Reasons for the Success of the Abolition Campaign (SQA National 5 History): Revision Note

Summary

British involvement in the trade in enslaved Africans was abolished in 1807. It was the result of decades of campaigning. There are many reasons why the campaign finally achieved success in 1807, these include growing public support for abolition, economic circumstances, the Parliamentary campaigning of William Wilberforce, the campaigning of other abolitionists, and the war with France.

Public opinion regarding abolition

• Petitions to Parliament made it clear that well over 1 million British people were in favour of abolition (the total British population in 1807 was 12 million)

  • These numbers are impressive, given the few methods of communication available

• Mass public actions such as the sugar boycott also suggest that many British people wanted the trade to end

• The popularity of anti-slavery merchandise and anti-slavery literature was also a sign of strong public support for abolition

• However, the electorate mostly consisted of the male upper classes in the early 1800s,

• Politicians could ignore the wishes of the masses without fear of losing elections

  • There are signs that the upper classes remained more supportive of the trade throughout the abolition movement

Economic circumstances

• The trade in enslaved African people was becoming less profitable

  • People who had previously been strong defenders of the trade due to the profits they were making were beginning to move their money into other investments

  • This meant they were less willing to defend the trade or fund anti-abolition campaigns

• By 1806, the price of sugar had fallen significantly

  • Enslavers had less profit to buy more enslaved people from Africa

• The trade in enslaved Africans remained an important part of the British economy

  • At the start of the nineteenth century, imports from the British Caribbean made up 30 per cent of all goods imported to Britain

  • The average profit from a completed voyage on the triangular trade was around 13 per cent

• The most important economic event in bringing about the end of the trade was James Stephen’s 1806 Bill

• This banned British people and companies from trading enslaved African people with French enslavers and colonies

  • This had a damaging impact on the profits being brought into Britain

  • Around two-thirds of British involvement in the trade was linked to trading with France

Parliamentary debate about abolition

• Any change in the law requires support from Parliament

• The actions of William Wilberforce and other abolitionists in Parliament were vitally important to the success of the abolition campaign

  • William Wilberforce showed a determination and commitment to the abolition cause

  • He introduced yearly abolition Bills from 1789 until he was finally successful in 1807

• Other abolitionist MPs like James Stephen had significant success with the 1806 bill, described as ‘abolition by stealth’

• Parliamentary debate on abolition was also increased after the death of Prime Minister William Pitt

  • Pitt had initially been supportive of abolition

  • During the war with France, he had stopped supporting the abolition campaign

• Pitt’s replacement, Lord Grenville:

  • Appointed several pro-abolition MPs to his cabinet

  • Actively supported Wilberforce’s abolition Bill in 1807

• Wilberforce was just the Parliamentary voice of a mass campaign

  • The efforts of other abolitionists and mass public support for the movement should not be overlooked 

The role of abolitionists

• Thomas Clarkson’s speaking tours helped to change public opinion

  • Clarkson also gathered detailed evidence, which helped to prove the inhumane conditions

  • Clarkson ensured that members of the public saw torture devices meaning the public were aware of the horrors of the trade

• Granville Sharp played an important role in the abolition

  • He was responsible for challenging the legality of slavery through the British courts

• Sharp also helped to set up the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade

  • The Society became a leading abolitionist organisation, publishing thousands of pamphlets, articles and books in favour of abolition

• Oladuah Equiano’s contribution to abolition was also vitally important

  • Equiano provided firsthand accounts of the inhumane treatment he and other enslaved Africans faced

  • Equiano’s autobiography and public appearances were important in challenging racist views held towards Africans people at the time

• As a former enslaver, the evidence of John Newton was also important to the success of the abolition campaign

  • His evidence helped to back up claims by other abolitionists and meant members of the public were less likely to question their arguments

• Female abolitionists were also crucial to the success of the movement

  • Lady Margaret Middleton played a key role in persuading both Clarkson and Wilberforce to campaign for the abolition of the trade in enslaved Africans

  • Poetry by Hannah More and arguments made by Mary Wollstonecraft also played important roles in the success of the campaign

Other factors leading to abolition

• The war with France also played an important role in the success of the abolition campaign

• Initially, the French Revolution damaged the campaign as the British government became fearful of revolution, and so it became more conservative 

  • This meant that radical change, like abolition, seemed much more alarming to the government

  • It also meant that the attention abolition campaigns received from the government and from the media reduced

• However, by the early 1800s, events in the war with France began to help the abolition cause

  • From 1802 to 1804, Napoleon, the Emperor of France, restored slavery in French colonies

  • This helped the abolition cause, as abolishing the trade could also damage France’s economy, and so help with the war effort

• Enslaved African people also played a significant role in bringing about abolition

• From 1774 to 1807, there were several slave revolts in the Caribbean

  • Each act of resistance by enslaved people damaged the profitability of the trade

  • Furthermore, the events of the Haitian Revolution meant that many British plantation owners and investors were worried about something similar happening in British Caribbean colonies

    • Some began to question whether it was worth continuing with plantation slavery if this could only be secured through violence