Joshua Steele ( – 1796) was an Irish planter and writer.

Life

Born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, he resided many years in London. In 1756, he was elected a member of the

Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

. Steele possessed estates in

Barbados Barbados, officially the Republic of Barbados, is an island country in the Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies and the easternmost island of the Caribbean region. It lies on the boundary of the South American ...

: Chester's, Hallett's and Kendal's. He went in 1780 to manage them himself. In 1781 he founded a society in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

similar to the London Society of Arts, in order to change the treatment of the

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

population, and soon after that became a member of the council for the island. On his own estates he abolished arbitrary punishment, and created courts among the black slaves themselves for the punishment of offences. He also promoted voluntary labour by offering some wages. In 1789 Steele further, by erecting his estates into manors, and making his slaves copyholders bound to their tenements, and owing rent and personal service which they paid in labour on the demesne lands. Steele encountered opposition; but on his own estates his system was successful. He also made efforts to employ the

redlegs Redleg is a term used to refer to poor whites that live or at one time lived on Barbados, St. Vincent, Grenada and a few other Caribbean islands. Their forebears were sent from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Continental Europe as indentured ser ...

— the poor white population — and to set up local industries. Steele died in Barbados on 27 October 1796.

Works

Steele in 1775 published ''An Essay towards establishing the Melody and Measure of Speech to be expressed and perpetuated by certain Symbols'', London, in which he proposed to extend to speech the symbolic method by which the modulations of musical sounds are expressed. His essay excited considerable interest, and was discussed, among others, by

Lord Monboddo James Burnett, Lord Monboddo (baptised 25 October 1714 – 26 May 1799) was a Scottish judge, scholar of linguistic evolution, philosopher and deist. He is most famous today as a founder of modern comparative historical linguistics. In 1767, h ...

and

David Garrick David Garrick (19 February 1716 – 20 January 1779) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of European theatrical practice throughout the 18th century, and was a pupil a ...

. A second edition, entitled ''

Prosodia Rationalis ''Prosodia Rationalis'' is the short title of the 1779 expanded second edition of Joshua Steele's ''An Essay Towards Establishing the Melody and Measure of Speech, to be Expressed and Perpetuated by Peculiar Symbols'', originally published in 1775. ...

'', appeared in 1779. He also contributed two papers on musical instruments to ''

Philosophical Transactions ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society'' is a scientific journal published by the Royal Society. In its earliest days, it was a private venture of the Royal Society's secretary. It was established in 1665, making it the second journ ...

'' in 1775. Steele's letters to

Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...

, describing the management of his estates, were published in 1814 in William Dickson's ''Mitigation of Slavery'' (1814).

Obadiah Rich Obadiah Rich (November 25, 1777 – January 20, 1850) was an American diplomat, bibliophile and bibliographer specializing in the history of Latin America. He was credited with making the field of Americana a recognized field of scholarship by th ...

in his ''Bibliotheca Americana Nova'' attributed to Steele a pamphlet ''An Account of a late Conference on the Occurrences in America'' (London, 1766).

Family

Around 1750 Steele married Sarah Osborne, the widow of Robert Osborne who owned a plantation in Barbados. In the 1780s Steele lived with Ann Slatia, a black slave woman, on the Byde Mill estate adjacent to the Kendal estate which he leased, and had two children with her. These children, themselves slaves, were among Steele's heirs.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Steele, Joshua 1700s births 1796 deaths Irish writers Irish slave owners Barbadian planters