UNIT 4

THE ABOLITION OF SLAVERY

Toby tells us about Hull and its most famous resident, William Wilberforce. Wilberforce was a politician who compaignde against slavery. The British slave trade was abolished within his lifetime, but he continued campaigning because he wanted to free slaves all over the world. Between 1450 and 1850 at least 12 million Africans were taken across the Atlantic, mainly to colonies in North American, South America and the West Indies. The use of African slaves in the British Caribbean began in the late seventeenth century. Slaves suffered terribly on the ships and up to 20% died before they even arrived in the Caribbean. They were made to work on the sugar plantations and were treated cruelly. Britain banned slavery in 1807 but it took until 1865 for slavery to be abolished in the USA.