The slave trade and abolition Flashcards
What year did Britain abolish the slave trade?
Which century did Britain become involved in the trade?
What was the transatlantic slave trade?
When did Britain begin to dominate the transatlantic trade?
-1807
-British involvement to the slave trade had been going on since the 16th century.
-The transatlantic slave trade meant trading British goods like textiles for slaves in West Africa before carrying those slaves to the Americas and bringing slave produced raw materials back to Britain.
-Britain dominated the transatlantic slave trade (the ‘triangular trade’) from the mid-18th century.
How was the slave trade beneficial for British government?
British ports? Who found profitable investments in the trade?
What did the trade provide for the Navy?
Why did dozens of mps support the slave trade?
-The government used the revenues from taxing the imports from the Americas brought by slave ships to fund the Royal Navy and fight European wars.
-British ports (used by slave carriers) like Bristol and Liverpool boomed.
-The trade was a profitable investment for British financiers.
-The slave trade provided a wider pool of skilled sailors for use during wars.
-Powerful vested interests in Britain supported the slave trade, including dozens of MPs who had interests in slave plantations.
Who led the first abolitionist movement in the UK?
Who did they join forces with in 1787?
What grassroot methods did they use whilst campaigning?
Why were their efforts of poor timing politically?
Why was emancipation seen as a pro-French position?
-The Quakers were the first abolitionist movement in Britain. They first petitioned parliament in 1783.
-They joined forces with other abolitionists in 1787 and William Wilberforce led a campaign inside parliament for abolition 1789.
-The abolitionists led the first grassroots campaign for abolition, exposing the horrors of slavery to the public through pamphlets, posters and meetings.
-The timing could not have been worse as France went into revolution in 1789 and became a republic in 1792. This led to conflict with Britain.
-France emancipated the slaves of plantation owners who were loyal to the monarch. Britain supported the loyalists, hoping to take the island. Emancipation was therefore a pro-French position. Parliament voted against abolition consistently.
What lucrative former French colony had Britain tried to capture?
What did they want to do on the island?
Were they successful? How many British soldiers were defeated?
How did emancipation become a anti-french position?
When was the Foreign Slave Trade bill passed? What did it mean?
When was the Slave Trade Act passed?
When did the practice of slavery itself be abolished? How much did Gov’t compensate slave owners?
-Saint-Domingue.
-Britain conspired with loyalist French plantation owners and invaded Saint Domingue to restore lucrative sugar and coffee plantations and seize the colony.
-NO. 50,000 British soldiers were defeated.
-Napoleon, the French Emperor, restored slavery in the Empire to reinstate revenues from it. Emancipation was therefore an anti-French position, making it much more attractive.
-The Foreign Slave Trade bill was passed in 1806 banning British citizens from trading slaves with enemies (France).
-The Slave Trade Act passed in 1807, ending Britain’s role in the slave trade.
-Practice of slavery itself was not banned in British colonies until 1834 when the government compensated salve owners £20 million for the loss of ‘property’.
Was Humanitarianism and Anti French sentiment the only reasons for abolition?
What were the two other reasons?
What effect did the major slave revolts in Barbados 1816 and Jamaica 1831 have on gov’t?
How many French soldiers and British were defeated by Touissant L’ouverture’s army in Haiti?
Despite this how did Britain suppress these revolts? (Maroons?) (Tacky’s revolt?)
-NO. It was also due to economic considerations(less profitable), Rebellions by enslaved people.
-Revolts shocked the British government and made them see that the costs and dangers of keeping slavery in the West Indies were too high.
-50,000 French and 55,000 British soldiers were defeated.
-1739 Maroons signed a treaty becoming mercenaries for the British.
-Tacky’s Revolt in 1760 April-October: 30,000 slave rebellion. Maroons helped suppress and shot the leader Tacky.
Why was the slave trade becoming increasingly less profitable? (Privateers?)
What fraction of ships during the 18th century would lose their owner profits?
How much did merchants in liverpool lose in 1778?
What is the problem with the demand of sugar? (India?) (over source?)
-Losses to foreign privateers during Britain’s prolonged wars, together with disease on tropical voyages and the impact of slave rebellions, created considerable financial uncertainty.
-1/10 ships during the 18th century would lose their owner profits.
-In 1778 merchants in Liverpool lost £700,000.
-A world over-supply of sugar and British merchants had difficulties re-exporting it. Sugar could be sourced at a lower cost and without the use of slavery from Britain’s other colonies eg India.
How did the abolition of slavery lead to a diversification of trade in Bristol and Liverpool?
How did the abolition of slavery effect the available workforce?
By 1860 where did Britain receive 80% of its cotton?
-The abolition of the slave trade led to diversification, which in turn strengthened trade, with Bristol and Liverpool developing new harbours. Bristol’s shipbuilding boomed reaching a peak of c4500 tonnage in 1841 vs just c1000 tonnage in 1800.
-Reduced the available workforce on the Caribbean sugar plantations, which reduced its levels of production and contribution to trade. For example, whilst life expectancy improved greatly in Barbados after 1807, many Africans turned their backs on plantations and production declined.
-1860- Britain received 80% of its cotton from America.
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In 1890 who did Britain hand the strategically important island of Heligoland in the North Sea in return for control of Zanzibar?
How many slaves were freed by the West Africa Squadron?
How did slavers avoid inspection by the West African Squadron? (American ships?)(Brazilian flag?)
-Germany.
-150,000 slaves were released on behalf of the West Africa Squadron.
-American ships could not be touched unless there were actually slaves on board. This allowed the traders to arrive on the coast under the American flag, and then switch to the Brazilian flag (under this flag the crew could not be punished if caught). Almost all slavers – including many British - carried multiple sets of papers to allow them to assume different nationalities as the situation required.
