Slavery & Abolition

Gervase Phillips examines the extent and significance of an often misunderstood phenomenon.

The story of the British anti-slavery and abolitionist movements has been dominated by the figures of Clarkson and Wilberforce. Yet, the success of the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 benefited from the votes of Irish MPs.

British traders in enslaved Africans found ways around the Slave Trade Act of 1807, while commerce flourished through the import of slave-grown cotton.

This West African state was a focus of the slave trade for centuries, and the first African colony to win independence, exactly fifty years ago. Graham Gendall Norton finds lots of history to explore.

Kevin Shillington looks at the impact on Africa of the slave trade, and its abolition 200 years ago this month.

Richard Cavendish describes the massacre of the 'slave hounds' at the settlement of Pottawatomie Creek on May 24th, 1856.

Graham Gendall Norton travels in search of those who fought for the rights of all.

Bill Rolston describes the impact of an erstwhile slave, who toured the Emerald Isle speaking out against slavery in 1845.

Angela V. John looks at the uncomfortably long and close links between slavery and the cocoa trade.