 First separate edition, privately printed | |
| Author | Thomas Carlyle |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Fraser's Magazine |
Publication date | December 1849 |
| Publication place | England |
| Media type | Pamphlet |
"Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question" is an essay by theScottish essayistThomas Carlyle. It was first published anonymously inFraser's Magazine for Town and Country ofLondon in December 1849,[1] and was revised and reprinted in 1853 as a pamphlet entitled "Occasional Discourse on the Nigger Question".[2] The essay was the spark of a debate between Carlyle andJohn Stuart Mill.[3] It was in this essay that Carlyle first introduced the phrase "the dismal science" to characterize the field ofeconomics.[4]
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The article began as adevil's advocate work with the aim of challenging what Carlyle perceived to be a hypocriticalmovement for the abolition of slavery in Britain. Although theslave trade had beenabolished by 1807, and slavery in theBritish Empire by1833, nations such as theUnited States,Cuba andBrazil continued to legally allow slavery. In its original publication, Carlyle presented it as a speech "delivered by we know not whom" written down by an unreliable reporter by the name of "Phelin M'Quirk" (the fictitious "Absconded Reporter"). The manuscript was supposedly sold to the publisher by M'Quirk's landlady in lieu of unpaid rent – she found it lying in his room after he ran off.
In its 1849 publication, a fictitious speaker makes various controversial points ranging from derogatory comments concerning the appearance andintelligence of black people toradical alternative solutions to the issue of slavery. These opinions had probably been gathered from hisproslavery friends, including several who had spent time in theWest Indies, such as his friend and fellowScotsmanJohn Sterling, all fused into one. The speaker suggests that the conditions on mostslave ships are not nearly as awful as have been widely reported, and that many other countries are still involved in the slave trade, and that trying tostop the trade would be impossible. Additionally, he proposes that rather than simply setting the enslaved free, into a world of which they have little understanding, enslavers should be obliged to look after them like members of their families, by caring for them into old age.
Throughout the delivery of the speech to the public, M'Quirk reports that members of the audience got up and left in disgust, suggesting how Carlyle expected the essay would be received. Just as he had expected, the work met with widespread disapproval, and in the minds of many people,[like whom?] Carlyle's reputation was forever tarnished. Carlyle's closest friends criticized him for his stand, but rather than back down he grew contrary and isolated. In later publications, the M'Quirk framework was entirely omitted, and Carlyle expressed the opinions as if they were his own.[citation needed]
John Stuart Mill's reply, in the next issue ofFraser's Magazine, under the title, "The Negro question" was also published anonymously.[5] Mill criticised Carlyle's view of human nature, the poor, and the existing power structure's complicity in societal wealth inequality. He argued that any supposedly self-defeating actions are explained byclass oppression.[6]
