Slavery and the Slave Trade
1807
Abolition of slave trade
Quaker action
Africans made in image of God. How can Christians exploit Christians. Quakers withdrew from all slaving activities. Freed trot slaves
Birminhham
Centre of arms manufacturing. Safeguard European property. Sold to Africans in exchange for slaves
Liverpool
Close to Lancashire. Cheap port levies. Ships fitted out quickly and ready for sailing
Rice plantations
Closer to physical demands of sugar. Hostile environment for rice cultivation. Slaves given goals. Could fashion to own pace of worl
French Revolution
Conservative abolitionists believed events might stoke sentiments in Britain. Denounced revolution as seditious and wanted to curtail weather of radical colleagues
Moral high ground
Could boast as haven for those fleeing oppression. Precedent in place that all runaway slaves that landed in Britain would be automatically free
Great Reform Act
Created new MPs with no ties to slavery/sugar. MPs from abolition strongholds
Factory
Crushed. Boiled. Distilled. Barrelled slaves skilled in specialised technology
Aims of traders
Dead/sick slaves meant financial loss. Want as many Africans as possible in good condition. Aim not to harm slaves. Many arrived sick and did not survive crossing
1815
Defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo. Removed threat of French invasion
1805
Defeat of Napoleon by Admiral Lord Nelson
1823
Demerara Revolt
Domestic slaves
Disputes between white women and slaves common. Provided cleaning, cooking childcare and sexual services. Transferred news and goods from white life to slave quarters
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Divided by gender. Degree of packing did not affect mortality. Death rates in late 1700s half those in the early days. Deaths reduced as traders more experienced.
Lancashire
Home of slave produced cotton industry. Became apparel of enslaved africans
Popular campaigning
Image of the slave shop 'Brookes' packed with 482 slaves. Printed 7,000 posters
Buxton 1832
Introduced motion for total freedom. Could bring down Whig administration. Encouraged to water down motion. Sweated 136/92. Showed increasing strength of abolitionists
1831
Jamaican uprising
Sugar plantations
Jan➡️July most severe work. Day of rest to recover. Life less rigorous in slow months.
Branding campaign
Josiah Wedgwood designed seal. Kneeling African man. 'Am I not a man and a brother'.
Judicial challenges
Judges didn't want to set precedences. Somerset case interpreted judgment that slavery was outlawed in britain
Elizabeth Heyrick
Leicester born Quaker. Brother involved in original movement. Organised boycotts. Formed the Female Society for Birmingham. Pamphlet entitled 'immediate not gradual abolition'
Docks and ship building
Liverpool mayors heavily invested in new dockside facilities. Increased no. of warehouses. Shipbuilding centre. Encouraged timber trade. More sophisticated ships built.
Zachary Macaulay & James Stephen
Macaulay personally experienced a slave ship. Provided evidence. Stephen's intellectual prowess invaluable to abolitionist MPs. Used knowledge of maritime war to reinforce slavery against economic interest
1804
St. Domingue
Monopoly?
St. Domingue became independent Haiti. Free from slavery. Free from french
First gang
Strongest slaves. Heaviest work. Cutting. Hacking. Planting. Manuring.
London
Thames important waterway. Merchant in Deptford, Greenwhich & Blackheath. Handled imports of rum, coffee & sugar. 80 sugar refineries dotted around capital
1833
The Emancipation Bill passed
Quakers
Wrote first anti-slavery discourse. Established first committee. Provided inspiration and finance
Discipline
Young slaves learnt from family. Different men charged with supervision. Randomness of brutality characterised slavery
Mobilising public
000's pamphlets printed. Encouraged sugar boycotts.
Aboard ships
1.5 million died on board. Disease was rife e.g. bloody flux. Shackled in small groups. Fed from communal tubs. Relieved themselves where they lay
'Thoughts Upon Slavery'
1774. Wesley. Used scripture and persuasive arguments. Massive impact. Widely read.
Clapham sect
Based in London. Prominent, wealthy evangelicals. Shared common views for liberation of slaved. Founded Freetown on Sierra Leone
Banastre Tartleton
Became MP for Liverpool. Voted down abolition bills
Lord Grenville
Became prime minister. Had influence in House of Lords. Lords were powerful and could destroy bills. Allies necessary in upper house.
Demerara revolt
Believed masters concealing news of emancipation. 9000 involved. Did not hurt plantation owners. John Smith - minister - blamed for revolt. Pardoned by king but died before it reached him. Caused outcry in britain
Evangelicals
Believes country descending into immorality. Whitefield & Wesley writings and preaching revitalised church.
Tobacco plantations
Blacks and whites work together more closely. Regime less punishing. Lacked intensity
Third gang
Bundled and loaded cane onto carts
1816
Bussa Revolt
Bussa Revolt
Easter. Barbados. Thought they'd been freed on Easter Monday. Destroyed vast amounts of property. Great number of Africans dead
Labour
Emancipation exception not rule. Not all owners prosperous. Indispensable in Americas. Western economy relies on tropical products
Testimony
Equiano published autobiography in 1789. Showed slaves could be literate and cultured. Became a bestseller
Evangelical revival
Ethical inconsistencies of the trade. Dr Porteus' writings railed against slave trade - church backing to abolitionist
Quaker beliefd
Everyone equal. Recognised and affirmed roles of women. Refused to bow. Considered radical
French Monopolisation
Fear France would become economically stronger by taking over trade
Francis Baring
Fortune in slaving. Pumped fortune into his bank; Barings. Knighted. Helped finance Napoleonic Wars. Personal bank of Elizabeth II
Incentives
Free time. Access to land for cultivation & animal rearing. Bonuses for good work. Food. Clothing. Gifts
1832
Great Reform Act
Banking industry
Merchants needed establishments to deposit profits. Leyland➡️Midland➡️HSBC. Linked to insurance industry. Insured against anything from hurricanes to mutinies
Society for the Mitigation and the Gradual Abolition of Slavery
Monthly reporter. Abolition by 'stealth'. Acknowledgment of marriages nectar day off. Freedom for offspring. Clarkson urged more radical measures.
Mobility
Moved great distances against will. Forced from original homes. Economic decline could see slaves relocated
Arguments for slavery
National interest to keep slave trade. Provided employment. Supported many sectors. Financial stability for country. France or Spain would become more economically powerful
St. Domingue
Noted for its barbarity. Africans mercilessly slaughtered whites in struggle to free themselves. How could Africans and whites live alongside each other?
'Apprenticeship' scheme
Opportunity to utilise Africans and alleviating loss of labour. Required to work 3/4 time for 12 years for former masters. Parliament agreed to give £20 million compensation
William Wilberforce
Persuaded William Pitt. Abolitionists voice in government. First major speech 1789. Combined pathos and moral indignation. Portrayed opponents as misguided not evil
Push for abolition
Pressure from Buxton to address slavery. Believed government shod recommend scheme and date to end slavery. Government recognised amelioration argument failing.
Shropshire
Produced iron. Made into chains, fetters, manacles, collars, handcuffs, branding irons and other device to shackle enslaved africans
Organised campaigning
Quakers used their printing presses. Established national networks. Organised meetings. Provided financial contributions.
Second gang
Retrieved cane
Jamaican uprising
Sam sharpe. Convinced planters holding back reforms. Organised sit-down. 20,000 slaves. 500 Africans dead. Sharpe hanged 1832. Hf of slaves tried were hanged. Clampdown on missionaries
31 July 1834
Slavery officially ended
Going ashore
Slaves underwent period of cleansing, resting and feeding. Some left worthless by sickness. Carried sickness to new homes. Proved and inspected intimately. Keen to buy healthy slaves
Slave ships
Smaller. Swifter. Traders learnt how to best catch winds and currents. Average crossing 2 months. Late 1700s British had 390 ships
Documenting evidence
Thomas Clarkson gathered evidence. Documented treatment of slaves in Bristol. Collects shackles etc. to prove abuse
Thomas Fowell Buxton
Too me over from Wilberforce. Submitted motion to call for child slaves to be educated. Restrict whip use. Receive formal religious instruction
Olaudah Equiano
Trade with Africa. Manufacturing opportunities. Flattered MPs. Support abolition and get into heaven. Only people to lose out will be those associated with the dark side
Thomas Clarkson
Views ahead of rivals. Energetic. Obtained sailors accounts. Going Brooke's ship plan. Travelled with African artefacts to demonstrate trade. Wrote widely read essays. Went on tours
Foster Cuncliffe
Wealth through slaving ships. Used for philanthropic purposes. Mayor of Liverpool 3 times. President of the Liverpool Infirmary
Humphrey Morice
Wealthy through sugar trade. Became MP. Governor of Bank of England
Ladies' Associations
Withdrew funding from the committee in order for more radical movement. Women provided over 1/5 donations. 1830 society changed its name from 'gradual' to 'immediate'
Slave life
Women faced predatory white men. Learnt skills from other slaves. Family part of broader network. Exchanged stories and brought culture from their countries.