My thesis explores the various different emotions used by anti-slavery writers to inspire sympathy for enslaved Africans in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. It will explore portrayals of slave anger, sensibility and happiness, in addition to attempts to inspire the reader’s fear, shame and guilt, in order to gain support for the abolition of the slave trade and slavery in Britain. My research will situate abolitionist literature within its historical context to track the changing use of emotions, incorporating the skills I gained from my undergraduate history modules, particularly my Specialist Subject history module on the slave trade and slavery in Britain. This interdisciplinary approach will reveal the diversity of the abolitionist campaign, and seeks to demonstrate the complex networks between British humanitarians, politicians, and former slaves, acknowledging the contributions of a wide range of individuals from various social and cultural backgrounds. It will highlight the intersection of race, emotions and rhetoric in abolitionist literature, and seeks to broaden the canon to include the literary contributions of former slaves.