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.