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That's 20% off your first purchase with Code Short History at LiquidIV. It is 1756 in the small African village of Esaka in what will later become Nigeria. 11 year old Oluda Equiano is sitting alone in one of his favorite places, high up in a tree overlooking his family home. He looks down at the crudely plastered buildings, their low roofs thatched with reeds. The whole estate is surrounded by a wall formed from dried earth baked hard in the fierce sun. Chickens peck around getting under the feet of the goats, and somewhere in the distance there's a sound of the younger children playing. But most of all, Eluda delights in listening to the voice of his mother singing as she hangs out the blue calico clothes. She's just finished dying. He watches as she enters a building and then returns now with a hoe slung over one shoulder and carrying a large wicker basket. She calls out his name, but he stays quiet, one hand clamped over his mouth. His mother, though, isn't fooled. She comes directly to the base of the tree and commands him to come down. At first he objects, giving her the excuse that he's doing a very important job up here. Doesn't she remember how he recently spotted that stranger who entered their neighbor's yard? What might have happened if he hadn't warned her? His mother laughs and tells him she has an equally important job for him. She's going out to the fields and needs him to look after his sister. Reluctantly, he climbs down and goes into the largest hut. The ground is covered in brightly colored mats. On one of the beds, a wooden platform and strewn with Skins and plantain leaves. His sister sits cross legged, playing with her straw dolls. She seems content, so Eluda leaves her to it, grabbing one of the javelins propped up against the wall. As he goes outside, he practices, launching the javelin at the tree. He hits it nearly every time. One day he will be a respected warrior, a chieftain like his father. Enemies will fear him greatly. After a while, his arms tire and he's getting hungry. Returning to the hut, he asks his sister if she would like something to eat. But as she looks up, her eyes go wide. He turns. Behind him, three figures darken the doorway. They look African, but Alluda has never seen them before. One of them, a woman, remains at the entrance, but the two men come inside. Alluda dodges past the man and runs for his javelin, but the woman sees what he's trying to do and blocks his way. He tries to force past her, but now one of the men has reached him. The boy cries out, but a hand is instantly placed across his mouth and he is thrown to the floor. While he and his sister are held down, the woman forces bundles of cloth into their mouths and ties it in place, and their hands are fastened behind them. Eluda can do nothing as he is dragged out of the house and across the yard before being bundled over the wall. Soon he is being taken through the nearby wood, covering mile after mile until night falls. He realizes now that he will never see home again. In the centuries leading up to the abolition of the slave trade in Britain, it is estimated that over 12 million Africans were kidnapped and shipped across the Atlantic. Conditions for those enslaved were brutal and huge numbers died en route before they even arrived. Particularly culpable was Britain. After the mid 17th century, it dominated the trade and was responsible for shipping over 3 million enslaved Africans. For those fighting to end the practice, it often seemed an impossible goal. But change did happen. Eventually, an act to abolish the trading of slaves passed through Parliament, paving the way to ending slavery itself in Britain, its colonies and elsewhere. But just how was this momentous about turn achieved? Who were the people courageous enough to challenge the status quo and fight the establishment? And what of the enslaved people who made their voices heard against the odds? I'm John Hopkins from Neuse. This is a short history of the abolition of the British slave trade. The practice of slavery dates back many thousands of years to at least the Neolithic era. It can be found in civilizations across the ancient world, including Egypt, China, Greece and the Roman Empire. Often obtained from conquered lands, enslaved individuals are forced to work wherever labor is required. A great Deal of the wealth of the Roman Empire is generated through the work of the enslaved. But it's not until after the arrival of Europeans in the Americas in 1492 that the transatlantic slave trade begins. Millions of indigenous natives are killed or worked to death during colonization or die from the diseases brought over by the immigrants. So soon the European settlers look to Africa, where slavery has been widespread for centuries, to satisfy their demand for workers. Trevor Barnard is the Wilberforce professor of Slavery and Emancipation and director at the Wilberforce Institute, University of Hull.
