The Abolition Of Slavery In The 19th Century

The end of slavery and the slave trade in the British Empire began with the Abolition of the slave trade act, 1807. This action by the Parliament made it illegal to engage in the slave trade throughout the British colonies. [footnoteRef:1] Abolishment groups continued to pressure the government for more changes and the eventual passage of the Slavery Abolition act of 1833 freed all slaves throughout the British Empire. These political movements were the result of several decades of abolitionist organizations leading to general public consciences that slavery should be abolished.[footnoteRef:2] In the early 19th century, Lord Grenville propagated the political opinion that the slavery was contrary to the principles of justice, humanity and sound government policy. …show more content…
In 1944, Eric Williams published Capitalism and Slavery and forever changed the historiography of abolition, capitalism and slavery. His publication was an attempt to redefine the slave trade influences on the British Industrial Revolution and to challenge the traditional influences for the abolishment of slavery. For the first time since abolition, a historian had attributed the rise and fall of the Atlantic Slave trade to capitalism and economic