The Abolition of Slavery

There is no doubt that many people in the world today know little about the abolition of the slave trade and what the abolitionists underwent in order to bring their campaign to a success. Indeed, abolitionists have a tough war with the slave masters before they eventually became successful.

When talking about the abolition of slavery, there is the tendency for some people to overlook the contributions of Africans and the slave themselves.  Africans as well as the slaves in general in different ways resisted slavery. There was collective effort as well as individual efforts by Africans in the fight against enslavement. Many slaves lost their lives in an attempt to gain their freedom. Rebellion was one of the major ways in which African contributed in the abolition of slave trade. Some slaves joined the abolitionists and provided them with useful information. Oluadah Equiano, Ignatius Sancho and Quobna Ottobah Cugoano were among the African slaves that contributed greatly in the campaign against slavery. So, it could be said that the abolition of slavery and passing of the Slavery Trade Abolition Act in 1807 owed a lot to the African slaves.

At least the rebellions of the slaves such as the  revolution in Haiti helped to create public awareness about the inhuman treatment melted on the slaves by their masters. Truly, before the rebellion, most people in Great Britain were not aware of the condition of slaves who worked in the sugar plantations. As they rebelled and fought against their masters, the public became aware of their condition. This pushed the abolitionists to speak up and mounted serious pressure on the Parliament to make slavery illegal.

However, it was never a smooth campaign for the abolitionists. Many of them also lost their lives. The slave masters who were benefiting economically from the trade did not fold their hands and watch their businesses crumble. They also employed various strategies in order to thwart the effort of the abolitionists.

The Parliament did not immediately accept the abolition bill. For example, the abolition bill was rejected in 1791. However, the abolitionists did not stop their campaign. They used several means to buy the sentiments of the populace, influential people, and the Parliament. Some of the means they used were:

1 Organization of action groups

2 Petitioning and lobbying the Parliament

3 Consumer action

4 starting legal procedures

5 campaigning and supporting Parliamentary Reform

Eventually, the abolitionists were able to pressure the Parliament to pass the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807. But this Act did not total stopped slave trade. Some captains were illegally engaging in slave trade. Some of the abolitionists continued their campaign and insisted on illegalizing slavery. This led to the formation of Anti-Slavery Society by Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, Henry Brougham, Elizabeth Heyrick, Thomas Fowell Buxton, Anne Knight, Elizabeth Pease and Mary Lloyd in 1823. The campaign yielded a positive result in 1833 when the Slavery Abolition Act was passed by the Parliament.

By Justin Anumiri

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Africa Global News Publication