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Show 94 ON THE SLAVERY AND CoMMERCE ropeans, on the other hand, happy in the quarrels which they have thus excited, fupply them with arms and ammunition for the accomplifhment of their horrid purpofe. Thus has Africa, for the fpace of two hundred years, been the fcene of the moll iniquitous and bloody wars; and thus have many thoufands of men, in the mofl: iniquitous manner, been fent into fervitude. C H A P. VIII. We !hall beg leave, before we pro~eed to the arguments of the purchafers, to add the following obfervations to the fubfl:ance of the three £receding chapters. As the two orders of men, of thofe who are privately kidnapped by individuals, and of thofe w~o are publiekly feized by virtue of the authority of their prince, compofe together, at leafl:, *nine tenths of the African ilaves, • Th~: total annual exportation from Africa, is cflimated he:c. at 1 oo,ooo men, two thirds ~f whom are exported by the Bntdh merchants alone. This e!Umatc is lcfs than that which is oF THE HuMAN SPECIEs. 95 flaves, they cannot contain, upon a moderate computation, lefs than ninety thouf:1nd men annually tranfportcd: an immenfc number, but eafily to be credited, when we re fleCt that tboufands are em ploycd for the purpofe of fl:ealing the uawary, and that thcfc diabolical praCtices are in force, fo far is ufually made, :md has been publilhcd. The :nuhor has been informed by difinterefred people, who were in molt of the Well India ilb.nds during the late war, :md who convctfed with many of the moll intelligent of the negroes, for the pur. pofc of inquiring by what methods they had originally bt!en reduced to flavery, that they did not find even two in twenty. who had been reduced to th:lt fitu:ttion, by any other mean.i than thofe mentioned above. The author, dcfirous of a farther confirm:J.tion of this circumllance, fioppcd the prefs till he had written to another friend, who had refided twenty years iu the Weft.Jndies, and whofe opinion he h:~d not yet a&ed. The following is an extratl: from the anfwer. "I do not u among many hundreds recollcfi to h:lVc fcen but one or two u flaves, of thofc imponed from Africa, who had any fears to " lhew, tlut they had been in war. They arc generally fucl1 H as are kidnapped, or fold by their tyrants, after the dellruc. " tion of a village. In fhort, I am firmly of opinion, that 11 crimes and war together do not furnifh one flave in an u hundred of the numbers introduced into the European colo" nics. Of confequence 1he trade itfelf, were it poffible to co fuppofe conviCts or prifoners of war to be juftly fentenced H to fervitude, is accountable for ninety-nine in every hun., drcd flavcs . whom it fu ppli~·s. It is an infult to the pub" JickJ to attempt to palliate the method of procuring "them." has |