Talk:Thomas Clarkson

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[edit] John Clarkson

Yes – a good call.

John Clarkson probably merits a page to himself. Thanks for your edit – and welcome to Wikipedia! Cheers – Agendum 23:30, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Hmmmm... There may be an exaggeration here. "In the next year he rode some 35,000 miles in search of evidence..." Isn't the usual distance traveled by horseback only 20 to 25 miles per day? You can do more, with special arrangements like the Pony Express and changing horses every hour. But that isn't likely to be the case here. The 35,000 miles seems unreasonable. RapidRoy51 20:07, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

I think it should probably read "In the next years (plural)...." The figure is substantiated in some of the sources, including Hochschild's Bury the Chains. – Agendum 23:29, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Republican?

In the 2007 Michael Apted film, Amazing Grace his character advocates revolution in a private conversation with William Wilberforce. He cites the French Revolution and the American Revolution. Was Clarkson a republican? Given that Britain was a constitutional monarchy since 1688, one would assume that Clarkson found even constitutional monarchy unacceptable. Dogru144 14:25, 4 March 2007 (UTC)

Not having seen the film yet (it will not be released here until 23 March) I can't comment on the portayal of Clarkson. But it is true that some of the group of abolitionists were initially enthusiastic about what they saw happening on the other side of the English Channel – Wilberforce and Eliot travelled there in 1783 to see things first-hand, along with future prime minister William Pitt. It would be wrong to characterise them as Republicans, though, as it seems that their feelings changed as they saw the excesses of the French Revolution. – Agendum 16:10, 5 March 2007 (UTC)

I am not an expert, but understand that the French Revolution was initially perceived as democratic, and was supported by many liberal British people. However this turned to revulsion with the execution of the king and aristocracy in the terror. Republics (at least in the modern sense) were a new idea, and (at risk of being controversial) the American one hardly began to function well until the constitution was adopted and implemented. This can only just have happened by the date in question. Peterkingiron 14:10, 6 March 2007 (UTC)

The claim that he travelled 35,000 miles in one year seems extraordinary. That would amount to almost 100 miles a day, every single day of the year - and whether by coach or or horseback, that would have been an extrordinary feat for the times, given the state of the roads 200 years ago.