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The Abolition of Slavery in Britain and France

The British parliament amended the Act on slavery that led to its abolition. More than 800,000 African slaves were freed. The slaves that were free came from regions of Canada, South African route and the Caribbean (Natasha). The Royal assent saw the Act assented in the year 1833. The act later became law in 1834. Before this historical act took place, the business of slaveholding was a common commercial practice in the Caribbean, where sugar production was taking place in the Brazilian farms (Grant 4). Heritage plaques stand tall today in the Georgian townhouse. The plaques are a representation of the income gained through slave trade. West India planters also acts as a hiding place for slave owners (British anti-slavery, 2). These families maintain silence about the source of their wealth, which stretches to a few decades ago. They acquired this wealth in several decades before the abolition act was enacted. Before it was passed in parliament, there were several efforts from organizations and individuals who sought to address the implications of slavery to society.

The Abolition of Slavery in Britain

The British anti-slavery campaigns and movements started in the 19th century (Grant 4). British colonies experienced a lot of events in the previous century. The events led to the loss of men and women for sale in Britain. Slaves were bought and transported by the British through the Atlantic slave system. Africa was flooded with British merchants for the purpose of buying slaves. The slaves were then transported across the Atlantic for sale to other British citizens. The slaves were used in manual labor and other activities in Britain. (British ant-slavery). Unquestionably, the British benefited from this trade significantly. Despite these ironic benefits, the same people were at the forefront fighting for the rights of slaves and finally bringing the system to an end. 

The first war against the slave trade began in the beginning of the 19th century (Harmer 24). The war was directed to the end of the slave trade, whereby several initiatives were introduced to encourage the government through legislation to stop this trade. Quakers were the first Britain community to start the fight against the slave trade (Montemaggi 1). This group started several initiatives to convince the government to introduce policies that would outlaw slavery across the country. This movement, which was referred to as Society of Friends, comprised of several members of society concurred that all people are equal before the eyes of God and that any efforts to look down upon a single member of society based on the skin color and origin is both immoral and unethical. Their opposition began in 1757, but their efforts increased during the 19th century when the number of slaves began to grow across society.

The Quakers were expressing their views through social gatherings in an attempt to convince people to avoid the mistreatment of their workers, slaves, and instead, treat them as they would treat members of their families. However, they escalated their efforts in 1727 when they first expressed their displeasure for the trade and requested for reforms that would improve slaves’ lifestyles (Montemaggi 2). They continued with the social meetings, whereby they began approaching slaveholders and lobbying other organizations to oppose enslavement. They formed an organization of people who believed in the abolition of slaves as a Christian duty, and any member who owned slaves was disowned as a Christian. Notably, Quakers focused on having more members of the parliament as their ultimate procedure for abolishing the slave trade. However, they later invited other members of the public to gain support from the Anglican and the British parliament (Allain and Bales 1).

The organization became the first society for the abolition of the slave trade in the country. The organization comprised of society’s guiding London Committee, which acted as the prototype of the current reform organizations. Members were appointed by the committee, and their role was to distribute abolitionist publications and artefacts ("British Anti-slavery"). The community designed its local web with contacts spread across the country. The outcome of the committee was the state petition campaign. During this period, more than one hundred petitions were signed to convince the government through parliament that the slave trade was a retrogressive practice. There was a need to eliminate slavery from the society. The petitions were presented in the House of Commons in one hundred days. More than five hundred petitions were later submitted in 1792. They were to convince the House of Commons, and the diversity and range of the petitions proved that the war against the slave trade was unstoppable. Appeals came from Scotland to Wales and in every English, county to support the abolition campaign. The northern region provided the much-needed support since this region was industrious compared to other areas in the country. Despite all the efforts, communities were required to put more pressure on the government to stop the slave trade.

In 1804, campaigns against slavery resumed when several abolitionist leaders joined parliament. The move helped to steer the war in Europe until the final win was achieved. The campaign led to the gain of new territories across the country as well as other regions. The regions include Berbice, Trinidad and Demarera, joining the war on slave trade (Browne 4). Many countries left the anti-abolitionist movements from the fear that there would be competition from other countries. A bill was made in 1805 if favor of abolitionist lawmakers. The bill stipulated the effects of slave trade and the method of abolition. Both houses passed the bill. The government implemented the British Atlantic slave trade ban the following year.

The victory in parliament did not stop other countries from engaging in this trade. The abolitionists were forced to rethink their efforts and ideas to ensure that the slave trade was stopped across all regions. The enhancement of plantations from the introduction of the ban in the slave trade exhilarated them to consider the normal social interaction between workers and their organizations as the most suitable approach in commercial practices. Regardless of this change, the Society of the Abolition of the Slave Trade gave way for more communities to ensure the legislation is enforced in other countries. The move became impossible from the rejection by other institutions, such as the congresses in Paris and Vienna, who opposed the legislation ("British Anti-slavery").

Slavery in France

In the year 1778, the commerce in France was a lively market. The demand for slaves was high in various French regions, such as the Nantes, Bordeaux, and the La Rochelle, between the 1760s and the 1790s. Most of the benefactors of the trade defended its abolition in the 19th century; this group comprised of merchants, who funded and directed cargo seafarers carrying black captives from the Caribbean region ("Slavery in the British and French Caribbean").

. The movement had a high death rate resulting from the challenges experienced during the voyage, and thus, there was a need for a fresh supply of other slaves. These merchants increased their supply by interacting with their targets and later promised their slaves well-paying jobs and a good life in Europe. However, most of the slaveholders did not offer them their promised good life, and instead, considered them as dirty and savage. The contribution of the French government in this trade made it even more patriotic and profitable (Teelock and Sheriff 26).

At the end of the eighteenth century, Europe had entered the industrial revolution era, and there was a need to find new markets for its products and the growing population in the countries. As a result, these countries began their exploration, whereby they scouted the sea and established new supply and trading posts across Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. Before their exploration, these inland territories were unknown to the European countries. The French and the British were among the first explorers to begin their work in the nineteenth century. The use of steaming boats and the discovery of quinine made the movement from France and Britain to Africa more accessible and easy (Luciano 4). These resources were viewed as critical since the death rate from the diseases and challenges at sea made it difficult for them to transport their slaves. This trade was considered despicable since the demand for slaves was high in industrial firms and farms across the country. However, the implications and poor handling of these people made abolition a social necessity. The demand was reduced from the campaigns that took place from other regions, and thus, France was also forced to adopt various strategies meant to abolish the trade.

In countries such as the UK and the United states, slave trade abolition was well planned and organized. The case in France was different as abolition happened two times before the ultimate radical chaos (Popkin 100). The two revolutions took place in different administrations since the legislative acts were also different from one another. The distinction between the French revolution and other revolutions, such as the one in Britain, is strongly distinctive and dominated by exceptionalism. The movement of this country from the slave trade to modernity is classified as the country's change of historical perspectives through a favored terrain. Unlike other countries that instituted revolution from the beginning to the end, France learned from those countries that had successfully carried out these changes during their revolutions. The first French Atlantic paradigm or ideologies emphasized colonization, slavery, and native people; the end of this paradigm was manifested through the revolutionary era and other studies that considered the revolution of the Atlantic as a progressive step in the country’s development (Popkin 127).

The revolutionary Atlantic was the core movement of the public opinion that led to the subsequent changes that delivered the abolition of slavery in France. This revolution was undertaken through several protests, representative institutions, and the growth of the independence and democratic movements spanning across the Atlantic Ocean in the French region. Also, this revolution contributed to the changes that took place in the political arena, whereby France introduced radical politics with their relationship with the United States and other countries, such as the Belgian revolts, Dutch, and Swiss.

The final abolition of slavery in France was associated with several popular uprisings across Paris around the 1780s. The leaders of this revolution constructed new governments and the declaration of rights of man, which were meant to protect people and promote equal rights in the country. However, the rights of the enslaved people in American colonies remained uncertain. The abolition faced serious rejection and opposition from lobbyists, who served slaveholders and commercial interests; most of the slaves were used to conduct production for commercial purposes in the country’s industrial region. On the other hand, abolitionists, particularly the Friends of the Blacks, maintained that Africans had equal rights to other people in the country. The opposition and the diversity of ideologies were controversial since some of the groups sought to preserve their institutions through rigorous campaigns ("French Revolution").

After the abolition, black citizens could not enjoy the rights of other French citizens due to the limitation of their legal freedom. Former slaves explained to legislatures and the public their sufferings and brutal treatment at the plantations. After several meetings and political maneuvering on the commercial interests of the government in the slave trade, further rights and progress on delivering freedom and the rights of people of African descent was halted for a few years. However, the growing interest and calls for revolutions forced the national assembly to reevaluate its stand on these rights and social position. Representatives seeking to promote the deliverance of the African slaves described the liberal battles for freedom and justice across the globe to convince members of the National Assembly to change their minds. Napoleon Bonaparte reconstructed the slave trade and slavery back in 1802, and this step contributed to a wide range of violence in the Caribbean, forcing him to prohibit slave trafficking in 1817 ("French Revolution"). The legal structures were later destroyed in 1848, leading to the total abolition of slavery in France.

Abolishment Movements

The abolition of the slave trade in Britain and France was successful due to different factors. Some of these contributors include slave revolts, religious groups and ideologies, government policies, and the rising number of abolition movements. The most successful abolition movement in Britain began before the 1833 act. It gained momentum earlier before 1772 during the Mansfield case, whereby the court ruled that slavery was no longer allowed or legal in countries under the English law. After this ruling, any slave that set foot in England was classified as free and could interact and do anything without any obstruction or limitations from other people, including the whites. Despite these rules and legal regulations, there were still people in bondage in some of the colonies. A committee comprised of the Quakers and Evangelical believers was organized to come up with a plan that would abolish slavery across England. The number of committee members grew in parliament's membership. They also used key members, such as William Wilberforce, to propel their ideologies and beliefs concerning slavery. Their plans and success show that this abolishment movement remains one of the most successful and efficient among all other movements in Europe.

The abolition movement in Britain was well-organized and planned from the early days to the last days, which was manifested by the emancipation of the Africans taken to Britain as slaves (Hitchens). This movement began its operations in the 1770s, whereby it developed national organization with several networks comprising of local and regional auxiliaries (Swaminathan 191). The movement endorsed the importance of a large number of people, and their scope was directed towards a common cause. Therefore, they endorsed a mass petitioning approach as an ultimate method for luring the public into delivering justice and redemption to the people. Also, they developed programs that were meant to ensure that all people were engaged across all levels. These arrangements increased their chances of success despite having no government support or prior information on such efforts (Oldfield).

The abolishment movement was focused on placing the exploitation of the reforms from the parliament as the most effective method for achieving freedom for slaves. Their efforts paid off since they avoided some of the alternative methods, such as riots and government sabotage. The reform of 1832 represents the ultimate winner of the abolishment movement in this religion. Through parliament, the government sympathized with abolition after several individuals were presented as victims and witnesses to the implications of the slave trade in Britain. However, the new legislation did not mean the total abolition of the trade; rather, partial changes were undertaken during this period. This change implied that the government ruling did not lead to an abrupt approach against slavery, but a gradual change that later led to the actual change. For instance, the government ruled that slaves would receive several years of apprenticeship with their slaveholders; however, this rule was later changed, and instead, these people were expected to free their slaves from bondage.

The abolition movement fought for the rights of the slaves and their freedom beyond the official declaration of their freedom in Britain. Notably, although the 1833 ruling was a landmark in Britain's slave trade and slavery across the country, the trade continued taking place throughout other colonial regions. The flow of slaves is said to have increased during this period despite the country’s withdrawal. The trade focused on other countries with a similar demand, such as the United States. The abolition movement managed to increase its efforts to fight this menace by joining hands with the government, leading to the rise of slavery abolition efforts in the new international era.

Notably, the abolition movement in Britain managed to convince the government to illegalize the slave trade when the benefits of this trade were viewed as the game-changer in production and industrial activities. The success of this group is associated with various approaches that were not employed in France and other regions fighting for the slave’s freedom. This movement employed the use of public criticism to inspire ideas in the form of religious and natural equality. During this period, literacy levels were high, and thus, most people could read and write. The abolition movement used these channels of communication to promote their ideas and create awareness among people from within and across other regions away from Britain, where the slave trade was starting to thrive.

The use of case studies and examples of people facing the real impact of slavery contributed to the success of Britain's abolition movement. James Somerset was among the first slaves to present their experiences in courts. He came to London as a slave to a Scottish merchant, Charles Stewart, but he claimed his freedom immediately after he was baptized (Rabin). He used this opportunity to request for freedom since other colonies had outlawed the use of baptism as a method of gaining freedom, but it was still unclear in the law of England. William Murray also presented a case in court, arguing that his master had no right to transfer him to another country outside England. The press’ coverage of these cases raised public awareness, which generated momentum for the abolition movement. They created an environment where all individuals were involved in convincing the government to introduce legislation that covered all areas in the country and its colonies. Notably, this movement also became more successful due to its association with other movements in other regions to protect all slaves regardless of their location. For instance, the British abolition movement joined with its counterparts in both the United States and France to ensure there was a collective approach towards fighting slavery.

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