Slavery Flashcards
How did the triangle of trade work
Manufactured goods from Britain was sent to the west coast of Africa. They tended to be items such as pots, pans, cloth, guns, hardware as well as spirits and tobacco. From these items places such as Senegal , Gambia and the Gold Coast sold their slaves. The ships with their new cargo set sail for America ( including the west Indies and parts of South America) . Once they were there the slaves were sold at auction and paid for and local produce. In America it tended to be cotton for Britain’s textile industry
When was the slave trade abolished
In 1807 the slave trade was abolished by the British parliament. It became illegal to buy and sell slaves but people can still owned them, in 1833 Parliament finally abolished slavery itself, both in Britain and throughout the Empire.
How did white middle-class campaigners cause abolition
Granville Sharp was a passionate lawyer who was fixed on freeing slaves. sharp fought many cases where slaves had run away from their owners and their owners has now come to capture them back. Please saved many slaves from being sent back to the west Indies. Judges then agreed that a master could not force a slave to go out of Britain shop did not manage to get slavery all the slave trade abolished but he had started the campaign against slavery. His cases we are beginning to turn public opinion against slavery. William Wilberforce was also a great campaign against slavery. In 1797 12 opponents of slavery formed a group to fight for abolition. William Wilberforce is the best known of them. He was an MP and made many speeches in parliament against the slave trade. Another member of the group, Thomas Clarkson collected together all the information about the terrible conditions on the slave ships. He use this to persuade people how awful the slave trade was. Huge petitions were collected and presented to Parliament again and again the campaigners tried to get Parliament to abolish the slave trade. At last 1807 and they were successful.
How did white working-class campaigners affect slavery
In 1788 petitions began to flood into Parliament demanding the abolition of the slave trade the petitions were from working class people. Into Manchester in 17 88 10,000 working people signed a petition. Support group in 17 92 20,000 Manchester people singled another petition. Almost a third of the population . When the slave trade was abolished in 1807 these campaigns did not stop. They continued with the aim of making slavery a legal and freeing all existing slaves. In 1814 one and a 1/2 million people signed petitions.
How did the black people cause the abolition of slavery
In the 18th century many black slaves in Britain began to demand to be treated like ordinary servant. They demanded wages. Many others simply refuse to be kept as slaves and ran away. Often the slaves owner went to court to get the slave back, but the legal position of slavery in Britain was never clear. Everyone knew that slaves could be kept in another part of the British Empire, such as the west Indies. Everyone also knew that sleeves can be traded it around the world. Increasingly lawcourts did set the slaves free. Soon it was not worth the trouble the slave owners to chase down there escaped slaves. When olaaudah equiano was just 10 years old he was taken from Africa to Barbados as a slave he stayed in London for some time were he learned to read and became a Christian he eventually bought his freedom and return to England. In 1789 he wrote the story of his life. This was widely read and turned many people against slavery. He travelled the country speaking at meetings and worked closely with other abolitionists like Granville Sharp. The ideas of equality and liberty that were behind the French Revolution in 1789 also took root in the island of Saint Domingue The French colony in the west Indies. The plantation owners did not like these ideals and to avoid another revolution like the one in France they planned an alliance with Britain. The slaves knew this would mean slavery would continue. The conditions for the slaves on Saint Dominingue were among the worst in the west Indies. The death rate among the slaves was very high because of the dreadful treatment they received. In 1791 the slaves rebelled, murdering white plantation owners and setting fire to the sugarcane fields. British troops tried to take control but the stage defeated the British as well. Slavery was abolished and in 1804 the island declared itself independant with the new name of Haiti. All over the west Indies plantation owners lived in terror of these ideas spreading b to their own slaves but this was also used to set people against abolition to show what would happen if everyone was given equality
How did economic’s affect the abolition of slavery
From the 1770s onwards the west Indies were becoming less important to Britain. Cuba and Brazil could produce a cheaper sugar. Many plantations in the west Indies were closed down. The demand for slaves fell. For example in 1771 Barbados imported 2728 slaves but in 1772 none were imported
What was the slave trade
Britain made money from the trade in slaves. Liverpool merchants could make 100% profit from the trade. If ship carrying 250 sleeves could make around £7000 in profit. From 1783 to 1793 Liverpool traded 303,737slaves. These would have all been the fittest strongest and most able of the African tribes that was sold into slavery and the slave trade also took place in Bristol and in London
