He was a son of Joseph Pease (1737–1808) and his wife Mary Richardson, and a younger brother of
Edward Pease. His father was a woollen manufacturer of
Darlington, as was his brother Edward Pease, and he went into the same business. Sometimes referred to as
Joseph Pease of Feethams, he is often confused with his nephew
Joseph Pease, the first Quaker Member of Parliament. He made his name as an Indian reformer, and his branch of
the family supported
abolitionism in the form given to it by
William Lloyd Garrison. ("Joseph Pease of Darlington" may also refer to his father or nephew.) Pease opposed the
Corn Laws from 1815. He was one of the founders of the
Peace Society in 1817. A supporter of the
Anti-Slavery Society, he wrote tracts for it, in 1841 and 1842. In 1843 British legislation made slavery illegal in India. Pease and Thompson put emphasis on the BIS as an ally of the
Anti-Cornlaw League, and free trade. Their slighting of the BFASS, however, undermined the international dimension of their efforts. A successful charm offensive by
James Cosmo Melvill of the
East India Company eventually caused Pease to soften his highly critical views of the Company. ==Family==