Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade facts for kids
Quick facts for kids .jpg) |
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| Formation | May 22, 1787 |
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| Dissolved | January 1, 1807 |
| Type | Abolishment of Slavery |
| Headquarters | 2 George Yard |
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Official language
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English |
The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was a British group formed on May 22, 1787. It was also known as the Abolition Society or Anti-Slavery Society. Their main goal was to stop the slave trade. They achieved this goal in 1807.
The society helped end the buying and selling of enslaved people. Later, in 1833, slavery itself was ended in all British colonies. Some historians believe this group started the first peaceful social movement. Many modern social movements are based on their ideas.
Twelve men started the society. Among them were Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp. These men were Anglicans, which meant they could influence the British Parliament more easily. Many other founders were Quakers. Quakers were not allowed to be Members of Parliament at that time.
The society worked to teach people about the terrible things happening in the slave trade. Their efforts led to the Slave Trade Act 1807. This law stopped the international slave trade in Britain. After this law passed, the society stopped its work. The United States also banned the African slave trade around the same time.
In 1823, a new group called the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions was formed. This group worked to end slavery completely in British colonies. Slavery was finally abolished by Parliament in 1833. By 1838, all enslaved people in British colonies were freed.
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Early Efforts to End Slavery
The first statement against slavery was written by Dutch and German Quakers in Pennsylvania in 1688. English Quakers officially spoke out against the slave trade in 1727. They pushed for changes. From the 1750s, Quakers in Britain's American colonies also started to oppose slavery. They asked English Quakers to act through Parliament.
These Quakers encouraged slave owners to treat enslaved people better. They also wanted them to teach enslaved people to read and write. Their goal was to slowly free them.
In 1783, an informal group of six Quakers started the British movement against slavery. The London Society of Friends sent a petition to Parliament. Over 300 Quakers signed it. They were also influenced by news about the Zong massacre. This was a case where ship owners tried to claim insurance money after many enslaved people died on their ship.
How the Society Started
In 1787, most people around the world lived under some form of slavery. There were no enslaved people in Britain itself. However, most British people thought slavery in the British West Indies was normal.
The Quakers decided to form a small, mixed-faith group. They wanted to get more support from the Church of England and Parliament. The new committee formed in 1787 had nine Quaker members and three Anglicans. Quakers could not serve as Members of Parliament. Having Anglican members helped the committee influence Parliament.
The new group was called the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. People often just called it the Abolition Society.
The first meeting happened on May 22, 1787, at a bookstore in London. The owner was James Phillips, a Quaker publisher. Twelve men met there. They formed a committee with a very ambitious goal: to end the slave trade, and then slavery itself, in the powerful British Empire.
Who Were the Members?
Nine of the twelve founding members were Quakers:
- John Barton (1755–1789)
- William Dillwyn (1743–1824)
- George Harrison (1747–1827)
- Samuel Hoare Jr (1751–1825)
- Joseph Hooper (1732–1789)
- John Lloyd
- Joseph Woods Sr (1738–1812)
- James Phillips (1745–1799)
- Richard Phillips
Five of these Quakers were part of the earlier group that sent the first petition against the slave trade in 1783.
Three Anglicans were also founding members:
- Thomas Clarkson, a campaigner and writer against the slave trade.
- Granville Sharp, a lawyer who helped enslaved Africans.
- Philip Sansom
What the Society Did
The society's main goal was to stop Britain's involvement in the international slave trade. They did this by raising awareness about the cruel practices of the trade.
The society wanted to inform the public about the inhumane treatment of enslaved Africans. They campaigned for a new law to abolish the slave trade throughout the British Empire. Their methods included writing and publishing anti-slavery books, posters, and pamphlets. They also organized lecture tours in towns and cities across England. Thomas Clarkson's book, Essay on the Impolicy of the African Slave Trade, published in 1788, was one of the first important books on the topic.
The society also presented petitions to the House of Commons. Over 100 petitions were sent in 1788. They held anti-slavery rallies. They also made anti-slavery medallions, pottery, and figurines. Josiah Wedgwood, a famous potter, helped a lot with this. He made pottery medallions showing an enslaved person in chains. The medallion asked a simple but powerful question: "Am I not a man and a brother?" This image became very famous. It helped bring public attention to the cause.
By educating the public, the committee gained many supporters. In 1787, Clarkson's speaking tour helped raise public interest. The autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, a former enslaved African, also increased public awareness. His book showed a strong case against slavery. In 1789, Clarkson helped promote Equiano's book and encouraged him to give lectures.
William Wilberforce introduced the first bill to abolish the slave trade in Parliament in 1791. It was defeated. But Wilberforce kept bringing the issue to Parliament almost every year. Clarkson and others in the committee traveled, raised money, and wrote more anti-slavery works.
More About Members
The Quaker William Allen later joined the committee. He worked closely with Wilberforce and other Quaker members. Other supporters included members of the Clapham Sect, a group of evangelical Christians.
Women's Role
Women played an important part in the society. About 10% of the members were women. In some cities like Manchester, nearly a quarter of the members were women. Many of these women came from leading Quaker families or wealthy Unitarian families. By 1788, there were 206 female members. The writer Elizabeth Carter was one prominent female member.
Women could not directly participate in Parliament. However, they formed their own anti-slavery societies. Many women were horrified that families were torn apart by slavery. In 1824, Elizabeth Heyrick wrote a pamphlet called Immediate not Gradual Abolition. She urged that enslaved people in British colonies be freed right away.
Despite having less direct influence, many female abolitionists made a big impact. Anne Knight was an important campaigner. She was a Quaker from Essex. She formed the Chelmsford Female Anti-Slavery Society. She also traveled to France to give lectures against slavery.
The Birmingham Ladies Society for the Relief of Negro Slaves was founded in Birmingham, England, in 1825.
Related Groups
Several members of the society also supported the African Institution. This group was founded in 1807. It aimed to create a safe place for freed enslaved people in Sierra Leone.
The Sons of Africa was another abolitionist group. Its members were educated Londoners, mostly former enslaved Africans. This group worked closely with the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
Petitions to Parliament reached their highest point in 1792. Up to 100,000 people signed them. Regional anti-slavery groups, especially in northern England, started to lead the movement.
The 1807 Abolition Act
In 1807, the British Parliament voted to abolish the international slave trade. This was done through the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. The Royal Navy enforced this law. After the Act passed, the society ended its work.
The United States also banned the African slave trade in the same year. This law took effect on January 1, 1808.
In 1808, another Act was passed in the UK. It gave more protection to Freetown in West Africa. Freetown is now the capital of Sierra Leone. It was started in 1788 as a place for former enslaved people and poor Black people from London to live. It also welcomed Black Loyalists who had moved to Nova Scotia after the American Revolutionary War. When the Royal Navy stopped illegal slave trading ships, they often resettled the freed Africans in Freetown.
A New Society for Abolition
From 1823, the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions became the main group working to end slavery completely. This society worked to achieve the first stage of legal freedom in the colonies. It also supported abolitionists in the United States. Many British people supported lecture tours by American abolitionists in Britain. These tours helped raise money for efforts in the United States. British supporters sometimes gave shelter to Americans who had escaped slavery. They also helped raise money to buy their freedom, as they did for Frederick Douglass.
See also
