Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies

Context

From as early as the mid-eighteenth century, discussion regarding the abolition of slavery in Britain was already vigorous, with calls being made to ban the institution in accord with the spreading conviction that slavery was a blight on civilized society. Many persons of religious conviction had long protested the trafficking of what was then commonly referred to as “men-bodies,” and by the last quarter of the eighteenth century many abolitionist groups had been formed both in Britain and in its colonies in North America. Prominent associations and religious groups thus joined forces with the newly formed antislavery societies to integrate previously detached religious, moral, and economic arguments against slavery.

In colonies such as Pennsylvania, groups like the Society for the Relief of Free Negroes Unlawfully Held in Bondage (established in 1775) and the successor Pennsylvania Society for Promoting the Abolition of Slavery (founded in 1784) formed part of a lobby seeking to emancipate slaves. Particularly vocal in the movement to liberate slaves were the Quakers, who described slavery as being “a hellish sin” and “the greatest sin in the world” and as arising from “the belly of hell” (Davis, p. 291). Highly motivated in pursuing the eradication of slavery, the Quakers saw their political influence increase through the second half of the eighteenth century. In the colonies and Britain alike, Quakers pressured public authorities to change existing laws and also attempted to influence those in positions of economic power to reconsider the practice of slavery. They furthermore established initially small but subsequently powerful locally organized groups, held public debates, and published abolitionist propaganda.

A small but greatly influential abolitionist association in Britain was the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (SEAST), which at the time of its establishment in 1787 consisted of only twelve people. Among them were the noted abolitionists Thomas Clarkson, author of a pamphlet entitled A Summary View of the Slave Trade and of the Probable Consequences of Its Abolition (1787), and William Wilberforce, a young and energetic member of Parliament. Initially, SEAST members had limited access to public political channels; most were Quakers and thus, as members of a nondenominational religious group, were legally forbidden from sitting in positions of public political responsibility. Nonetheless, the group circumnavigated barriers to the political arena by finding non-Quaker allies who could broaden the abolitionist cause and also act as mouthpieces for the movement. For example, the Anglican Church and SEAST forged a union based on common moral values. The clergy of the Anglican Church then disseminated antislavery messages from pulpits up and down the country and helped promote abolitionism among politicians of pious temperament, drawing on the close alliance between the church and the state at that time.

Broad political shifts leading up to 1833 greatly affected the perceptions and beliefs at the foundation of Britain's antislavery ideology and the actions of people endorsing them. The 1780s bore witness to a new political exploit in Britain, political lobbying, which for the first time permitted individuals and groups to more directly persuade members of Parliament to consider alternative perspectives on a variety of political matters. With the passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, the trading of slaves was no longer permitted, although the keeping of slaves was still allowed. In the ensuing years, the dissemination of antislavery sentiment was evident not only in the forming of more abolitionist groups, such as the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Dominions, but also in the signing of treaties between Britain and European countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, and Sweden to abolish slave trading. The Slave Trade Act of 1824 struck out at British financial institutions still involved in the international trafficking of slaves.

While historians commonly acknowledge the significance of the legal landmarks leading to the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, far less attention has been given to the evolution of the values of the antislavery groups who helped manufacture these groundbreaking legal rulings. The contribution of the Quakers to abolitionism is recognized, but persons of various backgrounds and convictions were drawn into the British movement owing not only to religion but also to the shifting ideological climate of the late eighteenth century, which granted new opportunities for British citizens to confront existing philosophical, cultural, and legal frameworks. The underpinnings of abolitionism thus may be seen as derived from the emergence of new human opinions tied to the Enlightenment, industrialization, and capitalism, with its concept of free labor.

Certain individuals made great contributions to the British antislavery movement. Of note were Olaudah Equiano and Mary Prince, Africans who had their life stories published; Hannah More, a writer and philanthropist; James Ramsay, a priest who helped deepen the moral argument for abolition; and Beilby Porteus, an Anglican reformer who gained national fame in 1783 for a sermon that criticized the church for ignoring the plight of slaves. What was unique and important about this generation was that they sought not merely to temper slavery but further to put a complete end to it, and they inspired others to speak out, so that by the early 1800s the abolitionist movement comprised far more than a small circle of propagandists connected to religious groups or elite politicians. Among those who broadened the popularity of the movement were James Stephen, a lawyer who assisted greatly in drafting the 1807 slave trade bill; Granville Sharp, a businessman opposed to the injustices of slavery; and Elizabeth Heyrick, a philanthropist.