put forward
We've decided not to bring forward an abolition bill.Amazing Grace · 2006 — 第 15 / 18 章 · 2'58" · C1
The Neutral Flag Trick, Explained：flag of convenience
The government won't bring forward an abolition bill — instead it targets "the use of neutral flags on cargo ships." What looks like dull wartime housekeeping is a trap: slave ships hide behind the American flag of convenience, and stripping that protection is meant to end the trade.
あらすじ
In the House of Commons, William Pitt's government tells Wilberforce it will not bring forward an abolition bill. Instead it proposes a measure against French cargo ships sailing under the American flag of convenience — a patriotic-sounding war move meant to let privateers seize them, and with them most of Britain's slave ships.
注目の表現
flag of conveniencefall short ofget on my feetthe beauty of it
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このシーンの表現
flag of convenience
a flag used to dodge rules
Wilberforce explains how French slavers hide behind American colours.
The firm sails under a flag of convenience to avoid heavier taxes.
このシーンの他の表現
- fall short of
not reach the standard
- get on my feet
stand up to speak
- the beauty of it
that is the clever part
このシーンのメモ一覧
40 行のセリフに 21 件のメモ
Let bring run into forward without a gap.
We've decided not to bring forward an abolition bill.deal with the issue
We're going to address the issue of the use of neutral flags on cargo ships.a flag used to dodge rules
Wilberforce explains how French slavers hide behind American colours.
We're going to suggest that French cargo ships sailing under the American flag of convenience be liable to seizure by privateers.passive voice: Be liable to seizure means the ship can legally be seized; the passive hides who does it.
We're going to suggest that French cargo ships sailing under the American flag of convenience be liable to seizure by privateers.The of nearly disappears; the stress lands on convenience.
We're going to suggest that French cargo ships sailing under the American flag of convenience be liable to seizure by privateers.the war campaign
Part of the war effort.when did you start
Since when have you been interested in the war effort, patriotism and all that?on earth — Angry emphasis among peers; avoid in formal settings.
- Then neither will they. - What the hell are you talking about?stop them from
80 percent of all slave ships sailing to the Indies are flying the neutral American flag to prevent them from being boarded by privateers.purpose clause: The to-clause gives the purpose: the flag exists so the ship is not boarded.
80 percent of all slave ships sailing to the Indies are flying the neutral American flag to prevent them from being boarded by privateers.do the trip
If we pass a law removing that protection, no ship owner will allow his vessel to make the journey.participle clause: The -ing clause describes what the law does, short for a law that removes it.
If we pass a law removing that protection, no ship owner will allow his vessel to make the journey.that is the clever part
Wilberforce savours the trap he has just described for his allies.
That's the beauty of it.provided that
The privateers won't care whose booty they're taking, as long as they're operating within the law.legally
The privateers won't care whose booty they're taking, as long as they're operating within the law.Link finished and overnight into one run; do not pause between them.
Without the protection of neutral flags, 80 percent of the British slave trade will be finished overnight.stand up to speak
Wilberforce jokes that he cannot even rise to present this bill himself.
I won't even get on my feet in the House.not reach the standard
An ally warns that the clever scheme still falls short of real abolition.
This would still fall short of abolition.counted as patriotic
Instruct someone to put this bill forward who's seen as a patriot.no commotion
We don't want any fuss.「The Neutral Flag Trick」を読み解く
What's really going on
On the surface this is a wartime trade measure, and everyone in the room knows it isn't. "Without the protection of neutral flags, 80 percent of the British slave trade will be finished overnight." The trick is deniability: the bill is aimed at French ships, and because a vessel under the American flag is legally neither French nor British, British slavers lose their cover without the abolitionists ever naming slavery. That is why "we can't let anyone know that we're behind this," and why the sponsor must be someone "really, really... boring" — a patriot nobody suspects. The scene's real subject is political craft: ending an atrocity by disguising it as patriotism.
Theme
DeceptionAbolitionists hide an anti-slavery bill inside an anti-French wartime measure, so slave owners never see the real target.
PowerPitt's government uses procedure and a nobody sponsor to strike at the trade without ever owning the move.
このチャプターで学べること
- A clever bill never names what it is killing.
- Overnight makes the collapse sound sudden and total.
- The lawyer's idea hides abolition inside patriotism.
発音のポイント
- bring forward — Let bring run into forward without a gap.
- flag of convenience — The of nearly disappears; the stress lands on convenience.
- finished overnight — Link finished and overnight into one run; do not pause between them.
Without the protection of neutral flags, 80 percent of the British slave trade will be finished overnight.Remove the neutral-flag loophole and most British slave ships lose their legal cover; the trade collapses almost immediately because owners won't risk seizure.
If we pass a law removing that protection, no ship owner will allow his vessel to make the journey.The threat isn't capture itself but the risk: once privateers can legally seize these ships, no owner will send a vessel on the slave route.
Once any ship raises the American flag, by law it is neither French nor British.The legal catch that makes the plan work: flying the American flag strips a ship of any national owner, so seizure rules apply no matter who really runs it.
We just need someone really, really... boring.The bill must be introduced by a dull, respectable patriot so no one connects it to the abolitionists — invisibility, not charisma, is the point.
このシーンについての質問
Why not just bring an abolition bill?
Because it keeps losing. By attacking French ships and the neutral-flag loophole, the government can cripple the slave trade through a wartime measure that patriotic MPs will actually vote for.
What is a flag of convenience?
A ship registered under another country's flag to dodge taxes or regulation. Here it means slavers flying the American flag so privateers cannot board them — the loophole the bill is designed to close.
Who actually came up with the neutral-flag plan?
The scene only says "a lawyer." The plan isn't attributed on screen, which is the point: the abolitionists keep their fingerprints off it.
Why does the sponsor have to be boring?
So the bill draws no attention and no one ties it to the abolitionists. A famous or controversial sponsor would invite scrutiny the plan cannot survive.
Is the plan meant to end slavery outright?
No. It is meant to make the trade unprofitable, bankrupting half the slavers within two years, so their MPs can then be picked off one by one.
Amazing Grace · 全 18 章
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次のチャプター · 第 16 章side windAbolitionists Come at a Side Wind
第 1 章anything butWilberforce Meets Barbara in Bath
第 2 章ran away withWilberforce Tells Richard He Found God
第 3 章where your heart liesPitt Asks Wilberforce to Return
第 4 章my business is youWilberforce Meets the Abolitionists
第 5 章gentle drizzleWilberforce Visits John Newton
第 6 章have something made upThe Man in the Box
第 7 章died of kindnessWilberforce and Barbara Fake a Fight
第 8 章with a heavy heartWilberforce Denounces the Slave Trade
第 9 章mean businessCharles Fox Joins the Abolitionists
第 10 章have a confession to makeAbolitionists Show MPs a Slave Ship
第 11 章scrape the bottom of the barrelAbolitionists Present a Huge Petition
第 12 章a wave of good intentionsPitt Warns a Friend Over Cards
第 13 章run with bloodPitt Warns Wilberforce About War
第 14 章by halvesNewton Gives Wilberforce His Confession
再生中 · 第 15 章flag of convenienceThe Neutral Flag Trick
第 16 章side windAbolitionists Come at a Side Wind
第 17 章find me as myselfWilberforce Quits Laudanum
第 18 章pushing at an open doorWilberforce Visits a Dying Pitt第 15 / 18 章 · 残り約 7 分