Britain - The Abolition of the Slave Trade

Question 1

What was the Enlightenment movement about?

Answer 1

The Enlightenment encouraged rational thought to challenge blind obedience and questioned the legitimacy of absolutism, advocating for the innate rights of all humans.

Question 2

What were the Quakers’ views on slavery?

Answer 2

The Quakers opposed slavery since 1657, believing in the equality of all before God. They actively campaigned against slavery, presenting petitions to Parliament, publishing pamphlets, and educating the public.

Question 3

What role did Evangelical Christians play in the abolitionist movement?

Answer 3

Evangelical Christians viewed the slave trade as sinful and campaigned for its abolition. Figures like Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp were instrumental in popularising the movement and persuading MPs like William Wilberforce to advocate for abolition in Parliament.

Question 4

What was the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade?

Answer 4

The Society was a religious lobby group aiming to raise awareness and apply political pressure to end the slave trade. They organized education campaigns, designed emotive propaganda, and collected petitions against slavery.

Question 5

Who formed the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and in what year did they do so?

Answer 5

1787 by Quakers and Evangelicals

Question 6

What impact did the Society have on public opinion?

Answer 6

The Society’s efforts contributed to widespread public opposition to slavery, with hundreds of petitions signed and significant public support.

Question 7

What impact did the Society have on parliament?

Answer 7

In Parliament, William Wilberforce consistently proposed abolition bills, maintaining a strong position for the cause.

Question 8

What is Eric Williams’ ‘Decline Thesis’?

Answer 8

Eric Williams argued that the growth of industrialisation led to a decline in the profitability of the slave trade. The shift from mercantilism to free trade, along with advancements in alternative modes of commerce, made slave labour less economically viable.

Question 9

By the 1780s, what percentage of the country’s income came from the slave trade?

Answer 9

24%

Question 10

What was the ‘West India Lobby’?

Answer 10

A group of pro-slavery wealthy sugar planters in the West Indies who formed close links with those in Parliament

Question 11

By the late 1700s, how many MPs were linked to the West India Lobby?

Answer 11

50 MPs

Question 12

What was Thomas Clarkson’s anti - slavery essay called?

Answer 12

An Essay on the Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species

Question 13

What did William Wilberforce propose to parliament?

Answer 13

Annual bills abolishing slavery since 1791

Question 14

When did the ‘Zong Case’ occur?

Answer 14

1781

Question 15

What was the ‘Zong Case’?

Answer 15

133 slaves were purposely thrown overboard so that the captain could claim insurance, but the insurance company refused

Question 16

Who designed a logo for the ‘Society’ with a picture of a kneeling slave and the emblem - ‘Am I not a man and a brother’ inscribed around it it?

Answer 16

Josiah Wedgewood

Question 17

By 1792, how many petitions had been signed against the slave trade?

Answer 17

Over 519

Question 18

When did the Haitian Revolution occur?

Answer 18

1791

Question 19

What occurred during the Haitian Revolution?

Answer 19

A rebellion of black slaves against whites. They burned 180 plantations and killed 4000 white people.

Question 20

Why was Liverpool significant?

Answer 20

It became the biggest slave trading port in the world, comprising 3/7 of the whole European market

Question 21

During the 1780s in Bristol, what percentage of people’s income was slave based?

Answer 21

40%

Question 22

What did Adam Smith argue in his book ‘Wealth of Nations’?

Answer 22

People work best when they’re willing to do the work (rather than enslaved to do it), and good workers would increase profits

Question 23

How much did the slave ship ‘Ann’ cost to make, and how much profit did it make?

Answer 23

It cost £3150 to make (this was an enormous sum of money – highlighting that the slave trade risky venture), but after its successful voyage it earned £8000 (huge profits)

Question 24

When was the Dolben Act introduced?

Answer 24

1788

Question 25

What was the Dolben Act?

Answer 25

Restricted the number of Africans per ton of ship and stipulated a doctor must be on board on all voyages to check the health of the valuable ‘cargo’

Question 26

What fraction of ships had a revolt during the voyage?

Answer 26

1/10

Question 27

Why was slave trading a risky venture?

Answer 27

Slave revolts
Many ships were damage due to storms and therefore lost cargo
There was disease on many ships with their slaves dying
The cotton trade also brought huge risks as cotton harvests fluctuated

Question 28

When did Thomas Clarkson win the Cambridge essay competition that allowed him to gain popularity?

Answer 28

1786

Question 29

How did Clarkson influence Wilberforce?

Answer 29

His essay helped persuaded MP William Wilberforce to be the voice of abolitionism in Parliament, and his talent as a public propagandist spread the message to the British population

Question 30

How many copies of Clarkson’s essay were printed?

Answer 30

Over 10000

Question 31

How far did Clarkson travel between 1787 - 1794 to collect information on the slave trade?

Answer 31

Over 35000 miles

Question 32

How did Clarkson spread an emotive message and humanise the victims of the slave trade?

Answer 32

He used visual images (e.g. cut-through section plan of a slave ship cargo hold to show how overcrowded slaves were)
Physical objects (e.g. items from the slave ships like chains)
He also showed African cultural works like pottery

Question 33

How many new branches of the ‘Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade’ did Clarkson establish?

Answer 33

1200

Question 34

By how many was Wilberforce’s first bill in 1791 defeated by?

Answer 34

Defeated by 2/3 of the House of Commons

Question 35

Why was Wilberforce continuously unsuccessful?

Answer 35

Presented the bills routinely late in Parliamentary session or when other issues were already taking prominence

Question 36

How did the War with France hinder the cause for abolition?

Answer 36

Parliament became fearful of revolution in Britain and feared the abolitionism was a revolutionary group

Question 37

Who was Olaudah Equiano?

Answer 37

An ex-slave who in 1789 published his own autobiography ‘The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano’

Question 38

How did Equiano’s autobiography impact the public?

Answer 38

His autobiography was a work of realism that personalised slavery (an intellectual consideration amongst Enlightenment thinking)

Question 39

When did Equiano join the ‘Sons of Africa’?

Answer 39

1787

Question 40

What was the ‘Sons of Africa’?

Answer 40

A black abolitionist group who toured the country and lobbied Parliament

Question 41

When did Equiano marry an Englishwoman?

Answer 41

1797

Question 42

Why was Equiano so significant?

Answer 42

He presented a real image of Africa and exposed the horrors of the slave trade

Question 43

How did the American War of Independence impact the cause for abolition?

Answer 43

America argued they had been enslaved by Britain and was now freed – this was analogous to African Slaves in Britain; the War of Independence therefore spurred an intellectual debate; America had formed their identity on republicanism and individual liberty; they fought 8 years to achieve freedom

Question 44

How did the revolutionary war with France impact the cause for abolition?

Answer 44

French government abolished slavery in 1794 under ‘Liberty, Fraternity and Equality’. As a result in Britain abolitionism was then seen as a revolutionary idea which the English propertied class, who had the vote, were extremely fearful of.

Question 45

When did Napoleon reintroduce the French slave trade?

Answer 45

1802

Question 46

How did the French reintroduction of the slave trade impact the cause for abolition in Britain?

Answer 46

Abolitionism in Britain became a patriotic duty to oppose the country they were fighting at War.

Question 47

How did the Industrial Revolution and the war against revolutionary France affect the consideration of abolitionism?

Answer 47

The negative impacts of the Industrial Revolution and the war against revolutionary France meant that issues like abolitionism were considered ‘lesser’ and were not prioritised.

Question 48

What event in 1791 had a significant impact on the pro-slavery lobby and why?

Answer 48

The violent uprising in the French slave colony Haiti (St Domingue) in 1791 caused a conservative backlash and strengthened the pro-slavery lobby. The revolt led to the destruction of 1000 plantations, the death of 12000 people (including 2000 Europeans), and a crash in the sugar economy.

Question 49

Why did Britain fear similar revolutions in its colonies after the Haitian uprising?

Answer 49

Britain feared similar revolutions in its own colonies as slave revolts erupted across British-owned areas of the Caribbean, such as Grenada, St Vincent, and St Lucia, after 1791.

Question 50

How did the public and politicians in Britain react to the slave revolts in the Caribbean?

Answer 50

The public and politicians in Britain thought the abolitionist movement was supporting these slave revolts and developed a hardened stance against abolitionism. Even William Pitt shifted against abolitionism following the Haitian Revolution.

Question 51

What measures were taken in Jamaica after 1792 to minimise rebellion?

Answer 51

In Jamaica, the Colonial Assembly agreed to abandon the use of metal collars for shackling slaves together and banned mutilation as a punishment.

Question 52

How did the British military respond to the threat of slave rebellions in Jamaica by 1793?

Answer 52

By 1793, 3000 British troops were stationed in Jamaica to neutralise the threat of rebellion.

Question 53

What were the financial implications of subduing the slave revolts?

Answer 53

The cost of subduing the slave revolts was financially substantial, unsustainable, and inconvenient. This, coupled with the long recovery time for crop economies after plantations were burned, led to the realisation that the slave trade would incur more costs and reduce profit over time.