Anti-Slavery Movement Flashcards
Causes
Britain made enormous amounts of money from the slave trade. Key ports in this trade were Bristol, London and Liverpool. Life on slave ships was horrendous. One third of slaves transported, died on the way. Average life expectancy on a plantation was 27.
Methods
The Anti-Slavery society was formed and led by William Wilberforce, he was the MP for Hull and was motivated by his Christian faith. The society held public meetings, produced pamphlets, and posters and badges. These actions raised public awareness and helped spread support for abolition. They signed petitions and sent these to parliament, many of the signatures were from working class people.
Thomas Clarkson collected information and made drawings to show the terrible conditions on slave ships.
Granville Sharpe – a lawyer who supported cases of slaves in England who wanted to be free. He brought to the attention of the British public the story of the Zong slave ship.
Oladauh Equiano, was an ex-slave who wrote a book about his life and made people aware of the horrors of the slave trade. Hannah More wrote poems and she, and other women, ran anti-slavery societies.
There were a number of slave revolts. Maroons in the mountains of Jamaica used hit and run tactics. The St Domingue rebellion was led by Toussaint L’overture, renamed Haiti.
The price of sugar fell dramatically due to overproduction and it became too expensive to keep slaves
1807 the slave trade was banned. Victory for the Abolitionists over the West Indian lobby in parliament. Britain was able to increase pressure on other countries to also abolish slavery. It was one of the first times that a large number of people had become outraged over an issue of rights despite economic disruption. A one-issue group with backing from wealthy, religious groups, cross-class support won. Women had been involved heavily in this movement and gained respect and experience in protest.
Outcomes
Long term: Only in 1833 were slaves freed throughout the British Empire
Short term: slave trade continued illegally but was making less money than it used to
Slaves were now forced to compete for paid work; they still had to live and work in horrible conditions
