Abolition of the Slave Trade, 1785-1807

Question 1

How long was the ‘middle passage’ voyage, and how many slaves per ship

Answer 1

The voyage took 3-4 months

Slaves were packed in shelves under a metre high, up to more than 600 per ship

Question 2

How many slaves died during a typical trip

Answer 2

12.5% of slaves died on the journey

4.5% died a day before sale

Question 3

How much profit could be expected per voyage

Answer 3

20 - 50% profit for a successful voyage

Question 4

How did Manchester benefit from slavery

Answer 4

1/2 of textiles in Manchester went to Africa, and 1/2 to the West Indies

Question 5

When did the Quakers first start opposing slavery

Answer 5

1657, on the grounds that everyone was equal before God

Question 6

What actions did the Quakers take in 1783

Answer 6

June 1783, the Quakers presented a petition against the slave trade signed by 273 people and set up a 23 person committee to actively campaign for abolition. This petition was ignored by all in parliament

July 1783, a second Quaker committee was established which sent articles to dozen of newspapers highlighting the evils of slavery to educate the public and publishing pamphlets

Question 7

In 1784, 10,000 copies of which pamphlet was distributed by the Quakers

Answer 7

‘The Case of our fellow-creatures, the oppressed Africans, respectfully recommended to the serious consideration of the legislature of Great Britain by the people called Quakers’

This was distributed amongst MPs, the royal family, and the general public

Question 8

What did Evangelical Christians believe in

Answer 8

Believed in the power of repentance as a means of salvation, the importance of fighting sin to go to heaven

Question 9

What happened in the Zong case, 1783

Answer 9

The Zong, under captain Luke Collingwood, had 440 slaves due for Jamaica but the trip took twice as long due to winds

60 slaves already dead from disease. Collingwood had the sickest thrown overboard and told the crew to claim ‘water was running out’

133 slaves were thrown overboard.

Question 10

What happened at the trial of the Zong case

Answer 10

It was an insurance dispute, as slaves were insured at £30 a head

First mate admitted there was 420 gallons spare water on board

Granville Sharp gathered evidence against the crew and tried to prosecute them for murder, but failed

At second trial, Lord Mansfield declared it was “just as if horses were killed”.

Insurers did not pay out

Question 11

Which society was formed in 1787 to campaign for abolition, and what did it do

Answer 11

The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade

Members included Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp

Aimed to raise awareness amongst the public and apply political pressure to the government by raising petitions and bills in the House of Commons

Question 12

How many petitions were signed to abolish slavery in 1792

Answer 12

519

Question 13

What was the population of Manchester in 1793, and how many signed an abolition petition

Answer 13

50,000 people

10,700 signatures

Question 14

What percentage of Britain’s income was dependent on the slave trade and its associated industries

Answer 14

24%

Question 15

Which groups defended the slave trade

Answer 15

The ‘West India Lobby’ was a group of sugar planters whose business depended on the slave trade

They had close links with MPs, and by the 1790s, there were approximately 50 MPs closely linked to the group, with one becoming Mayor of London

Question 16

What percentage of Britain’s textile output went abroad

Answer 16

Between 1784-86 and 1805-1807, 87% of all textiles went abroad, with African markets taking the majority of produce

This is as traders would load their ships with British goods and swap them for slaves on the African coast

Question 17

Who did Britain primarily trade with during wars with France from 1793-1815

Answer 17

Africa

Question 18

How did Bristol and Liverpool benefit from slavery

Answer 18

Bristol and Liverpool became major trade ports

In Bristol, 40% of peoples incomes was slave-based

In Liverpool grew from 5,000 to 78,000 people in the 18th century

Liverpool had also claimed 3/7 of all European trade

Question 19

How much sugar was imported per year, and how valuable was it

Answer 19

63 gallon casks of sugar per year (100,000 hogsheads)

Question 20

How many slave voyages took place in the 18th century

Answer 20

35,000

Question 21

How much did the Codrington plantation in Barbados make

Answer 21

The Codrington plantation made a profit of £2000 a year with 276 slaves across 710 acres of land

Question 22

How much did Liverpool merchant William Davenport make from slavery

Answer 22

Davenport invested in 74 voyages in the 18th century with an overall profit of 8.1%.

Between 1779-1780, whilst the American War of Independence was taking place, he netted 73.5% and 147% profit in just 2 voyages

Question 23

How valuable were the Caribbean islands in the slave trade

Answer 23

British imports from Jamaica were 5x more valuable than imports from the 13 mainland colonies (now the USA)

British imports from the tiny Caribbean island of Grenada were worth 8x that of imports from Canada (now Canada)

Question 24

How many plantations went bankrupt in Jamaica between 1799 and 1807

Answer 24

65 plantations were abandoned, 32 sold for debts, and in 1807 suits were pending against 115 others

Question 25

How much sugar was in England in 1806

Answer 25

A surplus in England amounting to 6,000 tons

This surplus saw only 2.5% profit for plantations in 1807

Question 26

Who was Adam Smith, what did we write, and what did he argue

Answer 26

Adam Smith was the first formal Economist in History

He wrote ‘The Wealth of Nations’ in 1776

In the book, at one point he argues that slavery is ineffective for economic growth as unpaid labourers could not spend elsewhere in the economy, pointing to the Roman Empire as an example of this

He was an abolitionist also on moral grounds

Question 27

What did Thomas Clarkson do for abolition

Answer 27

Worked on the grounds of moral outrage, such as visual aids with the slave ship ‘Brookes’

Wrote an essay entitled “Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species”

Travelled 35,000 miles around the country

Question 28

What happened to Clarkson due to his hard work

Answer 28

Suffered a physical breakdown from overworking, campaigning, and spending such a considerable portion of his personal wealth

Question 29

What did William Wilberforce do for abolition

Answer 29

While Clarkson gathered evidence and mobilised support, Wilberforce would lobby parliament

Gave a speech of 3 1/2 hours, using evidence of the effects of the slave trade on Africa, as well as the gruelling conditions

Set up a committee in the commons to look into the slave trade. By the time the house adjourned, slaving interest were still testifying

Introduced a bill to parliament every year from 1791-1799 in favour of abolition

Question 30

What did Wilberforce do after abolition in 1807

Answer 30

Set up the Sierra Company to help relocate slaves

Died in 1833, shortly after all slaves under the British Empire were freed under the Slavery Abolition Act

Question 31

What did Olaudah Equiano do for abolition

Answer 31

Sold to a royal Navy officer, he bought his own freedom for £40

Educated, could read and write

1786, member of the Sons of Africa - 12 black men who campaigned for abolition

Published an autobiography in 1789

Question 32

How did Equiano influence parliament

Answer 32

Part of a delegation to parliament in 1788, which helped lead to the Dolben Act

Question 33

What was the Dolben Act, and how was it reformed

Answer 33

The Dolben Act of 1788 restricted the number of slaves per ship

This was renewed every year until 1799 when it was made permanent with the Slave Regulation Act

Question 34

When did the French first abolish slavery

Answer 34

In 1794, slavery in France was abolished

Napoleon reintroduced the slave trade in the French colonies in 1802

Question 35

What percentage of the population of the 13 Colonies was of African descent

Answer 35

20%

Question 36

Which former Prime Ministers supported Wilberforce in 1806 and why

Answer 36

William Pitt gave his support in 1806, as did his successor William Grenville

This may be due to how abolition could be seen as a patriotic duty to oppose the French (based)

Question 37

Why couldn’t Wilberforce get much support for his bill from 1794 to 1802

Answer 37

The French abolition of slavery made British abolitionists tarnished with the brush of revolutionary’s, which worried the ruling classes

Question 38

How did the abolition movement falter under government crackdown

Answer 38

Seditious Meetings Act of 1795 (which was part of the Two Acts)

Treason trials of 1793 and 1794 when Thomas Paine and Thomas Hardy were put on trial for their opposition to government policy (Paine fled in 1792)

Question 39

How much did the French colony of Saint Domingue produce

Answer 39

30% of the world’s sugar and 1/2 of the world’s coffee

Annual production of sugar and other crops was double that of all the British Caribbean islands put together

Question 40

What happened in Saint Domingue in the August of 1791

Answer 40

Slaves attacked plantation buildings, committing many atrocities

More than 1,000 plantations burned and 12,000 people killed

The French were muddled as their stated goals of revolution contradicted their stance on slavery

Question 41

How did the British respond to the uprising in Saint Domingue

Answer 41

September 1793, British soldiers land on the island to halt the rebellion and conquer it for themselves

They came up against Toussaint L’Ouverture, a slave who has begun leading the slaves on the island

French planters vowed to aid Britain, but the battle was lost. The colony would now work with the Jacobins in France

Question 42

What happened on Grenada in 1795

Answer 42

On Grenada, 1795, rebel blacks and mulattos (offspring of slaves and whites) captured the islands governor, massacred whites, destroyed most plantations and held the bulk of the island for months

Question 43

What happened in St. Lucia in February, 1795

Answer 43

In February 1795, slaves rose up in St. Lucia led by Victor Hugues and over the next 4 months, forced out every white slave owner and the British army who had been sent to crush the rebellion

Question 44

How did the British respond to the slave revolt in St. Lucia

Answer 44

It took 12,000 British troops to retake the island against just 2,000 slaves in 1803

Question 45

What happened on St. Vincent from 1795 to 1797

Answer 45

Second Carib War.

The Caribs were the indigenous peoples of the island, backed by slaves and some French Forces

Following much fighting and appalling tropical disease, a military expedition by General Abercromby managed to crush the revolt in 1797

Caribs were deported to the island of Roatan, off the coast of Honduras

Question 46

Which group led the revolt in Jamaica in 1795

Answer 46

Started from a free black community called the Maroons, who revolted when British soldiers seized and handcuffed six Maroon leaders

One such leader was Leonard Parkinson, who the British posted bounties for

As a result of the arrests, the Maroons ambushed and killed 36 British cavalrymen

Approximately 500 Maroons rebelled, with just 150 muskets, against 5000 British troops and the Jamaican militia

Question 47

How did the fighting in Jamaica in 1795 go

Answer 47

Fighting lasted for half the year, and the British spent £500,000 (in addition to numerous casualties)

In December 1795, a surrender was agreed upon and, contrary to the agreement between the Maroons and General Walpole, 569 Maroons were deported to Nova Scotia

Question 48

What were the overall human costs for the British in suppressing the West Indian revolts

Answer 48

Britain sent more soldiers to the West Indian campaigns than to supress the North American revolution

Of the 89,000 white officer and enlisted men who served in the British Army in the Caribbean from 1793-1801, over 45,000 died in battle or from disease

14,000 were discharged due to wounds or illness and 3,000 men deserted

In addition, amongst sailors, approximately 19,000 died on British naval or transport ships

Question 49

How did Naval ‘press gangs’ remind people of slavery

Answer 49

Press gangs took people, typically against their will, and force them to join the Navy

1/2 of all Royal Navy seamen were pressed into service

Question 50

How did the postal service help publicise abolition

Answer 50

Was very fast, London to Dublin mail in 3 days

Services picked up mailbags without stopping

A record of 10 mph

Question 51

How did Geography help publicise abolition

Answer 51

London to Edinburgh was 230 hours in 1754. by 1792, only 75 hours

Better roads for transport, such as turnpikes

7,796 tollgates

Overall transport was far faster and thus news of abolition could spread faster as well

Question 52

How did newspapers help publicise abolition

Answer 52

By mid 1780’s, there were dozens of newspapers

Located in London, thusly could influence Parliament

Reprinted articles

Published fund appeals

Reported on abolitionist meetings and petitions

Question 53

How did coffeehouses and libraries aid abolition

Answer 53

Workers went to coffeehouses to read the news, with more and more literature being distributed here

71,000 bookstores

No true restrictions on criticisation of the government

Debating Societies grew rapidly, in 1778 London had 5, but by 1780 there were 35

Question 54

How did Liverpool adapt following abolition in 1807

Answer 54

Shifting from slave made goods such as cotton, sugar, and tobacco towards cosmopolitan and mercantile operations, built upon human trade and commerce

Question 55

What proportion of the population signed at least one anti-slavery petition

Answer 55

1.5 million out of 12 million signed at least once

Question 56

Why didn’t William Pitt fully lend government support

Answer 56

Might alienate the King, perhaps antagonising him.

If Pitt defied him, the King could call an unwinnable election