8.1.9

Interpretations of Abolition

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Interpretations of the Abolition Movement

Several factors contributed to the Abolition Movement.

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Financial gain

  • Some argue that the motive for actions in the slave trade was money.
  • The slave trade began because it brought economic gains to Britain. It gave British people cheaper goods and it gave British companies an opportunity to make profit.
  • It can also be argued that the abolition of slavery also brought economic gains to Britain.
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Wilberforce

  • Wilberforce, Equiano, and the Abolition movement are often considered one of the most important reasons for the abolition of slavery.
  • They pressured Parliament and brought about legal change.
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Role of slaves

  • Many people focus on the role of Wilberforce and other British abolitionists. But we should not forget the role of the slaves themselves.
  • Slave rebellions were important.
    • These rebellions showed people that slaves were humans and not animals.
    • Freed slaves, such as Olaudah Equiano, campaigned for the end of slavery.
    • Toussaint L'Ouverture led a successful rebellion in Haiti to overcome slave owners.

Jump to other topics

1The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

1.1Anglo-Saxon England

1.2The Contest for the English Throne

1.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

1.4King John

1.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

1.6The Black Death

2Worldviews

3The Empire of Mali

4The Renaissance & Reformations, 1500-1598 AD

5The British Empire, 1583-1960 AD

6The Peasants' Revolt

7Religion in the Middle Ages

8Slavery, 1619-1833 AD

9The English Civil War, 1642-1660

10The Industrial Revolution, 1750-1840

11US Independence, 1775-1783

12The French Revolution, 1789-1815

13The British Empire, 1857–1930

14Suffrage

15World War 1, 1914-1918

16The Inter-War Years, 1919-1939

17World War 2, 1939-1945

18The Cold War, 1947-1962

19Civil Rights in the USA, 1954-1975

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