Impact of the Slave Trade on Britain

History: KS3, topic 9.1.3

Impact of Slavery on Britain

The Caribbean colonies were at the centre of the slave trade that brought Britain great wealth.

The slave trade allowed Britain to thrive.
British companies like the Royal African Company made money by transporting slaves from Africa to the Americas. The Company was granted a monopoly on the slave trade by Parliament in 1672.
Slavery increased the demand for certain metal goods, such as guns and chains, which were produced in England. This created thousands of jobs.
The goods that were produced by slave factories and slave plantations meant that people in Britain and elsewhere could consume goods more cheaply as instead of paying people wages, slaves could be used.

There was a growth in shipping because goods and slaves were transported between Britain, West Africa and the Caribbean.
Profits from the trade allowed for growing investment in British industry, which laid the foundations for the Industrial Revolution from the late 1700s.

But towards the end of the 1700s, public opinion in Britain about slavery began to change as people began to vocally question the morality of enslaving people.
An ‘abolition’ movement emerged, which campaigned to abolish the slave trade.
In Parliament, a politician called William Wilberforce led the campaign to abolish slavery, although he was hugely influenced by Olaudah Equiano, Thomas Clarkson, and Granville Sharp.

The fight for abolition was long and difficult because many British people still did not believe in freedom for African slaves.
In 1807, the British government ruled for an end to Britain’s involvement in the slave trade, but slavery was not banned until 1833.
In 1833, the Slavery Abolition Act banned slavery in the British Empire. The government effectively bought the freedom of slaves, paying slave owners to free their slaves. The slaves themselves received no compensation or financial support.

Which destination was NOT part of the triangular trade?
In which year did the British government rule for an end to Britain’s involvement in the slave trade?