This Day in History — 25 March

Bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade in Britain.

The Slave trade was initiated as a means of acquiring free labour in the Caribbean colonies and southern states of the USA- the New World. It began in the 15th Century when explorers and adventurers first discovered new lands and established trade links. A triangular trade route was launched so that ships embarking from England were always carrying a cargo of one sort or another from place to place.

The first leg of the journey was to sail around the Iberian Peninsula and down to the coast of West Africa. Once there, the crew would trade textiles, rum, ironware and other products for slaves, who Arab slavers had captured. The slaves would then be shipped across the Atlantic Ocean and auctioned off to plantation owners. The fund raised was used to purchase plantation commodities such as sugar, tobacco and cotton, which were duly brought back to Blighty.

The returning cargo was worth a great deal more than the outgoing, so a considerable profit margin was realised. Many people consequently grew very rich from the slave trade. In this case, the love of money was truly the root of all evil, as thousands of Africans went into slavery with little or no consideration for their human rights. Their treatment and conditions of transport were like those of animals, and many died en route. The rest would never see their families again and lived in abject poverty with the ever-present threat of severe punishment if they failed to do the work required of them.

Willian Wilberforce

Thankfully, as England grew civilized from its ill-gotten gains it also produced civilised people, who began to question the moral and ethical basis for slavery. This is what eventually led to its abolition. The philanthropist William Wilberforce (1759–1833) headed a parliamentary campaign against slavery. The Slave Trade Act was passed in 1807 to make further trade in slaves illegal. Then in the year of his death came the Slavery Abolition Act which gave slaves their manumission within the British Empire.

One City that benefitted greatly from the wealth generated by slavery was Bristol, England. Bein in the southwest corner of Britain, it was a place to form a corner of the slavery triangle. Paraphernalia of slavery, such as shackles and chains, still exist in the cellars and basements of houses once owned by merchants who dealt with human cargo and sometimes brought slaves back to Britain. Bristol now has a large community of African descent, many of whom originate from slave populations in the West Indies and other Caribbean islands.

History Continues…