Report Of The Committee Of The African Institution [For 13 Consecutive Years, 1807 To 1819]. African Institution. Books

London: William Phillips (1st Report only) / Ellerton & Henderson (2nd to 13th Reports), 1807-1819. SLAVERY & ABOLITIONISM / TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE / WEST AFRICA / BLACK ENTREPRENEURIALISM: Very rare and historically important – being an uninterrupted run of the first 13 annual reports of the African Institution, a prominent British Abolitionist society, directed by the luminaries William Wilberforce and James Stephen, and with the king’s nephew, the Duke of Gloucester as its president; backed by the ‘Who’s Who’ of the liberal elite of Britain, the society used its great financial and political power to lobby for the end of both the slave trade and slavery worldwide, and to support the development of Sierra Leone as an economically viable home for freed slaves; the reports feature a wealth of fascinating information on Black entrepreneurship in West Africa; the testimonials of individual liberated former slaves; accounts of the economic development schemes and social services programs (ex. schools) sponsored by the Institution in Sierra Leone; accounts of recent travels to Africa; as well as information on treaties, legislation, court cases and petitions concerning abolitionism, as well as intelligence from the field on the activities of slave traders and the efforts stop them; in fine period bindings with curious hints to their provenance; the Institution’s individual annal reports are great rarities on the market, while large collections, such as the present, being almost unheard of. - The present reports are summarized as follows: [VOLUME I:] First Report (1807): This inaugural report, presented July 15, 1807, features the well-meaning, but somewhat patronizing mission statement of the African Institution: "The committee expressed its view that the people of Africa were sunk in ignorance and barbarism and took for itself the task of introducing the blessings of civilisation to what they viewed as constituting a quarter of the habitable globe". Second Report (1808): This report discusses a series of prizes of 50 Guineas each, to be awarded by the Institution to the first person to import from West Africa to Britain: 1 ton of marketable cotton; 100 weight of indigo; and 10 tons of white rice. The prizes were to encourage black entrepreneurs and farmers to learn to become self-sufficient, successful planters of cash crops. Third Report (1808): This issue, presented on March 25, 1809, contains a discussion of an additional 50 Guinea prize that the Institution agreed to award to the person who brought the most land in West Africa under coffee cultivation. It also features a relation about three African youths, who under the Duke of Gloucester’s patronage, had been trained at the Duke of York’s Royal Military School from techniques developed in India. After graduation, they went to Sierra Leone, where they served as as teachers employed by the War Ministry. It was also hoped that they would help to introduce cotton cultivation to the country. Fourth Report (1810): In this report, presented on March 28, 1810, the Institution’s directors regret that British stave traders were finding ways to ply their craft by adopting Spanish and Swedish flags of convenience. There is also a review of British anti-slave trade legislation; ‘Directions for the Cultivation of the Silk Worm’ for introducing the industry to West Africa; and a traveler’s account of his trip to the Gold Coast. Fifth Report (1811): In this report, presented on March 27, 1811, the Institution’s directors lament the ongoing participation of British and American ships in the slave trade, employing Portuguese and Spanish flags of convenience. British capital was still a major driver of the slave trade, and they discussed how Henry Brougham, MP had introduced bill to Parliament to prosecute, at the Vice-Admiralty courts of Sierra Leone, those using flags of convenience to illegally transport slaves. There is also coverage of a court case against a Nevis planter