The Slave Trade Flashcards

1
Q

who were the Quakers

A

religious group formed in 1650 and believed God could be found inside everybody

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2
Q

what happened in 1783 to the Quakers

A

presented a petition with 273 signatures then set up a 23 person committee to end slavery

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3
Q

How were the Quakers successful and unsuccessful

A

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

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4
Q

who were the evangelical christians

A

a religion which believed in the strength of repentance as a means of salvation and promoted the importance of turning away from sin

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5
Q

who were the 2 prominent activists and how did they get involved

A

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

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6
Q

how did the evangelical christians push their message

A

became practiced in public speaking and encouraged Wilberforce to become the voice of abolition

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7
Q

how did the Jonathon Strong case help Sharp’s campaign

A

-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

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7
Q

when was the Sierra Leone project and what happened

A

-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

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8
Q

why was Sharp’s support for the French Revolution damage the campaign

A

people thought he was more concerned with the constitutional issues than the social grievances of the poor in Britain

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9
Q

when was the Society for effecting the abolition of the slave trade founded

A

1787

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10
Q

who was the society

A

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

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11
Q

what did the society do to achieve abolition

A

-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

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12
Q

give 2 examples of the propaganda the society used

A

-Wedgewood’s plaque - ‘Am I not a man and a brother?’
-the drawing of slave ship Brookes

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13
Q

give an example which shows the effectiveness of the society

A

-the 1796 bill was almost passed even when Britain was benefitting from the sugar boom

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14
Q

by 1792 how many anti-slavery petitions were signed

A

more than 519

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15
Q

what process had Europe gone through which moved away from religious teaching

A

the enlightenment

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16
Q

how many people in Manchester signed the petition

A

10,700/50,000

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17
Q

when was the Zong Case

A

1781

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18
Q

how many slaves were thrown overboard and why

A

-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’

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19
Q

what did Sharp do in response to the Zong Case

A

gathered evidence against the crew to prosecute them for murder but the insurers didn’t have to pay out and Sharp failed

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20
Q

when did Wilberforce present his first bill

A

1791-99

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21
Q

how long did the society’s campaign last for

A

more than 20 years

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22
Q

how many miles did Clarkson travel around Britain and what did he show

A

-35,000 miles
-Clarkson’s box

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23
Q

what was the humanitarian argument

A

the argument that slavery was abolished due to the work of the abolitionists persuading gov and public that slavery is wrong

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24
Q

what was the opposition they faced at the time

A

-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

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25
Q

limitations of the humanitarian argument

A

-disregards former slaves’ involvement
-Haitian revolution - 1791
-economic and political changes can be seen as a more likely reason for abolition

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26
Q

how did Britain’s economy benefit from the slave trade (no stats)

A

-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

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27
Q

what percentage of Britain’s textile output went abroad

A

87%

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28
Q

what percentage of people’s income was slave-based

A

40%

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29
Q

… pounds worth of slave based properties

A

60 million pounds

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30
Q

what was Liverpool’s port known as by the 1790s

A

biggest slave-trading port

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31
Q

what fraction of European trade Liverpool’s port claim and what did this provide

A

-three sevenths
-thousands of jobs

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32
Q

what did the slave trade promote

A

growth of other industries e.g textiles

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33
Q

how much profit did the Codrington plantation in Barbados earn and how many slaves did they have

A

-2000 pounds
-276 slaves

34
Q

what was Eric Williams’ Decline Thesis

A

-slave trade was less valuable
-Napoleon’s blockade led to waste/surplus material
-plantations abandoned - sold en-masse

35
Q

how did Williams’ Decline Thesis help abolition

A

-Britain needed to abolish slavery to protect older colonies
-British west Indian colonies were inefficient so profits declined which made slavery useless

36
Q

what was Seymour Drescher’s main argument

A

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

37
Q

how many tons of surplus sugar was there in 1806

A

6000 tons of surplus sugar

38
Q

give examples of costs and issues slave traders had to consider

A

-illness, disease and deaths - loss of cargo, have to pay for doctors and medicine
-slave protection - guards, equipment
-supplies
-tax and insurance
-slave revolts

39
Q

how many ships witnessed a slave revolt

40
Q

give an example of a ship which contributes to the abolition of slavery

A

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

41
Q

give an example of a slave ship which gives evidence of the risk and award view

A

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

42
Q

how much profit did Britain receive by the end of the 1700s

A

3 million pounds

43
Q

what was Adam Smith’s view

A

-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

44
Q

what was an alternative to economic growth

A

laissez faire industrialization

45
Q

what percentage of slave voyages returned

46
Q

what are the limitations of the Decline Thesis

A

Drescher’s argument

47
Q

what are the limitations of the slave trade still being profitable

A

-harvests fluctuated
-Prince Of Orange
-slave revolts
-financial considerations
-Decline Thesis
-Adam Smith’s argument

48
Q

limitations of the economic argument

A

-risk and reward
-minimal financial risk
-Barclay’s funded the slave trade
-slave traders worried about losing money
-Britain relied on the slave trade

49
Q

how many slave voyages were there in the 18th century

50
Q

who was William Wilberforce and what did he do

A

-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

51
Q

who was Thomas Clarkson and what did he do

A

-founder of society
-worked on the grounds of moral outrage - box
-1789 - went to France to persuade abolition
importance: got their message to parliament

52
Q

who was Olaudah Equiano and what did he do

A

-former slave
-worked with Clarkson to abolish slavery

53
Q

limitations of Wilberforce’s work

A

wanted a gradualist approach - people thought he didn’t care as he didn’t want immediate action

54
Q

limitations of Clarkson’s work

A

unable to prove Mansfield was guilty due to Zong Case

55
Q

limitations of Equiano’s work

A

was a former, black slave so not respected

56
Q

who was John Newton

A

wrote Amazing Grace

57
Q

who was Elizabeth Heyrick

A

quaker, set up Ladies Association of Birmingham

58
Q

how did the American War of Independence influence abolition

A

-Americans were influenced by republicanism and individual liberty
-made Britain consider the importance of freedom
-caused loss of market to sell slaves

59
Q

how did the French Revolution help revolution

A

-Napoleon reintroduced slavery in 1802 which reinforced public opinion
-reinforced campaign
-caused Dolben Act and Slave Regulation Act

60
Q

how did the French Revolution hinder abolition

A

-French abolished slavery in 1794 which caused the abolitionists to support the revolution
-parliament were against revolutions
-abolition seen as revolutionary

61
Q

how many plantations were burnt in Saint Domingue and how people died

A

1,000, 12,000

62
Q

on St. Lucia how many troops took back an army of how many slaves

A

12,000, 2000

63
Q

how many Maroons rebelled in the Jamaica riot against how many British troops

64
Q

how much money did the British spend on the Jamaica riot

65
Q

how many maroons were deported to Nova Scotia

66
Q

out of how many British soldiers who fought in the riots how many died

A

45,000/89,000 soldiers died in the riots

67
Q

overall, how did the revolts help abolition

A

-unification of slaves
-proves the slaves’ skills and intelligence
-able to work together
-Britain is at war and wasting money stopping riots

68
Q

overall, how did the revolts hinder abolition

A

-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

69
Q

which act in 1795 had hampered campaigners

A

The Seditious Meetings Act

70
Q

when did the British lose America

71
Q

what propaganda was used at St. Domingue

A

Wedgewood’s plaque

72
Q

despite abolition being agreed on after the French reintroduction of slavery, how early had they been campaigning from

73
Q

what are the other reasons for abolition

A

-geography
-postal service
-newspapers
-coffeehouses and libraries
-naval ‘press gangs’

74
Q

how did geography help abolition

A

-good travel and infrastructure in Britain
-this helped abolitionists travel

75
Q

how many tollgates were there in Britain and how long did it take to get to Edinbrugh from London

A

-7796
-75 hours

76
Q

when was the postal service reformed

77
Q

how did the reform of the postal service help abolition

A

pamphlets, leaflets arrived faster to front door which appealed to women

78
Q

what evidence is there which shows how popular newspapers are

A

had to open a special branch for them

79
Q

how did newspapers help abolition

A

important to civil society, crucial to spread of anti-slavery feeling

80
Q

how many coffeehouses and libraries were there in London

81
Q

how did the popularity of coffeehouses and libraries help abolition

A

customers read dailies which were uncensored and therefore attacked slavery

82
Q

what were naval ‘press gangs’

A

they kidnapped white people and were enslaved to work on slave ships

83
Q

how did naval ‘press gangs’ help abolition

A

Britons were horrified about this and abolitionists saw the link with black people being enslaved which they used in their humanitarian argument