<論説>イギリス領西インド植民地における「奴隷制改善」と奴隷の「結婚」問題 (特集 : 家族)

Abstract

一七八○年代終わりから一八三三年にかけて、イギリスでは反奴隷制運動が盛衰を繰り返しながら続いた。この間、議論のほとんどは、「奴隷制改善」の方策に費やされ、反奴隷制を主張する人も奴隷所有者たちも、「人道的な」奴隷制の実現を目指した。イギリス領西インド植民地社会の人口を維持し、西インド植民地社会の安定をはかることを目的として、奴隷の女性たちへの物質的な支援、キリスト教布教、キリスト教式結婚などが推進された。 キリスト教的な「家族」が普遍的モデルとして西インド社会にも提示され、イギリス領西インド植民地の奴隷には一般的でなかったキリスト教やキリスト教式結婚の普及が図られた。結局「人道的な奴隷制」の試みは奴隷制廃止により破綻した。この、奴隷制改善運動は、イギリス的な制度や規範とは別の世界として存在したイギリス領西インド植民地社会とイギリス本国とをひとつの規範に統合するための試行錯誤であった。

The period between late 1780s to early 1830s was the age of the antislavery movement in England. Arguments on slavery chiefly concerned the amelioration of slavery or how the slave population could be maintained, and not the emancipation of slaves. Not only abolitionist leaders but West Indian planters also discussed how to reform and make slavery humane in order to maintain the slave population in the West Indian colonies without continuing the slave trade. It was not necessarily incompatible to be humane and to keep people in slavery at that time. In order to encourage female slaves to give birth, they were rewarded with material benefits such as clothes if they had children. Non-Anglican Christian missionary societies began proselytizing, and Christian marriage, which had not been recognized for slaves, became legal after the late 1820s. This series of the ameliorative reforms was a part of the evangelical social reforms that took place simultaneously within Britain and its colonial territories. Low birth rates in the British West Indies were considered a result of sexual licentiousness and most arguments encouraging the increase of the birth rate were aimed at female slaves and did Rot treat the ideal family life. The reform in the British West Indian Colonies, however, failed to increase the slave population as much as expected. The emancipation of slaves in the British West Indies brought an end to the effort to pursue humane slavery, and the system of slavery came to be seen as incompatible with being humane. Britain and its colonial West Indies were separate societies until late eighteenth century. Lives including family lifestyles in the British West Indian societies differed from that of British society. This differed greatly from the situation in French and Spanish Colonies. For example, all slaves were baptized and had the right to marry in the French and Spanish West Indian colonies, but neither was common in the British West Indian colonies. The ameliorative reform of slavery was a trial and error method to transform the two different worlds of the home country and her colonies into one. The reform movement to make British West Indian colonies Christian societies was led not by the SPG nor SPCK, which were Anglican organizations, but by evangelicals both Anglican and nonconformist, such as London Missionary Societies, Baptist Missionary Societies, Methodist Missionary Societies and the Church Missionary Societies. It is remarkable that those who propagated Christianity for all the people and not only for the English contributed to the reconfiguration of the British Empire by unifying the two worlds. The roles of mother and wife for women were emphasized in evangelical social reform, Evangelicals considered Christian marriage and gender roles universal and worthy of dissemination all over the world through Christian missionaries. These roles, however, were not particularly attractive for slave women in the British West Indian colonies. These reforms were seen by female slaves as placing a greater burden on them, that is, they were expected to work daily as before for the slave owners and also as wives and mothers for their own families. It took a long time for Christian marriage and family to become common in the British West Indian colonies.