She was a voice for the abolition of slavery which eventually came in 1807.

It is very modern to view people who are conscious of the suffering of one group of people to express a similar approach to other groups, for example the poor or women. Indeed when Simone de Beauvoir wrote of the state of women in The Second Sex, she frequently compared women’s rights to those of black people and the poor. In the case of Hannah More however that is not right.

Hannah More did not believe that the poor should be taught to read, for they should not rise up above their station. In a letter to the Bishop of Bath and Wells she wrote that her schools only taught, ”such coarse works as may fit them for servants.”

In the case of emancipation of women she argued that women were not fit for politics because she believed women, “to be unstable and capricious!” Saying these traits were “too characteristic of our sex!” She also turned down honorary membership of the Royal Society of Literature on account of being a woman.

Now whether Hannah More used this as a façade to allow her to provide at least some meagre education to those unfancied by society, may be an argument better left to those who know of her life more than I. She did have to deal with a lot of opposition from the community and the church and perhaps by becoming known as a conservative feminist, she was able to continue her work as she saw best.

What follows is a deeply emotional poem worthy of praise. I have in one place chosen not to recite a word used to name people of African origin because I cannot in good conscience utter that word out loud.

I found the poem here: Slavery by Hannah More | Poetry Foundation

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PS. The transcript has been generated automatically and does not always reflect what has been said with 100% accuracy. I hope however that it will still provide some clarity on the content.