The Slave Trade Flashcards
who were the Quakers
religious group formed in 1650 and believed God could be found inside everybody
what happened in 1783 to the Quakers
presented a petition with 273 signatures then set up a 23 person committee to end slavery
How were the Quakers successful and unsuccessful
successful
-Quaker delegations visited elite schools whose students’ parents were wealthy plantation owners
-received support from former slaves
well organised and provided an effective challenge to slavery
unsuccessful
-only 10,000 pamphelts distributed
-1783 petition ignored
-different in Britain’s class society e.g refused to doff caps
who were the evangelical christians
a religion which believed in the strength of repentance as a means of salvation and promoted the importance of turning away from sin
who were the 2 prominent activists and how did they get involved
Granville Sharp - became a vetenary campaigner against the slave trade
Thomas Clarkson - wrote about the morality of the slave trade and was influenced by the enlightenment
how did the evangelical christians push their message
became practiced in public speaking and encouraged Wilberforce to become the voice of abolition
how did the Jonathon Strong case help Sharp’s campaign
-Sharp found Strong after he was taken to England and beaten by Lisle
-Sharp took Lisle to court after he found out he was trying to enslave Strong again which gained publicity
when was the Sierra Leone project and what happened
-1787
-441 former slaves were shipped from England to SL as free settlers and were promised freedom
-most of the settlers dies due to tropical diseases but in 1792 the Black Loyalists and Maroons thrived
why did Sharp’s support for the French Revolution damage the campaign
people thought he was more concerned with the constitutional issues than the social grievances of the poor in Britain
when was the Society for effecting the abolition of the slave trade founded
1787
who was the society
a group of social reformers who aimed to raise awareness to the public about the horrors of the slave trade and increase political pressure to the government
what did the society do to achieve abolition
-propaganda
-petitions
-public speaking
-Wilberforce’s bills
-took advantage of Britain’s religious beliefs in their speeches to make them feel guilty that they are going against their moral compass
give 2 examples of the propaganda the society used
-Wedgewood’s plaque - ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’
-the drawing of slave ship Brookes
give an example which shows the effectiveness of the society
-the 1796 bill was almost passed even when Britain was benefitting from the sugar boom
by 1792 how many anti-slavery petitions were signed
more than 519
what process had Europe gone through which moved away from religious teaching
the enlightenment
how many people in Manchester signed the petition
10,700/50,000
when was the Zong Case
1781
how many slaves were thrown overboard and why
-133
- the journey was taking too long and the slaves would have died anyway
-they wouldn’t have to pay insurance if the slaves died due to the ‘perils of the sea’
what did Sharp do in response to the Zong Case
gathered evidence against the crew to prosecute them for murder but the insurers didn’t have to pay out and Sharp failed
when did Wilberforce present his first bill
1791-99
how long did the society’s campaign last for
more than 20 years
how many miles did Clarkson travel around Britain and what did he show
-35,000 miles
-Clarkson’s box
what was the humanitarian argument
the argument that slavery was abolished due to the work of the abolitionists persuading gov and public that slavery is wrong
what was the opposition they faced at the time
-West India Lobby - sugar planters who depended on the slave trade and 50 MPs were linked to them
-24% of Britain’s income depended on the slave trade
-anti-abolition committees sent petitions to parliament, provided evidence and wrote in local newspapers
-1783 petition was ignored by parliament
-high demand for items e.g tea and sugar
limitations of the humanitarian argument
-disregards former slaves’ involvement
-Haitian revolution - 1791
-economic and political changes can be seen as a more likely reason for abolition
how did Britain’s economy benefit from the slave trade (no stats)
-creation of middle class
-luxury goods more common - increases trade
-mass production
-more employment
-(free) labor
-demand for weapons
-booming economy
-low costs high profit
what percentage of Britain’s textile output went abroad
87%
what percentage of people’s income was slave-based
40%
… pounds worth of slave based properties
60 million pounds
what was Liverpool’s port known as by the 1790s
biggest slave-trading port
what fraction of European trade Liverpool’s port claim and what did this provide
-three sevenths
-thousands of jobs
what did the slave trade promote
growth of other industries e.g textiles
how much profit did the Codrington plantation in Barbados earn and how many slaves did they have
-2000 pounds
-276 slaves
what was Eric Williams’ Decline Thesis
-slave trade was less valuable
-Napoleon’s blockade led to waste/surplus material
-plantations abandoned - sold en-masse
how did Williams’ Decline Thesis help abolition
-Britain needed to abolish slavery to protect older colonies
-British west Indian colonies were inefficient so profits declined which made slavery useless
what was Seymour Drescher’s main argument
the decline of slavery was not just due to the decline thesis but also the transition from mercantilism (belief in profitable trade) to laissez faire
how many tons of surplus sugar was there in 1806
6000 tons of surplus sugar
give examples of costs and issues slave traders had to consider
-illness, disease and deaths - loss of cargo, have to pay for doctors and medicine
-slave protection - guards, equipment
-supplies
-tax and insurance
-slave revolts
how many ships witnessed a slave revolt
1 in 10
give an example of a ship which contributes to the abolition of slavery
Prince of orange - 1736
-100 men jumped overboard and 33 slaves drowned
-cost and profit of 33 slaves was lost - small cargo
-little sugar to buy
give an example of a slave ship which gives evidence of the risk and award view
The Juba - 1787
-middle passage took 13 weeks instead of 3, captain accused of beating and raping female slaves, 29 slaves died and ship was lost
-owners still made a proft - insurance fraud
-201/230 survived - very good
how much profit did Britain receive by the end of the 1700s
3 million pounds
what was Adam Smith’s view
-slavery was not as cheap or efficient as free labor
-forced workers would not work as well as people who want to work
-slave owners had to pay to avoid riots
what was an alternative to economic growth
laissez faire industrialization
what percentage of slave voyages returned
20-50%
what are the limitations of the Decline Thesis
Drescher’s argument
what are the limitations of the slave trade still being profitable
-harvests fluctuated
-Prince Of Orange
-slave revolts
-financial considerations
-Decline Thesis
-Adam Smith’s argument
limitations of the economic argument
-risk and reward
-minimal financial risk
-Barclay’s funded the slave trade
-slave traders worried about losing money
-Britain relied on the slave trade
how many slave voyages were there in the 18th century
35,000
who was William Wilberforce and what did he do
-Hull MP
-1789 - introduced 12 resolutions against slavery and gave speeches to the HoC
-1807 - final bill 283 to 16#
importance: got their message to parliament
who was Thomas Clarkson and what did he do
-founder of society
-worked on the grounds of moral outrage - box
-1789 - went to France to persuade abolition
importance: got their message to parliament
who was Olaudah Equiano and what did he do
-former slave
-worked with Clarkson to abolish slavery
limitations of Wilberforce’s work
wanted a gradualist approach - people thought he didn’t care as he didn’t want immediate action
limitations of Clarkson’s work
unable to prove Mansfield was guilty due to Zong Case
limitations of Equiano’s work
was a former, black slave so not respected
who was John Newton
wrote Amazing Grace
who was Elizabeth Heyrick
quaker, set up Ladies Association of Birmingham
how did the American War of Independence influence abolition
-Americans were influenced by republicanism and individual liberty
-made Britain consider the importance of freedom
-caused loss of market to sell slaves
how did the French Revolution help revolution
-Napoleon reintroduced slavery in 1802 which reinforced public opinion
-reinforced campaign
-caused Dolben Act and Slave Regulation Act
how did the French Revolution hinder abolition
-French abolished slavery in 1794 which caused the abolitionists to support the revolution
-parliament were against revolutions
-abolition seen as revolutionary
how many plantations were burnt in Saint Domingue and how people died
1,000, 12,000
on St. Lucia how many troops took back an army of how many slaves
12,000, 2000
how many Maroons rebelled in the Jamaica riot against how many British troops
500, 5000
how much money did the British spend on the Jamaica riot
£500,000
how many maroons were deported to Nova Scotia
569
out of how many British soldiers who fought in the riots how many died
45,000/89,000 soldiers died in the riots
overall, how did the revolts help abolition
-unification of slaves
-proves the slaves’ skills and intelligence
-able to work together
-Britain is at war and wasting money stopping riots
overall, how did the revolts hinder abolition
-slaves seen as savage and can’t be trusted to be treated like equal citizens
-Britain will become more vengeful in response to riots
-Grenada St. Vincent and St. Lucia revolts were unsuccessful
which act in 1795 had hampered campaigners
The Seditious Meetings Act
when did the British lose America
1783
what propaganda was used at St. Domingue
Wedgewood’s plaque
despite abolition being agreed on after the French reintroduction of slavery, how early had they been campaigning from
1787
what are the other reasons for abolition
-geography
-postal service
-newspapers
-coffeehouses and libraries
-naval ‘press gangs’
how did geography help abolition
-good travel and infrastructure in Britain
-this helped abolitionists travel
how many tollgates were there in Britain and how long did it take to get to Edinbrugh from London
-7796
-75 hours
when was the postal service reformed
1784
how did the reform of the postal service help abolition
pamphlets, leaflets arrived faster to front door which appealed to women
what evidence is there which shows how popular newspapers are
had to open a special branch for them
how did newspapers help abolition
important to civil society, crucial to spread of anti-slavery feeling
how many coffeehouses and libraries were there in London
500, 100
how did the popularity of coffeehouses and libraries help abolition
customers read dailies which were uncensored and therefore attacked slavery
what were naval ‘press gangs’
they kidnapped white people and were enslaved to work on slave ships
how did naval ‘press gangs’ help abolition
Britons were horrified about this and abolitionists saw the link with black people being enslaved which they used in their humanitarian argument
