Final Dismantlement of slave systems, 1807-1886

1. Final Dismantlement of slave systems, 1807-1886 The abolition of the trans-atlantic trade in Africans.

2. Lest you forget-Doris Hamilton-Willie • Reasons for passing of Act to abolish Slave trade • A) hard work of Abolitionists. • B) Establishment of Continental blaockade by napoleon Bonaparte during napoleonic wars.( glut of sugar on british market which meant fall in price. • C) Planters in older colonies supported abolition.( fearing competition from newer colonies)

3. Reasons for passing of abolition of slave trade act. • British slave traders supplied slaves to foreign territorries and provided competition for British West indian sugar production. • The death of British Prime Minister , William Pitt in 1806 cleared the way for appointment of men who supported the abolition movement. (William WyndhamGrenville, PM , and foreign secretary Charles James Fox )

4. Abolition of slave trade ; 1803 Denmark 1807 Britain 1817 France 1818 Holland 1820 Spain 1824 Sweden Abolition of slavery: 1833 Britain 1846 Sweden 1848 France 1863 Holland 1873 Puerto Rico 1880 Cuba From Columbus to castro- Eric Williams

5. State of Jamaican plantation sector prior to 1807 • Between 1799 and 1807-65 plantations abandoned, 32 sold due to bankruptcy • 1806 –price of sugar less than cost of production.

6. Opposition to the Transatlantic Trade in Africans by: Slave Activists: In Africa, On middle passage, on plantations. Strategies included running away, everyday acts of sabotage, wars of resistance. White Activists:broad-based alliance of religious sects, politicians, philosophers, intellectuals, industrialists, workers’ organisations and women’s groups. Religious groups included Baptists, methodists, Moravians and Quakers. Freedom Delayed: Verene Shepherd

7. Opposition to TTA: White Activists cont’d • Society for the abolition of the Slave Trade formed in 1787 by Granville Sharpe and Thomas Clarkson. • Adam Smith, -Economist-( The Wealth of Nations) • Influential whites included: Thomas Fowell Buxton, George Fox, John Wesley, Joseph Sturge, Josiah Wedgewood, Joseph Woods,James Phillips,Joseph Hooper, George Harrison, John Barton

8. Women Activists • Women contributed approximately 10 % of financial support of the Society for The Abolition of the Slave trade. • Women included:Mary Birkett, Hannah Moore, Mary Wollstonecraft. • A considerable body of working and middle class women were involved in the campaign from its early stages. • Stategies used by women included speaking out against the TTA, boycotting slave grown produce and writing anti-slavery tracts.

9. Ignatius Sancho-went to England at age 2 in 1731. ( First African to vote in Britain). He was a popular shopkeeper. First African prose writer to have his work published in England. Vocal opponent of trafficking in Africans.Wrote numerous letters soliciting support against the slave trade. Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa-kidnapped in Africa at age 11. Eventually bought his freedom from his third master, a Quaker. He wrote and published his abolitionist autobiography and best seller, The Interesting narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, The African. He travelled extensively around Britain giving talks about the evils of the TTA. Black Activists

10. Black Activists, Cont’d • Ottabah Cugoano- First published African critic of the TTA. Kidnapped in Ghana and enslaved . Migrated from Grenada to England around 1752 and given his freedom. Published in 1787,”Thoughts and Sentiments of the Evil and Wicked traffic of the Slavery nd Commerce of the human Species. “He wrote that enslaved people had both the moral right and moral duty to resist their masters. • “Sons of Africa” group of Africans in London who gave support to abolition movement. • Testimonies of slaves- exposed by abolitionists • Black Activists included: Robert mandeville,Thomas Cooper, Jasper Goree and William Greene.

11. Role of Haiti • St. Domingue Revolution of 1791 led to emancipation and Haitian independence. • Haitian constitution of 1805 declared that any enslaved person who arrived in Haiti would be declared a citizen. This effectively abolished slavery and replaced it with citizenship. • Haiti became the Atlantic symbol of black redemption and liberation.

12. European Abolitionist Movements French Abolitionist Movement influenced by Marie Jean Condorcet, Antoine Lavosier, Jacques-Pierre Brissot, Honors Mirabeau, Etienne Claviere, Louis-Alexandra La Rochefoucauld and Jerome Petion. 1791- French national assembly debated and condemmed both the transatlantic slave trading and colonial slave owning. Declared that any person who arrived on French soil would be free of slavery. French govt. distinguished between slave trading and slave owning. 1794 Convention in paris abolished slavery. Slave trading continued under law. Liberties Lost- Verene Shepherd

13. An act of the British Parliament was needed to end the slave trade. Petitions started to reach the Parliament around 1776. In 1776 Davis Hartley presented the first Bill against slavery and the TTA. This was rejected. In 1783 the house of Commons next debated a bill to abolish the TTA on “moral grounds”. This was not supported as it was the view of the majority of members that slavery was too important to the economy of the British empire for the TTA to end. 1787- Founding of a Committee for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave trade “-2-phased approach taken: first abolition of trade then abolition of slavery. Legislating Abolition

14. Legislating abolition, cont’d • 1781- William Wilberforce introduced bill to abolish TTA ( defeated by 163 votes to 88). • 1804-House of Commons passed “ Slave Abolition Bill” – thrown out by House of Lords. • 1805-Prime Minister, William Pitt secured Order-In-Council indicating that as of 1806 certain Crown Colonies, would not longer be allowed to import Africans.( William Pitt died in 1806) • Government of new Prime Minister, Lord Grenville was opposed to TTA.

15. Legislating Abolition Cont’d • 1806 –Resolution moved by Charles Fox for the immediate and total abolition of the slave trade. • 1807-Slave trade Abolition Bill was passed in the House of lords by 40 votes to 20. Became law in May 1807 and became effective 1st january 1808. • The exception to this Act: ships which were already cleared to trade Africans. These ships could operate until march 1808.

16. English slavers sailed under flags of other countries that still had slave trade , eg. France, Spain, Portugal. Slave captains often threw human cargo overboard if they were discovered by British navy. In 1811 the British govt. increased the penalties for these offences in hope of reducing these activities. Haitian govt. patrolled the high seas and freed the slaves and granted them Haitian citizenship, eg. Spanish ship Dos Unidos, in 1819. Responses to Abolition

17. French Abolitionist Movement • Influential persons: Marie Jean Condorcet,Antoine Lavoisier, Jacques-Pierre Brissot, Honors Mirabeau,Etienne Clavier, Louis-alexandre La Rochefoucauld, Jerome Petion. • 1791-French national Assembly debated and condemmed both TTA and colonial slave owning. • Declared that any person who arrived on French soil would be free of slavery. • French distinguished between slave trading and slave ownership. • 1794-Convention in Paris abolished slavery but continued slave trading.

18. Danish Abolition • 1792-Danish govt. declared that from 1803 slave trade would be prohibited in its colonies. • Danish colonies, St. Croix and St. thomas stocked up on slaves by importing large amounts. • Danish govt’s position was that economic benefits of slave trade had fallen to low level and was no longer worth the moral and political criticism and outrage. • African forts were no longer profitable. • Danish govt. recommended the breeding of creole slaves instead of purchasing new African slaves. • Colonist encouraged to treat slaves well and promote natural increase.

19. Assess the factors that contributed to the abolition of the trans-Atlantic trade in Africans to the Caribbean. ( 2008) Discuss the view that a combination of developments and ideas brought about the abolition of slavery in the British caribbean.(2002) Past paper questions

20. American Abolition Movement • 1780’s many states eg. Carolinas , Maryland and Virginia outlawed the importation of enslaved persons from Africa. • 1778-Legislature of massachusetts debated an anti-human trade bill. • 1778- Virginians voted to free all illegally imported Africans.