The Slave Trade: An Overview of the Historical Background
Slave Trade

The British government issued an Act of Parliament in 1807 that effectively ended the slave trade across the entire British Empire. Abolition of slavery would not occur in the British colonies until 1838, when the institution was finally abolished. The abolitionist movement, on the other hand, would continue its struggle against the worldwide slave trade beyond this day.

In this context, the term “slave trade” alludes to the patterns of transatlantic commerce that were established as early as the mid-17th century. Ships carrying manufactured products would set sail from Europe towards the west coast of Africa with a load of produced goods. There, over the course of many weeks or months, these items would be exchanged for captive persons given by African dealers. Trading with African intermediaries, who invaded towns far away from the African coast and took individuals who were still young and healthy enough to the shore, made it simpler for European merchants to conduct business with African middlemen.

How slaves were captured

Once the ship was completely loaded, the European merchant would set sail for the Americas or the Caribbean on the infamous ‘Middle Passage.’ During this trip, the slaves would be held in the ship’s hold, where they would be jammed together with little or no room to move about. The conditions were appalling, and many individuals did not make it to the other side. Sugar, rum, tobacco, and other ‘luxury’ products were sent back to Europe by European ships on the last stage of the transatlantic trip. By the 1790s, it is believed that 480,000 individuals were enslaved in the British Colonies, according to historical records.

In the Caribbean and the Americas, the vast majority of individuals sold into slavery were intended to labor on plantations established by European nations in portions of the American continent that had already been conquered by them. Plantations such as this produced goods like as sugar and tobacco, which were intended for consumption in Europe.

Those who supported the slave trade stated that it made significant contributions to the country’s economy as well as to the growth of consumerism in the United Kingdom throughout the period. Although this was true, individuals started to agitate against slavery around the end of the eighteenth century. However, since the slave trade was very lucrative for those engaged, the ‘Abolitionists’ (those who advocated for the abolition of the slave trade) were met with violent opposition by a pro-slavery West Indian lobby. Although the abolitionists utilized propaganda to help their cause, those who supported slavery employed compelling arguments, also known as ‘propaganda,’ to demonstrate the need of the slave trade.

Abolishment

The important role played by many slaves themselves in the abolition of slavery is sometimes underestimated. A regular occurrence among slaves in the Caribbean was the expression of opposition. Indeed, slaves in the French colony of St. Domingue gained possession of the island, which was later recognized to be the Republic of Haiti by the United Nations General Assembly. Figures such as Olaudah Equiano and Mary Prince made significant contributions to the abolitionist movement by including their eye witness testimonies in abolitionist literature.

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