Why was the slave trade abolished?

Why was the slave trade and slavery abolished?

In the 17th and early 18th century slavery was a common factor in life; slaves were often sold and used throughout Britain and the World. However, in 1807 the slave trade was abolished by the British Parliament, this meant you could still own a slave but it was illegal to buy or sell them. Finally, after much debate, in 1833 Parliament decided to abolish slavery itself both in Britain and the British Empire. Many historians still disagree on the real reason on why slavery was abolished and I am going to take a look at the evidence which suggests a range of factors that may have been important.

Until recently it was believed that white campaigners in England had brought an end to slavery, most in the higher classes. These people like Granville Sharp or William Wilberforce, both became well-known for their campaigning against slavery. Sharp’s opinion changed when he saw Jonathon Strong, a young slave brought to Britain and beaten by his owner. He had run away and had injuries such as a swollen head, nearly blind and could hardly walk. Granville Sharp helped this boy but he was later seen by his owner and captured, he was at threat of being sent back to Jamaica. However, Sharp fought in court and won the case which meant the boy was freed. After this Granville Sharp carried on and fought many of these cases on behalf of black people and won most of them. Sharp was one of the first and greatest campaigners but did not manage to abolish the slave trade but still was able to turn the public’s opinion against slavery. William Wilberforce was one of the many Quaker’s who believed slavery was sinful and against Christian teachings. In 1797 twelve men formed a group to fight for abolition of slavery. Wilberforce was the best-known and was an MP who made speeches in Parliament against the slave trade and presented the huge petitions that had been collected. It was said to be these campaigners who finally had success in 1807. These middle-class campaigners and many more like them were originally alleged to be the reason slavery was abolished.

However, in 1788 petitions began to flood Parliament demanding the abolition of the slave trade. These came from over 10,000 working-class people and support grew which lead to double the amount signing the petition in 1792, only four years later. This was incredible considering the population of Manchester was only 75,000. When the slave trade was abolished these campaigns still continued with the aim of making slavery illegal and freeing all existing slaves. By 1814 one and a half million people signed petitions which is a higher number than those who signed the Chartist petitions in the ...

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One factor which is commonly mentioned is that the black slaves, both in Britain and the West Indies, were the ones who brought an end to slavery, by running away and rebelling they made it impossible for slavery to continue. It was normal for slaves to run away and although some were taken to court by their owner, many owners felt it was too much trouble chasing escaped slaves and instead they were free. Slaves were also demanding to be treated like ordinary servants and receive wages. By 1800, there were slaves being sold in Britain and being taken against their will to the West Indies, but most black people in Britain were free through their own efforts.

The last reason for the abolition of slavery was that it was no longer making such a profit. From the 1770s onwards the West Indies were becoming less important because Cuba and Brazil could produce cheaper sugar. Many of the plantations in the West Indies were closed down and the demand for slaves fell. For example, in 1771 Barbados imported 2728 slaves but one year later they imported none. If this was the case the decision to abolish slavery would have been easier as it was no longer needed and was slowly dying out.

Personally I need not find one particular reason for the abolition of slavery but just understand that all these methods combined together prove that slavery is a cruel and avoidable problem that could of been stopped. Parliament probably took all four of these factors into account to make this one important decision.

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