HISTORY OF SLAVERY
Published on Mar 06, 2022
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HISTORY OF SLAVERY
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Slavery in Britain existed prior to the Roman occupation and until the 11th century, when the Norman conquest of England resulted in the gradual merger of the pre-conquest institution of slavery into serfdom, and all slaves were no longer recognised separately in English law or custom. By the middle of the 12th century, the institution of slavery as it had existed prior to the Norman conquest had fully disappeared.
Photo by Tasha Jolley
British merchants were a significant force behind the Atlantic slave trade between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, but no legislation was ever passed in England that legalised slavery.
Photo by Hussain Badshah
At this time British interests lay with African produce rather than with the slave trade
and between 1553 and 1660 numerous charters were granted to British merchants to
establish settlements on the West Coast of Africa to supply goods such as ivory, gold,
pepper, dyewood and indigo. There was much rivalry on the West Coast of Africa
between other European powers, especially between Portugal, Holland, Denmark and
Sweden; most companies sustained significant losses. This rivalry increased once
plantation slavery was introduced in the Americas.
Photo by janwillemsen
At this time British interests lay with African produce rather than with the slave trade
and between 1553 and 1660 numerous charters were granted to British merchants to
establish settlements on the West Coast of Africa to supply goods such as ivory, gold,
pepper, dyewood and indigo. There was much rivalry on the West Coast of Africa
between other European powers, especially between Portugal, Holland, Denmark and
Sweden; most companies sustained significant losses. This rivalry increased once
plantation slavery was introduced in the Americas.
Photo by janwillemsen
In the 1640s Dutch merchants introduced sugar to Barbados and showed Barbadian
planters how to grow and process sugarcane. They brought with them the knowledge
and technology they had learnt from Brazilian plantations which they seized from the
Portuguese in 1630. The Dutch supplied Barbadian planters with Africans, introduced
plantation slavery and sold the sugar in Holland.(1)
Photo by Artem Beliaikin
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRADE
In the 1640s Dutch merchants introduced sugar to Barbados and showed Barbadian
planters how to grow and process sugarcane. They brought with them the knowledge
and technology they had learnt from Brazilian plantations which they seized from the
Portuguese in 1630. The Dutch supplied Barbadian planters with Africans, introduced
plantation slavery and sold the sugar in Holland
the British colonies in the Caribbean, North and South America and to other countries.(2)
Photo by CharlesFred
THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TRADE
In the 1640s Dutch merchants introduced sugar to Barbados and showed Barbadian
planters how to grow and process sugarcane. They brought with them the knowledge
and technology they had learnt from Brazilian plantations which they seized from the
Portuguese in 1630. The Dutch supplied Barbadian planters with Africans, introduced
plantation slavery and sold the sugar in Holland
the British colonies in the Caribbean, North and South America and to other countries.(2)
Photo by CharlesFred
LATER AFRICAN COMPANIES
As the British American colonies demanded African slaves, the role of the African
companies changed to supply them. From 1660, the British Crown passed various
acts and granted charters to enable companies to settle, administer and exploit British
interests on the West Coast of Africa and to supply slaves to the American colonies.(3)
Photo by Oladimeji Odunsi
LATER AFRICAN COMPANIES
As the British American colonies demanded African slaves, the role of the African
companies changed to supply them. From 1660, the British Crown passed various
acts and granted charters to enable companies to settle, administer and exploit British
interests on the West Coast of Africa and to supply slaves to the American colonies.(3)
Photo by Oladimeji Odunsi
TRIANGULAR TRADE
The ships set out from Britain, loaded with trade goods which were exchanged on the West African shores for slaves captured by local rulers from deeper inland; the slaves were transported through the infamous "Middle Passage" across the Atlantic, and were sold at considerable profit for labour in plantations. The ships were loaded with export crops and commodities, the products of slave labour, such as cotton, sugar and rum, and returned to Britain to sell the items.
ABOLITION OF THE BRITISH TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
It did not only affect the trade in British and colonial based vessels, but also the supplying and fitting of vessels by British workers for the slave trade, the manning of slaving ships by British sailors, and the insuring of slaving vessels. According to The trans-Atlantic slave trade database, 34 ships left Britain on or after 1 May 1807 by which it is assumed that the ships had to have received their passes for clearance before 1 May, but had to leave with sufficient time in order to trade and deliver their slaves before 1 March 1808.(4)
Photo by janwillemsen
Those who supported the slave trade argued that it made important contributions to the country's economy and to the rise of consumerism in Britain. Despite this, towards the end of the eighteenth century, people began to campaign against slavery. However, since trading was so profitable for those involved, the 'Abolitionists' (those who campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade) were fiercely opposed by a pro-slavery West Indian lobby. Those who still supported slavery used persuasive arguments, or 'propaganda', to indicate the necessity of the slave trade though the abolitionists also used propaganda to further their cause.
Photo by janwillemsen
The Church of England was implicated in slavery. Slaves were owned by the Anglican Church's Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPGFP), which had sugar plantations in the West Indies. When slaves were emancipated by Act of the British Parliament in 1834, the British government paid compensation to slave owners. Among those they paid were the Bishop of Exeter and three business colleagues, who received compensation for 665 slaves. The compensation of British slaveholders was almost £17 billion in current money.
Photo by paul bica
