‘Lost opportunity’: fugitive slave ruined by 19th-century British abolitionists

Historians argue Roper's story could have helped end US slavery earlier but supporters turned on him

In his day, the 19th-century fugitive from slavery Moses Roper was a well-known public figure who toured Britain and Ireland telling gripped and shocked audiences about his horrific experiences in Florida.

Today he is largely overlooked but, two Newcastle University academics argue, the important story of this fascinating man represents a lost opportunity" for the British abolition movement to have helped end slavery in the US earlier.

I Am Not a Beggar': Moses Roper, Black Witness and the Lost Opportunity of British Abolitionism is published in the journal Slavery and Abolition.