The abolishing of slavery in the British empire in 1807 was a landmark moment in the nation and the world. The ending of the grotesque institution is viewed as an important moment in British History. However, there is debate over to why slavery was ended in 1807. Scholars have debated the moral, economic, and religious issues that led to the abolition of slavery. David Beck Ryden, Seymour Drescher, and Ahmed Reid each lend unique perspectives to the debate and argue different factors contributed to British slaveries downfall. First, David Beck Ryden argues a version of the “decline thesis.” The idea being that slavery was abolished because of the decline in the profitability of slaver plantations (notably sugar). The lack of profits and the
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He states that the abolition of slavery caused the sugar industry to go into economic crisis. He called it econocide. The voting of parliament against the nations economic self-interest. Drescher points out that the sugar (slave) lobby remained until the very end and funded the propaganda campaign to keep slavery. Ryden pushes back saying Drescher is wrong and that in fact the sugar industry was in decline prior to 1807. Ryden asserts that Drescher ignores economic factors like inflation and increased shipping costs in his analysis. Ryden writes, “the long-run price of sugar, net of shipping costs and inflation, was in decline between 1750 and 1807 (364).” Furthermore, between 1795 and 1807 sugar prices decline by 40% by this metric. If you recall, Reid’s analysis used a wider timeframe, 1780 to 1807, when describing increasing sugar prices. These data points in my view help Ryden’s claims that the sugar industry was declining in profitability in the decade prior to abolition. Reid critiques Ryden by using a quote were Ryden acknowledges that the period of 1804 to 1807 was not a unique period in the decline of sugar profitability. “There were indeed a number of years when planters either benefited or were punished by short-run changes in market conditions.” During the American Revolution and Seven Years War Sugar profitability also suffered. Nonetheless, slavery was not abolished on those …show more content…
My viewpoint is that the abolition of slavery came down to a battle of interest group politics. The established interest group being the sugar (slave) lobby that advocated for the protection of the slave trade and the status quo. On the other hand, there was social movement organizations like the London Committee that lobbied for slavery’s end. The social movement organizations had to rely on popular public support to make their plea to parliament. This popular support then had to be mobilized and engaged to defeat the slave lobby interests. The slave lobby was more concentrated and had less of a collective action problem. Additionally, slavery was the establishment institution. Furthermore, the British parliamentary system with the unelected House of Lords can slow change and make it more difficult for short-term social movements to enact change. In many ways I agree with Drescher’s assessment that the continued efforts of the general public to pressure parliament led to the downfall of British slavery. The overwhelming support illustrated by mass petitions helped abolitionists overcome their collective action problem. Additionally, it was moral issues that motivated citizens to mobilize instead of economic issues. On all these points I agree with Drescher’s
He states that the abolition of slavery caused the sugar industry to go into economic crisis. He called it econocide. The voting of parliament against the nations economic self-interest. Drescher points out that the sugar (slave) lobby remained until the very end and funded the propaganda campaign to keep slavery. Ryden pushes back saying Drescher is wrong and that in fact the sugar industry was in decline prior to 1807. Ryden asserts that Drescher ignores economic factors like inflation and increased shipping costs in his analysis. Ryden writes, “the long-run price of sugar, net of shipping costs and inflation, was in decline between 1750 and 1807 (364).” Furthermore, between 1795 and 1807 sugar prices decline by 40% by this metric. If you recall, Reid’s analysis used a wider timeframe, 1780 to 1807, when describing increasing sugar prices. These data points in my view help Ryden’s claims that the sugar industry was declining in profitability in the decade prior to abolition. Reid critiques Ryden by using a quote were Ryden acknowledges that the period of 1804 to 1807 was not a unique period in the decline of sugar profitability. “There were indeed a number of years when planters either benefited or were punished by short-run changes in market conditions.” During the American Revolution and Seven Years War Sugar profitability also suffered. Nonetheless, slavery was not abolished on those …show more content…
My viewpoint is that the abolition of slavery came down to a battle of interest group politics. The established interest group being the sugar (slave) lobby that advocated for the protection of the slave trade and the status quo. On the other hand, there was social movement organizations like the London Committee that lobbied for slavery’s end. The social movement organizations had to rely on popular public support to make their plea to parliament. This popular support then had to be mobilized and engaged to defeat the slave lobby interests. The slave lobby was more concentrated and had less of a collective action problem. Additionally, slavery was the establishment institution. Furthermore, the British parliamentary system with the unelected House of Lords can slow change and make it more difficult for short-term social movements to enact change. In many ways I agree with Drescher’s assessment that the continued efforts of the general public to pressure parliament led to the downfall of British slavery. The overwhelming support illustrated by mass petitions helped abolitionists overcome their collective action problem. Additionally, it was moral issues that motivated citizens to mobilize instead of economic issues. On all these points I agree with Drescher’s