In the late 18th and 19th centuries, antislavery and other humanitarian writers often defined their views as “the voice of the British nation”. To be allied with this metaphorical “voice” vouchsafed moral authority to elite men whose position as “natural” rulers was, in an age of reform, being challenged. Touching upon issues across a 70-year period, with particular focus on the 1830s and 40s, this essay develops this theme through the examples of Charles, George, and William Napier: aristocratic military officers who spoke or wrote in support of antislavery and against the ill treatment of indigenous peoples in India, Australia, and South Africa. Their attitudes fed into their own senses of self, moral authority, class consciousness, and nationhood, as well as how their public selves would be represented by others. The history of antislavery provides a beneficial lens through which masculine ideals, and the use of reformism to reinforce elite men's power in nation and empire, can be better understood. This approach resonates with scholarship that has sought to integrate antislavery with broader metropolitan and colonial themes.

中文翻译：

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反奴隶制，精英人士和“不列颠民族的声音：” 1790-1860年

在18世纪末和19世纪末，反奴隶制和其他人道主义作家经常将他们的观点定义为“不列颠国家的声音”。与这种隐喻性的“声音”担保安全的道德权威相联系，这些精英人物在改革时代正被挑战为“自然”统治者。本文涉及70年来的问题，尤其着重于1830年代和40年代，本文以查尔斯，乔治和威廉·纳皮尔为例，阐述了这一主题：贵族军官发表讲话或写作以支持反奴隶制和反对印度，澳大利亚和南非对土著人民的虐待。他们的态度融入了他们自己的自我意识，道德权威，阶级意识和国家地位，以及公众如何被他人代表。反奴隶制的历史提供了一个有益的视角，通过它可以更好地理解男性理想以及使用改良主义增强国家和帝国中的精英男人的力量。这种方法引起了学术界的共鸣，该学术界试图将反奴隶制与更广泛的大都市和殖民主题相结合。