ABSTRACT
Ramsay’s later ill-health and death have often been ascribed to the results of the many allegations and attacks made against him, so-much so that he is generally regarded as the first martyr in the abolitionist pantheon. A spell as a chaplain under Admiral Barrington was succeeded by a brief return to St Christopher’s before settling in 1781 in the livings of Teston and Nettlestead in Kent. In 1784 Ramsay published his influential Essay on the Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves. Ramsay was an important witness for parliamentary investigations of the trade and was assiduous in aiding younger abolitionists, such as Clarkson, in their efforts. Born at Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, Ramsay was apprenticed as a surgeon and entered the Royal navy.
