Summary Of Michael Bundock's The Fortunes Of Francis Barber

In his adept biography The Fortunes of Francis Barber; the True Story of the Jamaican Slave Who Became Samuel Johnson’s Heir, Michael Bundock seeks to examine the function of coloured people in British society during the eighteenth century. This goal is achieved through the scrutinization of the unusual relationship between Francis Barber, a former slave, and his long time employer, Samuel Johnson. He identifies not only the significance of Barber within Johnson’s life, but also in affinity to other actors in Johnson’s social sphere. Divergent opinions on the role of Francis Barber were frequently presented by companions of Johnson. Bundock further contextualizes this relationship in respects to constitutional values that were beginning to
These faults within the system seemingly enabled, to an extent, a multitude of assumptions about the role of coloured people in British society, and was likely an impetus in creating standardized conduct in regards to the rights and functions of black people. Bundock ascertains that the early phases of racial reform within the United Kingdom were inhibited as a result of societal turbulence, which was essentially due to a lack existing regulatory legislation on the conduct of coloured people, in conjunction with the common perception of European supremacy that prevailed.
It is of significance to note that there were several impediment to the induction of racially motivated reforms to the British Constitution. The absence of a common understanding of the role of slaves within the societal context, was seemingly a compelling catalyst in the recognition of the urgency for a regulatory system of dealing with slavery related affairs. In particular we can see this confusion arise when slaves are brought from the West Indies colonies to
Within the novel we see the famous Somerset v. Stewart case Sharp was linked to. The basis of this case was essentially whether a slave who was brought to the United Kingdom, and escaped their master, could subsequently be forcibly detained and returned to a colony. The defendant made an argument from both an ethical and legal vantage. The highlights of these arguments include whether the slavery laws of Africa and the colonies were valid in England, could anyone in England handle the harsh reality that is colonial slavery, and primarily being that the “ English air is too pure for a slave to breathe in” (2015:147).The plaintiffs argument presented can be simply reduced to the universality of slavery, villeinage displayed an astonishing resemblance to colonial slavery, and the fact that there was no law that existed against slavery within the Great Britain. Although there was a culmination of compelling evidence presented by both parties, the case was conclusively won by the defendant, under the logic of the judge, Lord Mansfield, that “the act of keeping and selling another person must be recognized by the law of the country where it is occurring” (2015:148). Mansfield makes quick note that this proclamation was considered to be simply positive law, for the reason that all people are free in Great Britain therefore Somerset had to be set