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Photo by Josiah Wedgwood.

Top 10 Facts about the Slave Trade Act

The Slave Trade Act of 1807 was an act of abolishing the slave trade that took place during the era. The leader of the movement that led to the abolishment of the slave trade was William Wilberforce who was a popular leader of the British campaign. The Slave Trade Act was passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to abolish the massive slave trade that took place in the British Empire. Although the Act did not completely abolish the slave trade, it helped the British to press other nations into the slave trade.

Most of the people who supported the abolishment of the slave trade through the establishment of the Acts thought that it would lead to the end of slavery. The slave trade however continued in some parts of the British Empire although it was not supported by English law until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. The establishment of the Slave Trade Act helped to free several slaves who immigrated either willingly or by force including the children born to enslaved women.

Below are the top ten facts about the Slave Trade Act

1. Slave Trade was Britain’s Most Profitable Business

Photo by François-Auguste Biard.

During the early 18^th century the slave trade was one of the most profitable businesses that were carried out in Britain. Martin Meredith, who was a very well-known British historian, claimed that the British ships made about 1,340 voyages across the Atlantic. This trend was observed for a period between 1791 and 1800 which brought about 400, 000 slaves. After nine years, they took further 266,000 slaves between 1800 and 1807.

2. Evangelical English Protestants were Behind Abolishing Slave Trade

Evangelical English Protestants was a movement within Western Christianity that formed the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787. Evangelical English Protestants also united with the Quakers who belonged to the Protestant Christian set of denominations and had the same passion to stop the slave trade. The Quakers also had a long view of the slave trade as a form of immorality to society.

3. William Wilberforce led the Campaign Against Slave Trade

William Wilberforce. Image by Anton Hickel.

William Wilberforce was the champion behind the abolishment of the cruel slave trade since 1787 after reading the evidence claiming Thomas Clarkson had amassed against the slave trade. He also receive a lot of support from like-minded members of the British Parliament who controlled about 35-40 seats. The group was known as the “Saints” and was led by their popular anti-slave campaigner William Wilberforce. The entire group of parliamentarians saw themselves as divinely ordained due to their battle against slavery.

4. The Members of Parliament Voted Against the Motion to Stop Slavery

William Wilberforce brought forth a motion in parliament to stop the slave trade on 2^nd April 1792 but it was voted against. The motion stated that the trade that was carried out by the British subject to obtaining slaves ought to be abolished. The previous year, he had also presented the same motion but it was defeated as 88 MPs voted in favor while 163 opposed. After the amendment of the motion to include the gradual abolishment of slavery, the motion was passed with a majority voting in its favor.

5. The Motion to Implement Gradual Abolition was Implemented by Dundas

Dundas was responsible for tabling the motion to implement the gradual abolition of the slave trade by the end of 1799. The purpose of the gradual abolition was to ensure that the West Indian merchants as well as the landowners would not continue with the trade. According to Dundas, if the proceeding were too fast then the Indians would continue with the trade by using other different modes or channels.

6. Lord Grenville Helped to Fight Slavery

Lord Grenville. Photo by John Hoppner.

Lord Grenville helped to greatly increase the number of abolitionists after serving as the Prime Minister for one year. Although he served for a very short time, he fought to pass the bill in the House of Lords. As the leading the House of Lords, Lord Howick who was the Foreign Secretary also led the same bill in the commons.

7. Fines were Imposed on Captains who Continued the Trade

After the bill was passed there were fines put in place for the captains who went on with the slave trade. The fines could at times amount to 100 Euros per every slave that was found on the ship. At times the captains would dump the slaves in their ships whenever they saw the Navy ship approaching them to avoid the fines. This was a very immoral act that ended the lives of several slaves as they were thrown overboard.

8. Ships Transporting Slaves were Treated as Pirates

According to the Royal Navy which controlled the world’s sea, any ship that owned the slaves would be treated as a pirate. There were several patrols put in several places including the coast of West Africa. These measures help rescue several slaves after seizing 1,600 slave ships and freeing about 150,000 Africans who were on board.

9. The Americans also Adopted the Prohibition of Slave Importation the Same Year

Slave importation. Photo by William Jackson.

After the implementation of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, the Americans also established its Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves the same year and month as the British. The act led to the abolition of the slave trade of its Atlantic slave trade but did not stop the internal slave trade. The American abolition of the slave trade led to the emergence of the coastwise slave trade.

10. The Parliament of Upper Canada also Adapted the Act Against Slavery

After the Acts against Slavery from the British the Parliament of Upper Canada also adopted the same and abolished the slave trade. This act led to the freedom of several slaves from the nations who were immigrants either by choice or force. The children of the enslaved women were also freed upon attaining 25 years but did not emancipate existing resident slaves.

Slave Trade Act was very effective especially after it came into effect and was adopted by other different countries around Britain. It helped to free several slaves who were taken either willingly or by force. There were also fines put in place to enforce the act that prevented the captains from continuing with the slave trade.