James Penny's evidence regarding the carriage of slavesMany of the people who supported the continuation of the slave trade were concerned about the impact abolition may have upon their personal or family business interests. Slave ship captains Robert Norris and James Penny both became involved in the anti-abolitionist campaign in rather different ways.
'Liverpool Man': Matthew Gregson
Not all supporters of the slave trade were politicians. Local book and picture collector, Matthew Gregson (1749-1824) was also a fierce defender of the trade. Gregson, described by the Dictionary of National Biography as a ‘most charitable and hospitable man’, was a member of a local shipbuilding family. He was well-known in many local cultural ventures. Gregson played an important role in developing the public institutions of the Liverpool Blue Coat School, Liverpool Library, Royal Institution, Botanic Gardens and the Academy of Art. In Gregson’s view, the abolition of the slave trade would see the end of the naval importance of the British Empire.
The Man Who Changed Sides: Robert Norris
The position of other individuals on the slave trade was perhaps less clear cut. Former slave ship captain Robert Norris appears to have spent time as a member of the abolitionist and anti-abolitionist camps. In his early years Norris made at least five voyages as captain of a Liverpool slave ship. When the American Wars caused a quiet period in the slave trade, Norris continued to work as an advisor for his company and maintained trading interests in Carolina in America as well as creating his own tool making business in Liverpool.
Norris began his association with the abolitionists in 1787 when William Rathbone introduced him to Thomas Clarkson. The following year Clarkson, pleased with information Norris had given him asked him to travel to London to give evidence as a witness for the abolitionist case to be examined before the Privy Council. Clarkson was disappointed to hear that Norris was indeed in London, but he was giving evidence for the merchants and delegates of Liverpool. Many said that the opposition Norris faced after this incident from Wilberforce and his abolitionist colleagues led to his early death.
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The Slave Ship Captain: James Penny
Slave ship captain James Penny was an anti-abolitionist. He became a slave ship owner as an individual and he became a partner in a number of vessels. Penny was invited to give evidence to the Lords Committee of Council set up in February 1788 to investigate the slave trade. He tried to convince the Committee that the slaves on his ships were treated kindly.