Why was Slavery not Abolished in 1798?

Abstract

The ‘problem of slavery’ was an important moral issue in the eighteenth-century Dutch enlightened press, but the increase in publications on this topic did not lead to any serious attempts to abolish the practice. This seemed to change during the Batavian Revolution, when abolition was briefly discussed in parliament. This article analyses Dutch anti-slavery debates, especially within the context of the Dutch revolutionary parliament in 1797. It shows that the humanitarian sentiments in these debates did not automatically lead to support for abolition. Only radical representatives argued for the abolishment of slavery on the grounds of ‘human rights’. On this basis, this article posits a hermeneutical distinction between anti-slavery and abolition.