Topic 1: Atlantic Slave Trade

Question 1

The Zong

Answer 1

A slave ship

Question 2

Who owned the Zong?

Answer 2

William Gregson

Question 3

The British Port that the Zong set sail from in 1781.

Answer 3

Liverpool

Question 4

How much did Gregson insure on the Zong?

Answer 4

8,000 pounds

Question 5

What happened after the Zong set sail?

Answer 5

It sailed off course and the crew realised they would be late in reaching Jamiaca. They were worried that the drinking water would run out.

Question 6

What was Luke Collingwood’s plan in the Zong?

Answer 6

He planned to throw the slaves overboard to claim insurance money.

Question 7

What was the result of Collingwood’s plan in the Zong?

Answer 7

As a result, 132 slaves were thrown overboard to their deaths.

Question 8

What did Gregson demand when they returned home?

Answer 8

He demanded 30 pounds for each slave that died from the insurers.

Question 9

What did the insurers find in the Zong to charge Collingwood with fraud?

Answer 9

They found 420 gallons of water still on board and the ship’s log disappeared.

Question 10

What decision was made in March 1783 in the Zong case?

Answer 10

The insuers lost as the jury saw nothing wrong with killing the africans to save the crew.

Question 11

What were the 3 main reasons why many people wanted the slave trade to end?

Answer 11

Humanitarian, Religion (Christianity) & Economic reasons.

Question 12

Explain the reasons why people wanted the slave trade to end. (6)

Answer 12

It was cruel.
- The slave trade brutalised everyone who took part in it.
Alternative products made just as much money.
- The industrial Revolution in Britain led to new industries which made money.
There were cheaper alternatives to slave produced sugar.
- Sugar could be produced cheaper by paid workers in India.
The slave trade led to wars
- The slave trade led to wars breaking out between tribes in Africa in order to capture people to sell into slavery.
Due to their religious beliefs
- Slavery broke the rules of the Ten commandments.
Less productive way of working
- Some people believed workers are more productive if they are paid for their work.

Question 13

Who were the quakers and why did they want to abolish slavery?

Answer 13

They were a religous group and they wanted to abolish slavery because they thought that if you believed in caring for each other, you would not be part of such a cruel business.

Question 14

Who is Granville Sharp and what did he do?

Answer 14

He was a chairman for the society for the abolition of the slave trade and he was involved in legal cases like the Zong. He fought to end slavery in the courts.

Question 15

Who is Thomas Clarkson and what did he do?

Answer 15

He collected African goods like ivory to demonstrate the skills of Africans and he visited ports and went into slave ships. He also collected tems like shackles to show people how cruel the slave trade is.

Question 16

Who is Olaudah Equiano and what did he do?

Answer 16

He was a former enslaved African and went on lecture tours around the country to tell people his experience and the evils of slavery. He published his autobiography in 1789.

Question 17

Who is William Wilberforce and what did he do?

Answer 17

He was a very witty politician and from 1789, he gave speeches often and introduced bills in parliament for 18 years to ban the slave trade.

Question 18

What 9 methods did the abolitionists use?

Answer 18

• Educating people
• Speaking tours
• Abolitionist images
• Petitions
• Lobbying
• Work in Parliament
• Work of the quakers
• Evangelical Movement

Question 19

Explain the reasons why people did NOT want the slave trade to end. (6)

Answer 19

Lead to unemployment
- Stopping the slave trade will lead to thousands of people losing their jobs in trades that provide goods for the outward passage.
Creates a lot of wealth
- Sugar, tobacco, coffee, and cotton made a lot of profit and it they trade was banned , people would no longer get access to these crops.
Religion
- The slave trade led many Africans to change their religion to Christianity .
Training ground
- The slave trade provides training for many sailors who are needed for the Royal Navy.
Brings in goods
- The trade brought sugar, tobacco, cotton and coffee to Britain which many people enjoyed and became reliant on.
War
- Britain was at war with France and without the money that Britain benefited from the slave trade, it would be difficult for Britain to win.

Question 20

(TL) 1789: _________ introduces a bill to abolish slavery. It was defeated in the House of __________ as the slave traders and plantation owners had too many ________ there.

Answer 20

Wilberforce, Commons, allies

Question 21

(TL) 1804: Each year, Wilberforce introduced a ________to abolish the slave trade. Each year the majority against it got ________.

Answer 21

bill, smaller

Question 22

(TL) 1807: Wilberforce has support of new PM ______. The new Abolition Bill passes in both the Commons and the House of Lords. Final vote was ___ in favour and 16 against.

Answer 22

Grenville, 283

Question 23

(TL) 1807: Act for the _________ of the slave trade passed.

Answer 23

abolition

Question 24

What did the 1807 ‘Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade’ do?

Answer 24

Outlawed British ships from taking part in the slave trade.
Trafficking is now banned, anyone trafficking pays a fine of 100 pounds per slave.
Any slave ships would be confiscated
Insurance of a slave ship is prohibited.

Question 25

Why was the slave trade abolished? (6)

Answer 25

• William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson: Worked hard to abolish the slave trade. Wilberforce was described as the man who did the most for the abolitionist movement.
• Political reasons: Many MPs feared becoming unpopular and losing their seat in parliament if they did not agree with the idea of abolition. Many petitions were signed too.
• Economic reasons: Sugar trade from the West Indies was not as profitable as it once was and it could be produced cheaply in India. The Industrial Revolution led to the development of new, less risky ways of making profits.
• Slave rebellions: They made politicians scared as they put pressure the colonial system.
• Religious reasons: People thought that the slave trade was against what God would of wanted and it is against the bible.
• Publicity: Equiano wrote a book of his story as a slave and many British people read the book. Wedgwood designed a seal for stamping and it showed an african kneeling, lifting his hands for mercy.

Question 26

Why did the abolition of the slave trade take so long? (6)

Answer 26

• Support in parliament: The slave trade had supporters in parliament who were powerful. They made speeches and used delaying tatics to argue more time was needed.
• Loss of money: Money made from importing plantation goods such as sugar, rum and tobacco would be wiped out.
• Bribery: Planters in the West Indies and merchants who bought slave goods in Britain were powerful and wealthy enough to bribe other MPs to support them.
• Loss of jobs: Thousands of British people would lose their jobs and become unemployed.
• War: In 1789, Britain declared war on France so they needed money from the slave trade to fight.
• Towns and Cites: Mayors, merchants and townspeople sent petitions to parliament to argue that their town and cites would suffer as they would lose so much trade.