West Africa
History: KS3, topic 6.6.3
West Africa
The abolition of slavery forced British traders to seek new sources of income. They soon started exporting palm oil back to Britain.
Palm oil
- After the slave trade was abolished in Britain in 1807, British traders lost a key source of income.
- But over the following decades, palm oil became a lucrative trade for British merchants.
Palm oil exports to Britain
- This could be exported back to Britain and used in the machines that had become so essential to Britain’s Industrial Revolution.
- In 1807, when the slave trade was abolished, roughly 100 tonnes of palm oil was exported to Britain.
- By the end of the century, this had increased to 635,000 tonnes each year.
Test yourself on West Africa
When was the slave trade abolished in Britain?