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.ÿþin Church.But you must suppose it to be impossible for me to go fromHouse to House, to instruct a thousand Negroes perhaps or more, some ofwhich could take me a Week to make them understand one single sentence. 13White Virginian opposition to education and conversion of slaves, Angli-can complicity with slavery and neglect of the slaves, and African Americanresistance to Anglican Christianity are clearly parts of the story but not thewhole story.The latter is more muddled, ambiguous, and complicated thanmost accounts would have it.Anglican parsons, after all, did baptize slaves andthereby acknowledged not only their membership in the church but also theirhumanity.14 African Americans attended Divine Service.Parsons catechizedthem and sponsored efforts to extend basic education.Early in the century encouragement to work for the conversion of blackscame from the bishop of London, Edmund Gibson, whose pastoral letter onthe matter was distributed in pamphlet form among Virginia planters.Com-missary Blair reported to the bishop that the epistle had had good effect. Headded that it was now common for slave children to be baptized and severalMasters and Mistresses had undertaken religious instruction of their charges.Nonetheless, the commissary had reservations about the efforts; as diplo-matically as possible he tried to convey a sense of what he believed to be therealities confronting any effort to Christianize African Americans.In doingso, Blair revealed his adoption of the slaveowners perspective: I doubt notsome of the Negroes are sincere Converts; but the far greater part of themlittle mind the serious part, are only in hopes that they shall meet with somuch the more respect, and that some time or other Christianity will helpthem to their freedom. 15A year later Blair informed the bishop that a very great number of blackshad been catechized and baptized.He did not make clear whether he was re-porting his own efforts or a more general clergy initiative, but once again heappended a comment to the effect that some allege it [instruction] makesthem prouder; and inspires them with thoughts of freedom; but I take this tobe rather a common prejudice than anything else. 16Blair s next letter had an I told you so tone muted in deference to thebishop that made it evident that the commissary gave credence to what hehad excused as a common prejudice. Slaves had been restless, causing trouble,what Blair chose to call an Insurrection, although he qualified that by notingthat there had been little more to it than some loose talk. Loose talk itmay have been, but it sufficed to cause the death by hanging of four slave ring-.African Americans 263 [ Pobierz caÅ‚ość w formacie PDF ] |
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