Let Justice Be Done Though The Heavens Fall: Somerset v Stewart - Dr Dominique Bouchard

250 years ago, on 22 June 1772, William Murray, Baron (later Earl of) Mansfield and Lord Chief Justice of the Court of King’s Bench, ruled in the case of Somerset v Stewart that it was unlawful for Charles Stewart to transport James Somerset, an African he had purchased in Virginia, forcibly out of England. When the verdict was announced, it sent political and legal shockwaves through Britain and its American colonies. Although the decision was technically a narrow one, it was popularly taken to mean that slavery was illegal in England.
Dr Dominique Bouchard is a 2021 Clore Fellow and an Honorary Visiting Fellow at the University of Leicester. She is Head of Learning and Interpretation at English Heritage.
Introduction music: Quartetto concertans, no. 6 in B flat major by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745-1799). Saint-Georges was born in Guadeloupe, but from the age of 7 lived most of his life in France, with spells in England and Guadeloupe. He wrote his first violin quartet in 1772, the same year as the Somerset judgement; the ‘Au gout du jour’ quartet was published in 1779. He was a gifted violinist, composer, conductor, swordsman and athlete.
@Chineke! has been commissioned by @EnglishHeritage and @ShoutOutLoud to write a piece based partly upon his music to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Somerset judgement.
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