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Great Events from History: American History, 1492-1775 - Exploration to the Colonial Era

George Fox: “To Friends beyond sea, that have Blacks and Indian Slaves”

by Michael J. O’Neal

George Fox was a dissenting preacher in England and one of the founders of the Religious Society of Friends, otherwise known as the Quakers. In 1657 he disseminated a letter to Quakers living in the New World, particularly in Barbados, exhorting slave masters to treat their slaves with mercy and to acknowledge their humanity in light of Christ’s death for all people.

Date: 1657

Locale: England

SUMMARY OF EVENT

In 1657, George Fox wrote an epistle titled “To Friends beyond sea [sic], that have Blacks and Indian Slaves.” His purpose was to remind Quakers who owned slaves that they should be merciful and remember that God “hath made all Nations of one Blood.” Throughout the seventeenth century and most of the eighteenth, Quakers, particularly those in the British American colonies, were divided on the issue of slavery Some denounced slavery, while others owned slaves.

George Fox was one of the first Quakers to speak out on the issue of slavery and urge humanitarian treatment, although historians point out that some Quakers actually regarded the “Letter” as amounting almost to a defense of slavery. Fox (1624-1691), the son of a weaver in Leicestershire, England, lived during times of immense social upheaval in England, including the English Civil War (1642-1651), the execution of King Charles I in 1649, the Protectorate under Oliver Cromwell (1653-1659), the restoration of the monarchy (1660), and the Glorious Revolution (1688) that deposed King James II and brought William and Mary of the Dutch province of Orange to the throne. Throughout this turmoil, Fox rebelled against the authorities, both political and religious. He proposed an uncompromising approach to Christianity, one that simplified it by stripping it of ritual and ceremony and that emphasized the inner light of the individual. Fox began preaching publically in 1647, and as he traveled about, sharing his new version of the faith and performing healings, he was accompanied by followers who referred to themselves as “Children of the Light” or “Friends of the Truth.” For his efforts Fox was persecuted and at one point was even imprisoned. He had no particular interest in forming a sect, but at some point—it is not known when, precisely—his efforts evolved into the Religious Society of Friends, or Quakers, as a distinct denomination.

FOX AND SLAVERY

Fox’s attitudes with regard to slavery were much more enlightened than those of other seventeenth-century Quakers, including the more famous William Penn. In his preachings, he advocated the ultimate freeing of slaves and called for a more humane treatment of slaves, noting that Christ died for all people, including white, Indians, and blacks. His epistle, “To Friends beyond sea, that have Blacks and Indian Slaves,” stated a theme that he would consistently reiterate: that the Gospel was to be preached to everyone and “is the Power that giveth Liberty and Freedom, and is Glad Tidings to every Captivated Creature under the whole Heavens.”

The text of the letter is brief:

I was moved to write these things to you in all those Plantations. God that made the World, and all things therein, and giveth Life and Breath to all, and they all have their Life and Moving, and their Being in him, he is the God of the Spirits of all Flesh, and is no Respecter of Persons; but Whosoever feareth him, and worketh Righteousness, is accepted of him. And he hath made all Nations of one Blood to dwell upon the Face of the Earth, and his Eyes are over all the Works of his Hands, and seeth every thing, that is done under the whole Heavens; and the Earth is the Lord’s and the Fulness thereof. And he causeth the Rain to fall upon the Just and upon the njust, and also he causeth the Sun to shine upon the Just and the njust; and he commands to love all Men, for Christ loved all, so that he died for Sinners. And this is God’s Love to the World, in giving his Son into the World; that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish: And he doth Enlighten every Man, that cometh into the World, that they might believe in the Son. And the Gospel is preached to every creature under Heaven; which is the Power, that giveth Liberty and Freedom, and is Glad Tidings to every Captivated Creature under the whole Heavens. And the Word of God\pard cf3 is in the Heart and Mouth to obey and do it, and not for them to ascend or descend for it; and this is the Word of Faith, which was and is preached. For Christ is given for a Covenant to the People, and a Light to the Gentiles, and to enlighten them; who is the Glory of Israel, and God’s Salvation to the Ends of the Earth. And so, ye are to have the Mind of Christ, and to be Merciful, as your Heavenly Father is Merciful.

SIGNIFICANCE

What is significant about this epistle is the ambiguity of Fox’s views on slavery. As of 1657, Fox had not had any particular experience with the institution of slavery, which had become entrenched in the West Indies only in the mid-1650s. Fox’s first exposure to slave culture did not come until 1671, when he spent three months on Barbados, then traveled to Jamaica and the mainland of America. In the meantime, however, he did not actually speak out against slavery as an institution or call for its abolition. He appears throughout his writings to have regarded slavery as something akin to indentured servitude, an institution that perpetrated its own cruelties but was more arguably benign than slavery: A person, usually because of poverty, agreed to become an unpaid servant or worker for another for a fixed period of time. At the end of that period of indenture, the person was released, and in some cases was even given land of his own to work or some other economic benefit in return for his services.

That ambiguity persisted in a later publication, Gospel Family-Order (1672), in which Fox cited scriptural texts from the Old Testament that he believed explained the responsibility of fathers and masters to enforce right order in their households. He explain that everyone, including strangers, heathen, and servants, were enrolled in Israel’s covenant and subject to God’s judgment—but he did not use the word “slave.” It was the father’s duty to control the behavior of his family and to preach the gospel. He proclaimed that Christ died for blacks, Turks, barbarians, and whites, freeing all from spiritual bondage. He believed that slavery brought about moral failures, but to him, these failures were not intrinsic to the institution of slavery. A woman who heard him preach, for example, wrote to a friend about a sermon to masters “about trayneing up their Neigors in ye feare of god bought with theire money & such as were borne in theire familyes so yt all may Come to ye knowledge of ye Lord...and yt theire overseers might deale mildely & gentley with ym & not use cruelty as ye maner of some is & hath beene & to make ym free after 30 years servitude.” Fox also wrote a letter to the governor and assembly in Barbados, claiming that he and his followers had urged blacks “to be sober & to fear God and to Love their masters and mistresses, and to be faithful and diligent in their masters service & business & that then their masters & Overseers will love them and deal kindly & gently with them.” These were not the words of an abolitionist, but they were a step in the right direction.

“To Friends beyond sea” was an early salvo in the debate about slavery in the Quaker community and ultimately in the British American colonies. His views would find their way into the “Germantown Protest” against slavery in Pennsylvania in 1688 and in “An exhortation and caution to Friends concerning buying or keeping of Negroes,” the first printed document in opposition to slavery in the colonies. Fox’s letter initiated two centuries of debate among Quakers about the problem of slavery. This debate would end with Quakers adopting key roles in the abolition and emancipation movements both in England and in the Americas. It was not until the nineteenth century that Quakers became more unified in their opposition to slavery.

George Fox, 1872 engraving.

GEAmerExpCo_p0318_0001.jpg

Image via iStock/traveller1116. [Used under license.]

Citation Types

Type

Format

MLA 9th

O’Neal, Michael J. "George Fox: “To Friends Beyond Sea, That Have Blacks And Indian Slaves”." Great Events from History: American History, 1492-1775 - Exploration to the Colonial Era, edited by Michael J. O’Neal, Salem Press, 2023. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=GEAmerExpCo_0108.

APA 7th

O’Neal, M. J. (2023). George Fox: “To Friends beyond sea, that have Blacks and Indian Slaves”. In M. J. O’Neal (Ed.), Great Events from History: American History, 1492-1775 - Exploration to the Colonial Era. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.

CMOS 17th

O’Neal, Michael J. "George Fox: “To Friends Beyond Sea, That Have Blacks And Indian Slaves”." Edited by Michael J. O’Neal. Great Events from History: American History, 1492-1775 - Exploration to the Colonial Era. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2023. Accessed December 14, 2025. online.salempress.com.

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