James Somerset

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James Somerset (c. 1741 – after 1772) was an African man and the plaintiff in a pivotal court case that was widely reported as outlawing slavery in Britain.

Somerset was born in West Africa around 1741.[1] He was captured when he was about 8 years old, sold to European slave traders, and transported to the Colony of Virginia where Scottish merchant Charles Stewart bought the child.[1] In 1764, Somerset was taken to Boston, where Stewart had been appointed Receiver General of Customs.[1]

In November 1769, Stewart moved to England, taking Somerset along to serve him in his residence in London.[2] In London, Somerset was baptised on 10 February 1771 at the Church of St Andrew, Holborn, with Thomas Walkin, Elizabeth Cade and John Marlow acting as his godparents.[3] Perhaps because baptism was often associated with manumission, Somerset refused to continue serving Stewart and left him.[3] Somerset evidently lived in freedom for several months, but in November 1771 he was kidnapped and forced aboard the Ann and Mary, captained by John Knowles, to be transported to Jamaica and sold.[2]

His godparents, abolitionists, filed a Habeas corpus case with the courts and enlisted Granville Sharp to aid Somerset.[2] The case, Somerset v Stewart, saw powerful interests arguing on both sides, as it challenged the legal basis of slavery in Great Britain. On 22 June 1772, the judge, Lord Mansfield found in favour of Somerset.[2] Although Mansfield had meant for the ruling to be narrowly construed, it was popularly taken to outlaw slavery in Great Britain.[2] Somerset himself appears to have adopted the broader interpretation and wrote to at least one enslaved person encouraging them to desert their master.[3]

Nothing is known of Somerset after 1772.

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References[]

  1. ^ a b c Rabin, Dana (Autumn 2011). "'In a Country of Liberty?': Slavery, Villeinage and the Making of Whiteness in the Somerset Case (1772)". History Workshop Journal. Oxford University Press. 72 (72): 5–29. doi:10.1093/hwj/dbq050. JSTOR 41306834.
  2. ^ a b c d e Kaufman, Miranda (2008). "Somerset Case". Encyclopaedia of Blacks in European History and Culture. Vol. 2. pp. 504–505. ISBN 9780313344497.
  3. ^ a b c Ingram, Anders. "Thursday 10th 1771". Layers of London. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 24 October 2021.

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