A ‘Negro Hercules’: Frederick Douglass’ celebrity in Britain

Abstract

Black stardom is a burgeoning field, and the fame of formerly enslaved African Americans in Britain during the mid nineteenth century offers an intriguing case study. In 1846, one British newspaper described the ex-slave turned abolitionist Frederick Douglass as a ‘Negro Hercules’. During his British sojourn, Douglass travelled thousands of miles from Exeter to Edinburgh and contemporary newspapers waxed lyrical about his commanding stage presence and ‘eloquent’ lectures. Douglass created a sensation in Britain, and his celebrity rested on his status as a formerly enslaved individual, his powerful oratory and strong, commanding physical presence, as well as his talent at influencing and exploiting contemporary debates to help the anti-slavery cause. He gave renewed vigour to tense debates over non-fellowship with slave-holding American churches and controversies such as the Evangelical Alliance had international consequences, vividly exposing the influence of American slavery on British society. I will discuss the controversies, complications and consequences of Douglass’ celebrity, which provided a stepping-stone towards fame and success in America.

KEYWORDS:

• Frederick Douglass
• transatlantic
• slavery
• abolitionism
• celebrity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1. A brief note concerning my methodology: over the last two years I have assembled more than 2000 British newspaper articles from London and provincial towns dated between 1840 and 1920. I have compiled these articles in a database which cross-references formerly enslaved individuals, the locations in which they lectured and the content of those lectures. I have also collected descriptions of individuals in particular, advertisements for lectures, letters in the correspondent pages and headlines concerning formerly enslaved men and women in Britain to garner a better understanding of how African Americans were seen by the British press and how these individuals fought racial stereotypes often promulgated by these very newspapers.

2. I have found upwards of 150 articles relating to Douglass and the Cambria incident. Alasdair Pettinger has used some British newspapers to understand what happened on the Cambria but my extensive research through London and regional newspapers has led to a new perspective on Douglass’ impact on British society.

3. Numerous publications printed articles about Douglass in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War: The Caledonian Mercury, 24 February 1866; The Glasgow Daily Herald, 28 February 1866; Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, 16 March 1866; The Manchester Weekly Times, 17 March 1866; Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette, 22 March 1866; The Birmingham Daily Post, 5 April 1866; The Leeds Times, 2 June 1866; The Birmingham Daily Post, 4 June 1866; The Bradford Observer, 7 June 1866; The Western Times (Exeter), 14 September 1866; The Hampshire Chronicle, 15 September 1866; and The Lancaster Gazette, 15 September 1866. As can be seen from this short but wide-ranging selection, Douglass was discussed in a variety of places across Britain.

4. There are some obituaries to William W. Brown (Leeds Times, 6 December 1884, Belfast Newsletter, 8 December 1884) and Josiah Henson, but I have not yet found any for the Crafts. The Crafts were famous in the 1850s because of their unique escape attempt: Ellen Craft’s near-white skin allowed her to pose as a slaveholder with her husband William as her manservant. Ellen’s ‘whiteness’ was a great draw for British audiences, as the notion that a near-white woman had been enslaved was shocking and illustrated the barbarity of American slavery.

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Notes on contributors

Hannah-Rose Murray

Hannah-Rose Murray is a second-year PhD student in the Department of American and Canadian Studies at the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK. Her thesis analyses how formerly enslaved African Americans influenced transatlantic reform networks and resisted British racism via the medium of performance. Hannah-Rose has a BA in history from University College London, and a Masters in public history, with distinction, from Royal Holloway, University of London. She has recently presented papers focusing on the transatlantic journeys of formerly enslaved African Americans in the nineteenth century, and has created the only publicly available digital resource dedicated to Frederick Douglass’ lectures in Britain, Https://sites.google.com/site/frederickdouglassinbritain/. This will shortly be expanded to include other African Americans.