(GUYANA) The Missionary Smith Substance of the Debate in the

Sale 2444 - Lot 330

Price Realized: $ 281

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Estimate: $ 400 - $ 600

(GUYANA.) The Missionary Smith: Substance of the Debate in the House of Commons . . . Respecting the Trial and Condemnation to Death by a Court Martial of the Rev. John Smith, Late Missionary in the Colony of Demerara. liv, [2], 255 pages. 8vo, modern cloth; minimal wear; uncut. London, 1824

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first edition. John Smith (1790-1824) was an Anglican missionary who came to Demerara in 1817 to preach to enslaved people. He became an outspoken advocate for the slaves. Among his congregants were the leaders of the 1823 Demerara slave rebellion, in which hundreds were killed. Accused of inciting the revolt and failing to alert the authorities as it developed, he was sentenced to death, but died in prison in February 1824 before the sentence could be carried out. The rebellion and his death became important inspirations for the growing abolitionist movement in Great Britain. The present volume of parliamentary proceedings was published by the London Missionary Society. It includes the text of 13 speeches, one of them by the great abolitionist William Wilberforce. The lengthy preface concludes with a wish that "every part of this transaction should stand exposed to the public in all its revolting deformity." Ragatz, page 342; Sabin 82906. No other copies known at auction since a Swann sale, 5 October 1978, lot 328.