What is a slave?
To be owned by another person.
Classed as property and work for nothing
What were the causes of slavery?
- The demand for exotic goods had risen and it was cheaper to enslave people rather than pay people to move to the Americas and work on plantations. Since Britain owned roughly a quarter of the world’s land surface, it made more sense to import people to work.
- The slave trade was incredibly profitable. Towns like Liverpool and Bristol grew as a result of profits. Slavery became one of the most profitable trades.
What was the trade system called between Britain, West Africa and the Americas?
The Slave Trade Triangle
What was the Middle Passage?
The middle part of the journey. From West Africa to the Americas.
What were conditions like on the Middle Passage?
Conditions were horrible.
Men and women were tied together for months at a time with very little food and no access to sanitation.
If there was illness or disease, those slaves would be thrown overboard so as not to infect the rest of the slaves.
What was life like on a plantation?
Life was hard on a plantation. Slaves were expected to work for up to 16 hours a day in horrendous conditions.
Whippings were common
There were examples of passive and active resistance from pretending not to hear instructions to killing the master.
What year did the slave trade end in Britain?
1807
What year did slavery end in Britain?
1833
Abolition: What political and legal reasons were there?
- The Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was set up in 1787. Its aim was to let Africans live free from the risk of capture, and outlaw their sale and slavery.
- Slaves in Britain went to court to get their freedom. By the early 1800s most judges set these slaves free. The law of the land was turning against the idea of slavery.
- Granville Sharp used the law courts to try and give slaves their freedom. He fought many court cases, e.g. the Zong ship. Slavery was becoming legally unacceptable.
- On March 25th 1807 the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act received its royal assent after the Houses of Parliament voted in favour of ending the practice.
Abolition: What economic reasons were there?
- Sugar plantations were closing as cheap sugar could be bought from Brazil and Cuba. People argued that slaves would work harder if they were freed and paid.
Abolition: What key individuals helped end slavery?
- William Wilberforce campaigned against the slave trade. The first time he introduced the idea he lost the debate by 163 votes to 88 but he never gave up.
- Thomas Clarkson collected evidence against slavery. He spread his message all over the country by publishing posters, pamphlets and making public speeches.
- In 1791 Toussaint L’Ouverture lead a slave revolt on the French island of St Dominique. The English tried to capture the island, but they were also defeated in 1798.
- An ex-slave called Olaudah Equiano wrote a book of the story of his life as a slave. Many British people read the book and as a consequence opposed slavery.
Abolition: What beliefs and ideas were there?
- Between 1730 and 1797 there were slave rebellions against the English, e.g. Nanny Maroon’s War in the 1730s. The rebellions slowly changed attitudes.
- In 1795 Julian Fedon led the slaves of Greneda in a violent rebellion against the English. Although the rebellion failed, it convinced people that slavery was wrong.
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Abolition: How did the media end slavery?
- Anti-slavery petitions were signed in British towns, e.g. in 1792 alone 519 petitions were handed to Parliament demanding the abolition of the slave trade.
- Josiah Wedgwood joined the anti-slavery side and designed a logo for it. The design appeared on bookplates, coat buttons, wax seals, jewellery etc.
Abolition: What religious reasons were there?
- Christian groups, such as the Quakers, thought that slavery was a sin against God and religion. They spread the anti-slavery message amongst the people of Britain.
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