April 18, 2021 • 11 mins
On this day in 1688, four Quakers in Germantown, Pennsylvania, authored a petition against slavery. / On this day in 1980, the colony of Southern Rhodesia gained independence from Britain and became Zimbabwe.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, y'all were rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. Hi,
I'm Eves and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that uncovers a little bit more about history
every day. The day was April eighteen sixty eight. Several
(00:23):
Quakers in what was then Germantown, Pennsylvania authored a petition
against slavery. Early on, Quakers were proponents of slavery and
complicit in the slave trade, but by the late sixteen hundreds,
some Quaker colonists were calling the institution of slavery into question.
Quakers weren't prohibited from owning slaves until seventeen seventy six.
(00:46):
In less than two decades after that, they petitioned the U. S.
Congress for the abolition of slavery. But the sixteen eight
petition marked the first time a religious body in the
English colonies protested the brutal system. Francis Daniel Pastorius, who
was a German born lawyer and founder of Germantown, as
well as three other Quakers in Germantown, drafted the petition
(01:09):
on behalf of the Germantown meeting of the Religious Society
of Friends. In the petition, the authors argued that the
oppression of black people was just as bad as that
of Quakers and Mennonites in Europe, that slavery was a
turn off for potential European immigrants, and that slave rebellions
posed a huge threat to the non violent Quakers. In
(01:30):
the late sixteen hundreds, in the colonies, many Quakers owned slaves,
and the Quaker slave trade was growing. Many English Quakers
saw slavery as necessary to drive economic prosperity. Some Quakers
had already found fault with the practice of slavery well
before the Germantown petition, like the founder of Quakerism, George Fox,
(01:53):
He said that Quakers should treat enslaved people the way
they would want to be treated, and believed that the
presence of non Stian enslaved people could threaten the integrity
of the Quaker family. Some Quakers against slavery thought that
the practice was in opposition to Quaker values of non violence, equality,
hard work, and humility, and in sixteen eighty three, English
(02:16):
Quaker Benjamin Furley was inspired by his fear of flavor
bolts to write a letter to William Penn, a Quaker
and founder of the Colony of Pennsylvania. Furley requested an
end to the importation of enslaved people in Pennsylvania and
the eventual freeing of enslaved people that came from other colonies.
A lot of the English Quakers who objected to slavery
(02:38):
did so because they believed slaves were unenlightened and dangerous,
and many Quakers were fearful for their safety. The German
Town petition, on the other hand, made the argument against
slavery one about human rights and practical concerns. German and
Dutch Quakers weren't as used to slavery and black people,
while the English had long been relied on slavery. That
(03:02):
meant that slavery was more of an issue for German
Town Quakers than English Quakers, because people in Germany and
Holland weren't particularly into moving to a colony where slavery
was the norm. Though the German Towners were Quakers, they
were still outsiders in the Quaker community and had a
cultural disconnect with the English Quakers. So several German Town
(03:24):
Quakers decided to raise the issue of slavery through a petition.
They drafted, the Germantown Friends Protest against Slavery on April
eighteen sixty eight. They said in the petition, now though
they are black, we cannot conceive there is more liberty
to have them slaves as it is to have other
white ones. There is a saying that we shall do
(03:47):
to all men like as we will be done ourselves,
making no difference of what generation, dissent or color they are.
And those who still are rob men, and those who
buy or purchased them, are they not all like? Here's
liberty of conscience, which is right and reasonable. Here ought
to be likewise liberty of ye body, except of evil doers,
(04:09):
which is another case. But to bring men hither, or
to rob and sell them against their will, we stand against.
The petition was first presented at a monthly meeting at Abington,
where it was considered too weighty an issue to deal with.
From there it was cased to the Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting
and the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and rejected in both places.
(04:32):
Since the petition was not published, it did not have
any immediate effect on slavery and society In Pennsylvania. Slavery continued,
and Quakers continued to profit off of enslaved labor, even
as the authors kept protesting the institution, and other Quakers
wrote petitions, but the document resurfaced in eighteen forty four
(04:53):
when a Quaker publication called The Friend announced its rediscovery.
At that point, the abolition this movement was active and
the document gained renewed interest, but the petition was once
again misplaced and rediscovered in March two thousand five at
the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia. Now the document
(05:14):
whole significance as a testament to the anomalous perspective on
slavery German Town Quakers brought to the Colony of Pennsylvania
and abolition overall. I'm Eves, Jeff Coo and hopefully you
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
And if you like to follow us on social media,
(05:34):
you can find us at T d i h C
Podcast on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Thanks for showing up.
We'll meet here again tomorrow. Hello everyone, I'm Eves, and
(05:59):
welcome to this Sad Street Class, a show that opens
the book of history and rips out of page. The
day was April eighteenth, nineteen eighty. Zimbabwe was established when
(06:19):
the Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia gained independence from Britain.
In the eighteen hundreds, British and Afrikaan or hunters, traders,
prospectors and missionaries from the south began moving north into
the land that composes modern day Zimbabwe. By the eighteen eighties,
Cecil Roads had formed the British South Africa Company. Some
(06:42):
of its goals were to encourage immigration, colonization, trade and commerce.
It was expected to make treaties, promulgate laws, and maintain
a police force, among other responsibilities. Basically, it aimed to
bring British rule into Central Africa without creating new responsibilities
were expenses for the British government. The company was given
(07:04):
prospecting and mining rights by the Undabille king Lobanoula. That
meant it had mineral rights in Matabili Land and Undabilee
dominated Mashona Land. So in eighteen ninety Roads sent in
a party of colonists from Bechuana Land, which was a
protectorate in Southern Africa. They began prospecting for gold, and
by eighteen ninety one Mashona Land and Matabille Land were
(07:27):
declared British protectorates. Over the next several years, Europeans began
to colonize the region. War broke out between the Dabilee
Kingdom and the British South Africa Company in eighteen ninety
three and lasted until eighteen ninety four. Another conflict between
the two sides took place from eighteen ninety six to
eighteen ninety seven. The Shona people as well joined in
(07:51):
on this uprising against the British South Africa Company. But
after this conflict, the entire region up to the Zombizi
River came under the roll of the company. The area
became known as Southern Rhodesia. Colonists in the area demanded
representation in the Legislative Assembly, which by nineteen oh three
(08:12):
was made up of seven officials from the British South
Africa Company and seven electric colonists. When the company's twenty
five year charter was about to expire in nineteen fourteen,
the colonists convinced the British government to extend the charter
for ten years. In ninety three, Southern Rhodesia became a
(08:32):
self governing Crown colony. Three decades later, the UK established
the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It was made up
of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The federation had
its own assembly and prime minister. Many Africans in Nyasaland
and Northern Rhodesia opposed the federation, as Southern Rhodesia was
(08:56):
overwhelmingly European and racially segregated, though some groups supported the federation.
The late nineteen fifties saw the growth of movements for
national liberation as people in Nyassa Land, Northern Rhodesia, and
Southern Rhodesia began demanding independence from British rule. Pressure to
break up the Federation escalated. The federation was formally dissolved
(09:19):
at the end of nineteen sixty three. Nyasa Land achieved
full independence in July of nineteen sixty four and became
the Republic of Malawi. Northern Rhodesia became independent the same
year and was renamed Zambia, but in Southern Rhodesia, Ian
Smith formed a new party called the Rhodesian Front, which
promoted white supremacist policies and advocated for an independent Rhodesia
(09:43):
governed by the white minority. By April of nineteen sixty four,
Smith was a Prime Minister of Rhodesia, which was again
acting as a self governing colony. After failing to get
the British government to grant Rhodesia independence under guarante he'd
white minority rule, Smith's government decided to do so itself
(10:04):
and published the Unilateral Declaration of Independence or u d I.
After years of conflict and negotiation between Britain, the White
Rhodesian government, and nationalist movement leaders, Smith was pressured into concessions.
The u d I was overturned and Britain briefly retook
control of Southern Rhodesia as a colony in nineteen seventy nine,
(10:26):
but elections were held in February of nineteen eighty and
the country gained international recognition as the independent Zimbabwe on
April eighteenth, nineteen eighty. Robert Mugabe became the country's Prime minister.
In the following years, Zimbabwe saw droughts, massacres, economic crisis,
as well as social movements for change. I'm eve deafcode
(10:51):
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
than you did yesterday. And if you are so compelled,
you can send us a note on social media. We're
at t d I H C. Podcast on Facebook, Instagram,
and Twitter, and if you want to, you can send
us a note via email at this day at i
heart media dot com. I hope you all are doing well.
(11:14):
Thanks again for listening to the show, and we'll see
you tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
Hey, y'all were rerunning two episodes today. Enjoy the show. Hi,
I'm Eves and Welcome to This Day in History Class,
a show that uncovers a little bit more about history
every day. The day was April eighteen sixty eight. Several
(00:23):
Quakers in what was then Germantown, Pennsylvania authored a petition
against slavery. Early on, Quakers were proponents of slavery and
complicit in the slave trade, but by the late sixteen hundreds,
some Quaker colonists were calling the institution of slavery into question.
Quakers weren't prohibited from owning slaves until seventeen seventy six.
(00:46):
In less than two decades after that, they petitioned the U. S.
Congress for the abolition of slavery. But the sixteen eight
petition marked the first time a religious body in the
English colonies protested the brutal system. Francis Daniel Pastorius, who
was a German born lawyer and founder of Germantown, as
well as three other Quakers in Germantown, drafted the petition
(01:09):
on behalf of the Germantown meeting of the Religious Society
of Friends. In the petition, the authors argued that the
oppression of black people was just as bad as that
of Quakers and Mennonites in Europe, that slavery was a
turn off for potential European immigrants, and that slave rebellions
posed a huge threat to the non violent Quakers. In
(01:30):
the late sixteen hundreds, in the colonies, many Quakers owned slaves,
and the Quaker slave trade was growing. Many English Quakers
saw slavery as necessary to drive economic prosperity. Some Quakers
had already found fault with the practice of slavery well
before the Germantown petition, like the founder of Quakerism, George Fox,
(01:53):
He said that Quakers should treat enslaved people the way
they would want to be treated, and believed that the
presence of non Stian enslaved people could threaten the integrity
of the Quaker family. Some Quakers against slavery thought that
the practice was in opposition to Quaker values of non violence, equality,
hard work, and humility, and in sixteen eighty three, English
(02:16):
Quaker Benjamin Furley was inspired by his fear of flavor
bolts to write a letter to William Penn, a Quaker
and founder of the Colony of Pennsylvania. Furley requested an
end to the importation of enslaved people in Pennsylvania and
the eventual freeing of enslaved people that came from other colonies.
A lot of the English Quakers who objected to slavery
(02:38):
did so because they believed slaves were unenlightened and dangerous,
and many Quakers were fearful for their safety. The German
Town petition, on the other hand, made the argument against
slavery one about human rights and practical concerns. German and
Dutch Quakers weren't as used to slavery and black people,
while the English had long been relied on slavery. That
(03:02):
meant that slavery was more of an issue for German
Town Quakers than English Quakers, because people in Germany and
Holland weren't particularly into moving to a colony where slavery
was the norm. Though the German Towners were Quakers, they
were still outsiders in the Quaker community and had a
cultural disconnect with the English Quakers. So several German Town
(03:24):
Quakers decided to raise the issue of slavery through a petition.
They drafted, the Germantown Friends Protest against Slavery on April
eighteen sixty eight. They said in the petition, now though
they are black, we cannot conceive there is more liberty
to have them slaves as it is to have other
white ones. There is a saying that we shall do
(03:47):
to all men like as we will be done ourselves,
making no difference of what generation, dissent or color they are.
And those who still are rob men, and those who
buy or purchased them, are they not all like? Here's
liberty of conscience, which is right and reasonable. Here ought
to be likewise liberty of ye body, except of evil doers,
(04:09):
which is another case. But to bring men hither, or
to rob and sell them against their will, we stand against.
The petition was first presented at a monthly meeting at Abington,
where it was considered too weighty an issue to deal with.
From there it was cased to the Philadelphia Quarterly Meeting
and the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, and rejected in both places.
(04:32):
Since the petition was not published, it did not have
any immediate effect on slavery and society In Pennsylvania. Slavery continued,
and Quakers continued to profit off of enslaved labor, even
as the authors kept protesting the institution, and other Quakers
wrote petitions, but the document resurfaced in eighteen forty four
(04:53):
when a Quaker publication called The Friend announced its rediscovery.
At that point, the abolition this movement was active and
the document gained renewed interest, but the petition was once
again misplaced and rediscovered in March two thousand five at
the Arch Street Meeting House in Philadelphia. Now the document
(05:14):
whole significance as a testament to the anomalous perspective on
slavery German Town Quakers brought to the Colony of Pennsylvania
and abolition overall. I'm Eves, Jeff Coo and hopefully you
know a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
And if you like to follow us on social media,
(05:34):
you can find us at T d i h C
Podcast on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Thanks for showing up.
We'll meet here again tomorrow. Hello everyone, I'm Eves, and
(05:59):
welcome to this Sad Street Class, a show that opens
the book of history and rips out of page. The
day was April eighteenth, nineteen eighty. Zimbabwe was established when
(06:19):
the Crown Colony of Southern Rhodesia gained independence from Britain.
In the eighteen hundreds, British and Afrikaan or hunters, traders,
prospectors and missionaries from the south began moving north into
the land that composes modern day Zimbabwe. By the eighteen eighties,
Cecil Roads had formed the British South Africa Company. Some
(06:42):
of its goals were to encourage immigration, colonization, trade and commerce.
It was expected to make treaties, promulgate laws, and maintain
a police force, among other responsibilities. Basically, it aimed to
bring British rule into Central Africa without creating new responsibilities
were expenses for the British government. The company was given
(07:04):
prospecting and mining rights by the Undabille king Lobanoula. That
meant it had mineral rights in Matabili Land and Undabilee
dominated Mashona Land. So in eighteen ninety Roads sent in
a party of colonists from Bechuana Land, which was a
protectorate in Southern Africa. They began prospecting for gold, and
by eighteen ninety one Mashona Land and Matabille Land were
(07:27):
declared British protectorates. Over the next several years, Europeans began
to colonize the region. War broke out between the Dabilee
Kingdom and the British South Africa Company in eighteen ninety
three and lasted until eighteen ninety four. Another conflict between
the two sides took place from eighteen ninety six to
eighteen ninety seven. The Shona people as well joined in
(07:51):
on this uprising against the British South Africa Company. But
after this conflict, the entire region up to the Zombizi
River came under the roll of the company. The area
became known as Southern Rhodesia. Colonists in the area demanded
representation in the Legislative Assembly, which by nineteen oh three
(08:12):
was made up of seven officials from the British South
Africa Company and seven electric colonists. When the company's twenty
five year charter was about to expire in nineteen fourteen,
the colonists convinced the British government to extend the charter
for ten years. In ninety three, Southern Rhodesia became a
(08:32):
self governing Crown colony. Three decades later, the UK established
the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. It was made up
of Southern Rhodesia, Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The federation had
its own assembly and prime minister. Many Africans in Nyasaland
and Northern Rhodesia opposed the federation, as Southern Rhodesia was
(08:56):
overwhelmingly European and racially segregated, though some groups supported the federation.
The late nineteen fifties saw the growth of movements for
national liberation as people in Nyassa Land, Northern Rhodesia, and
Southern Rhodesia began demanding independence from British rule. Pressure to
break up the Federation escalated. The federation was formally dissolved
(09:19):
at the end of nineteen sixty three. Nyasa Land achieved
full independence in July of nineteen sixty four and became
the Republic of Malawi. Northern Rhodesia became independent the same
year and was renamed Zambia, but in Southern Rhodesia, Ian
Smith formed a new party called the Rhodesian Front, which
promoted white supremacist policies and advocated for an independent Rhodesia
(09:43):
governed by the white minority. By April of nineteen sixty four,
Smith was a Prime Minister of Rhodesia, which was again
acting as a self governing colony. After failing to get
the British government to grant Rhodesia independence under guarante he'd
white minority rule, Smith's government decided to do so itself
(10:04):
and published the Unilateral Declaration of Independence or u d I.
After years of conflict and negotiation between Britain, the White
Rhodesian government, and nationalist movement leaders, Smith was pressured into concessions.
The u d I was overturned and Britain briefly retook
control of Southern Rhodesia as a colony in nineteen seventy nine,
(10:26):
but elections were held in February of nineteen eighty and
the country gained international recognition as the independent Zimbabwe on
April eighteenth, nineteen eighty. Robert Mugabe became the country's Prime minister.
In the following years, Zimbabwe saw droughts, massacres, economic crisis,
as well as social movements for change. I'm eve deafcode
(10:51):
and hopefully you know a little more about history today
than you did yesterday. And if you are so compelled,
you can send us a note on social media. We're
at t d I H C. Podcast on Facebook, Instagram,
and Twitter, and if you want to, you can send
us a note via email at this day at i
heart media dot com. I hope you all are doing well.
(11:14):
Thanks again for listening to the show, and we'll see
you tomorrow. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit
the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen
to your favorite shows.
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