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INTRODUCTION

What are the key issues around the
abolition of slavery past and present?

From Anti-Slavery International

The Transatlantic Slave Trade was one of the ugliest chapters in world history and has left an indelible mark on societies, cultures and peoples around the world.

The abolition of the slave trade in 1807 was achieved by a mass movement that brought together many different sections of society, including enslaved Africans who resisted and rebelled against slavery, and African anti-slavery campaigners, as well as British abolitionists and ordinary members of the public.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade stands apart from both past and present forms of slavery in terms of its scale and brutality; the legal framework that supported it; and the long term repercussions it would have on three continents.

The human cost of the trade is difficult to quantify, but it is estimated that out of approximately 24 million people who were enslaved in Africa only some 10 million managed to survive long enough to reach the Americas and the Caribbean.  Those that did had to endure conditions so hard that, in the Caribbean, approximately one in every three Africans died within three years of arriving.

On 25 March 1807, the slave trade was abolished in the British colonies. This was not the end of slavery, people could still own other human beings, but it ended the trade from Africa to the British colonies and marked an important step on the path to the total abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the liberation of those who had been enslaved.

Why is the anniversary important?

The legacies of the Transatlantic Slave Trade reverberate today in terms of racism and discrimination, as well as the long term impact it has had in both the development and underdevelopment of communities and countries affected by the trade. There is much to be learned from this period of our history, which can benefit society today, not least of which is how we can effectively combat contemporary forms of slavery.

The breakthrough in 1807 was not achieved by an individual but by a mass movement which brought together many different sections of society, including Africans who, through rebellions, personal acts of resistance and as anti-slavery campaigners in their own right, were pivotal in bringing an end to the Transatlantic Slave Trade itself.

In less than 20 years, isolated voices of protest developed into a popular movement that not only managed to challenge assumptions about slavery that had been embedded over hundreds of years, but also convinced many people that they had an obligation to end it. Its achievements were unparalleled at the time and even today there are only a limited number of campaigns which could claim to have had the same impact.

What is the campaign about?

The campaign is about commemoration and liberation.  Anti-Slavery International will take the opportunity of the 200th anniversary to raise awareness of both historical and contemporary forms of slavery.

Many people think that slavery no longer exists. Yet at least 12 million people live and work in contemporary forms of slavery which have been defined and prohibited in international conventions. This campaign aims to revitalise the abolitionist spirit which created the momentum to end the slave trade in 1807 and harness it to make the abolition of all forms of slavery, in law and in practice, a priority for each and every government in the world.

From: Anti-Slavery International