Chapter 8(b)- The Slave Trade Flashcards
What was the Slave Trade?
- Since the 1500s, Britain had been making vast sums of money from the slave trade.
-There was terrible conditions on the slave ships and plantations were equally horrific. A third of the slaves died on the ships and their life expectancy was only 27 if they did survive on the ships.
What was the Abolition Movement?
-Some people accepted that the Slave Trade was wrong.
-This is due to the horrific working conditions and the religious belief that slavery was not Christian.
-Due to this some people who had supported this belief had created the Anti-Slavery Society.
Who were some of the key figures in the Anti-Slavery Society movement?
-William Wilberforce MP, spoke for abolition in parliament and presented a petition in 1797.
-Thomas Clarkson, collected information and produced drawings and pamphlets about conditions on board slave ships.
-Olaudah Equiano, former slave who wrote a widely-read book about his life.
What examples were there for slave resistance?
-The Maroon slaves escaped from their plantation in Jamaica in 1655, they lived in the mountains and celebrated their native African Culture.
-Inspired by the French Revolution, the slaves of St Dominique rebelled, killing white plantation owners and burning the sugar crops, and they were victorious.
What similarities did the Abolition movement and the Anti-Corn Law League have?
-Middle- class supporters.
-Methods used consisted of Speeches, Pamphlets, and Public meetings.
-Many MPs did not support what they were fighting for at first.
-However, both movements had different aims, and a different impact on society.
