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- [00:02]
Narrator
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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.
- [07:11]
Trevor Barnard
How Africans became enslaved comes through a variety of things. The first thing we should say about it is that they were available. There were people in Africa who wanted to sell people into slavery for a variety of reasons to do with their local economies. And there were people from Europe who wanted to take those people and have them enslaved. A whole lot of myths developed that somehow or other Africans were better to slavery because they were more suited to hot weather. And certainly there was racial discrimination from a medieval period onward against Africans in Europe. But the main reason why the enslavements of Africans arose comes down to a simple matter of supply and demand.
- [07:53]
Narrator
Though Portugal is the most active European participant in the trade from the 15th century, Britain's involvement begins to soar under Elizabeth I. In the 1600s, the small British owned island of Barbados undergoes a remarkable transformation during which plantations for sugar and other crops are established elsewhere in the Americas. Tobacco is produced in Virginia, Indigo and rice in South Carolina, and cotton throughout the British colonies. The growing market for these goods means more and more people are enslaved and transported from Africa to produce them. In 1660, King Charles II of England establishes the Royal African Company, granting it a monopoly on all English trade with Africa. Although its initial interests are in African gold, its focus soon shifts onto the slave trade. It is estimated that around 38% of all the enslaved Africans transported to the Americas pass through British hands. Demand keeps rising, devastating African communities. In Sierra Leone, for example, approximately half of the population will be enslaved by the 19th century. The demand for sugar, tobacco and other goods, together with the need for labor to produce those goods, sets up a trading triangle between Europe, Africa and the Americas.
- [09:22]
Trevor Barnard
Traditionally, trading is thought of as a triangle. Goods going from Europe to Africa, things like guns, ironmongery, that sort of thing, which were then bought by Africans, bartered for African people, those African people who then transported across to the Americas. And the third leg would be the return of either money or usually plantation produce. It's actually a little bit more complicated than that. I would say that it's a triangular trade, but it's also a diamond trade, because what was also involved Were textiles from asia. So one of the things that was very important for africans, who were very keen on indian textiles, Was those Indian textiles would come to britain along with british produced goods, go to africa. Africans would then trade them for human beings. Those human beings would go to the americas, Would create the tropical products which then satisfied the demand for such things as puddings and sugar and all those sorts of things that made the plantations so important.
- [10:25]
Narrator
The trade in enslaved people themselves. Is worth only about 1 to 2% of GDP to Britain, but the output these men and women generate in the plantations Is worth much more. Back in britain, slave owners become incredibly wealthy. They build mansions and invest heavily in industry and banking. Ports like bristol and liverpool grow up around the slave trade. With whole industries involved in dealing with transported goods or outfitting ships. The europeans grow ever richer, Treating the enslaved Africans like any other commodity. But the business of buying and selling Is a complex one. In which African slave traders Wield much of the power.
- [11:11]
Trevor Barnard
If africans didn't want to sell to you, they didn't sell to you. That doesn't mean they weren't influenced very strongly by european trends. It doesn't mean that perhaps Africa was not underdeveloped by the whole area, but it was africans who had agency. Remember that europeans did not colonize africa. Until after the slave trade really ended. And so, for much of a period, 16th, 17th, 18th, well into the 19th century, it was African merchants and african rulers who held the dominant hand, and europeans had to negotiate very carefully with those people, which means that establishing relationships with africans Was incredibly important. This was something which was not just an impersonal trade. It was something which was done at a very personal level. But certainly one of the things that we've really become aware of. Is the extent to which African agency Is hugely important in shaping the transatlantic slave trade.
- [12:07]
Narrator
One man who will go down in history. As an important witness to this appalling trade in human beings Is alouda equiano, A member of the igbo tribe in what is now nigeria. He has five older brothers and one sister. As in many other parts of africa, Kidnapping is rife here, and children are prime targets. In 1756, when Equiano is only 11 years old, he and his sister are abducted by raiders. The pair are separated, and equiano is transported across africa, Sold from one master to the next, and put to work. In one exchange, he is sold for 172 cowrie shells. Equiano eventually ends up on the Atlantic coast and is taken on board a ship. Below the decks of the Ogden, he finds almost 250 other enslaved men, women and children naked and nearly all in chains. They mostly lie on stacked shelves that function as beds. Those who complain or refuse food are flogged. But the worst is yet to come. The slave ship takes him and the other Africans across the Atlantic. This side of the trading triangle is known as the Middle Passage.
- [13:27]
Trevor Barnard
When we compare the Middle Passage to other long distance trades, the Middle Passage comes out as particularly horrendous. The amount of mortality on the Middle Passage declined over time, but it was always very, very large. And the conditions in which slaves were kept were terrible. If you were a woman, you were very likely to suffer sexual exploitation. If you were a man, you quite likely would be kept naked. In fact, most Africans arrive naked, without anything else. Naked and chained, sometimes to people who've died en route and hardly ever brought up on deck.
- [14:03]
Narrator
In May of 1754, the Ogden reaches Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. The island is home to 18,000 free white people and 55,000 enslaved Africans. On arrival here, most enslaved people are subject to a brutal period of adjustment, euphemistically called seasoning.
- [14:25]
Trevor Barnard
It's not really accurate phrase in many ways, but it's something which people were accustomed to in the plantations, which was that perhaps 20% of enslaved people might die before they became accustomed to plantation work. Moving from being essentially a peasant in Africa to becoming a plantation worker, Working especially in a sugar plantation in Jamaica and Barbados, was a transformative process in many enslaved people didn't cope with it.
- [14:53]
Narrator
Equiano is now shipped off to the colony of Virginia where he's put to work. But unlike most of his compatriots who will live and die on the plantations, after a while, his life takes an unusual turn. He is purchased by a lieutenant in the Royal Navy by the name of Michael Henry Pascal. Following a 13 week passage, Equiano spends some time in England. He arrives in Falmouth, on the southwest coast of England in the spring of 1757, when he is nearly 12 years old. Equiano is treated kindly by the families with whom he lodges and begins to learn to read. He is also introduced to Christianity and goes to church for the first time. But the Seven Years War is raging and when Pascal is recalled to his naval duties, Equiano must follow. The conflict has its roots in a struggle for the control of the colonies in North America and the West Indies, but quickly becomes more global with the opposing forces being Led by Britain on one side and France on the other. Equiano continues to act as Pascal's aide during the war. For the next few years between voyages, he stays in Britain. But though he furthers his education and is baptized, he remains enslaved. And he is just one of very many on British soil.
- [16:17]
Trevor Barnard
Slavery permeated all parts of Britain. I think increasingly we realized that slavery wasn't something that happened over there. There were many more enslaved people in Britain than we thought. Studies of Restoration England suggest there might be a few thousand 18th century to up to 20,000 enslaved people or people who had been, who were black in London, throughout the country, enslaved people were there, and they were often used, of course, as servants. They had a better life than they did on the plantations, but they were used as servants as a way of describing how wealthy they were. And one of the things you can see is if you look at paintings from the period, you will often see particularly a painting of a beautiful white woman with the whiteness being accentuated. It will be accentuated by having a black servant nearby looking up adoringly at his white mistress, which says something about the relationship both between race and status, but also says something about the extent to which black people were everywhere within Britain. But in the 18th century, if you're walking on the streets of London and any other city, Liverpool, for example, you would often see enslaved people, sometimes in elaborate clothes or carrying a collar. There were many newspaper articles which would talk about runaway slaves, all those sorts of things. If you didn't think that slavery was there in the 18th century, you actually weren't looking.
- [17:45]
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- [19:04]
Narrator
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- [20:43]
Trevor Barnard
Quakers came to see that holding people in bondage went against Quaker principles, and it fitted very much into their pacifist ideas, and they became very conflicted. So what happens is, particularly in Philadelphia, the center of Quakerdom, but also in Britain as well. More and more Quakers like Robert King became attacked by other Quakers or questioned by other Quakers, saying, should you really be holding people in bondage? Is that the Christian thing to do?
- [21:15]
Narrator
For now, Equiana remains enslaved, and though his new master treats him with relative humanity and pays him a small amount for his work, he remains acutely aware of the atrocities of slavery. Taking Place all around him. Brands, muzzles, chains and thumbscrews are commonplace. And there are countless stories of enslaved people killed and mutilated for trying to escape. One man is beaten almost to death simply for allowing a pot to boil over. And enslaved women, even preteen girls, are routinely subjected to brutal acts of sexual violence. Maybe in an effort to alleviate a conflicted conscience, Robert King promises Equiano that he can buy his freedom if he ever manages to amass his purchase price of 40 pounds. It is an unimaginably huge sum to Equiano, equivalent to almost £10,000 in today's money. But he is undeterred. Now on a mission, he begins by spending his meager savings of 3 pennies on a glass tumbler on the tiny Dutch island of St. Eustatius. On his return to Montserrat, he manages to sell it for twice that amount. And so, on his next trip, he buys two more tumblers. With King's agreement, he pursues his own trading alongside that of his master, and slowly builds his capital. Finally, in 1766, he hits his target. It's time to see whether King will make good on his promise. Despite initial reluctance, King accepts. To his immense and indescribable joy, Oluda Equiano is finally released from enslavement.
- [23:10]
Trevor Barnard
Relatively few enslaved people could buy their freedom or become free. The great majority of the 3 million enslaved people transported by the British across the Atlantic were brought into slavery, stayed as slaves, and their children and grandchildren became enslaved as well. But there were always opportunities. Slavery was not a closed system. And if you had some extraordinary slave people such as Equiano, who were able to earn money, who didn't work on a sugar plantation or a tobacco plantation, who moved around the world, who had connections with Britain, it was possible for those people to become free, and there were more of them than you might expect. It wasn't a majority by any means, but it was not negligible either.
- [23:52]
Narrator
Aged just 22 in July 1767, Equiano begins the long journey back to England. But he has no idea of the key role he is destined to play in the history of slavery. British involvement in the slave trade is still at its height. Among the rich and powerful, there's little enthusiasm for ending the practice. And though Equiano now finds a growing black population in London, vanishingly few live freely. Some are employed in the military, but most are domestic servants for the wealthy, working in dehumanizing conditions and used as status symbols. Equiano wants better than this for himself and for those around him. And he's not alone. The calls for change are gaining some momentum. A few years previously, an enslaved African known as Tacky led an uprising against plantation owners on the Caribbean island of Jamaica. Formerly a warlord, he used his extensive military expertise to take control of a number of plantations and seize the owner's weapons. The British colonial authorities quickly responded, and the rebellion was eventually suppressed. After a week of intense fighting, Tacky himself was shot by a marksman and then decapitated, his head placed high on a pole to discourage further uprisings. Other rebels were hanged, burned at the stake, or chained up and starved to death. Soon, news of what became known as Tacky's war hit the headlines back in Britain. While it caused concern to those with valuable assets in the colonies, to others it highlighted the plight of the enslaved.
- [25:39]
Trevor Barnard
One of the things that Tacky is that it was put down with maximum violence by the Jamaican authorities. But when the British at home learned about what the British were doing to enslaved people, leaving them to starve in gibbets, executing them in all sorts of ways, they wondered, what sort of people had the British become?
- [25:59]
Narrator
Quakers, in particular, are instrumental in raising awareness of the horrors of slavery in Britain and across the Atlantic. In the American colonies, they form a crucial part of what is metaphorically called the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses and routes used to help enslaved people escape from bondage. They also establish integrated schools and lobby government officials and lawmakers. They boycott goods produced by slave labor. And they found abolitionist organizations in Britain. Their numbers are small, but their moral arguments resonate with other religious movements, such as evangelical Christians. One such evangelist is Granville Sharp. A civil servant, he develops an interest in helping the enslaved to defend themselves in legal cases against their masters. In January of 1772, he takes on the case of James Somerset. Like Equiano, Somerset had been kidnapped from his African home, taken to the Americas, and then brought across to England to act as his owner's servant in London. In October 1771, he escaped, but after a 56 day manhunt, was caught and imprisoned on a ship due to set sail for Jamaica. Now, armed with a formidable knowledge of the law relating to slavery and ownership, Granville Sharp secures Somerset his day in court. Eventually, the presiding judge acknowledges that slavery has never been authorized under English law. For James Somerset, the decision means that he is a free man. And though it doesn't signify the end of slavery, it sends out a powerful legal message that bolsters the abolitionist cause. When Oluda Equiano hears of this case, he chalks it up as another small step forward. But a couple of years later, things become much more personal. On a sea voyage to Turkey, he is employed as a steward, working alongside a good friend of his called John Annis, another formerly enslaved African. But on the ship's arrival back in the Thames Estuary, Annis is abducted by men sent by his former owner, Mr. Kirkpatrick, who transport him to the Caribbean. Equiano is outraged. Remembering the case of James Somerset, he contacts Granville Sharp. But a resolution proves impossible. Equiano later learns that Annis died on the island of St. Kitts, enslaved to the end. Devastated, Equiano again seeks solace in the Bible. His interest in the abolitionist movement grows in the coming years. But in 1781, an event occurs that supercharges his determination. It is November 29, 1781. The slave ship Zong is heading for Jamaica after picking up 442 enslaved Africans, twice as many as it was built to carry. It should have docked at Jamaica long ago, but thanks to a navigational error, the island is still 300 miles away. First mate James Kelso raps on the door of the captain's cabin. Entering, he finds several other officers already assembled at the table. Captain Luke Collingwood looks on the verge of death. His skin is the color of candle wax, his hair and clothes soaked in sweat. He seems so sick as to be incapable of running the ship. But Kelsal has no intention of crossing him. He was there in Acre, the capital of Ghana, when Collingwood was assessing the health of a different human cargo. As a former surgeon, the captain had no compunction about rejecting anyone he found lacking. Those not considered commercially valuable were instantly killed. Now Kelsal must inform the captain of their current plight. Their right running out of drinking water, they're not going to reach land for almost two weeks. And with so many on board, there's now only enough water to last four days. At this rate, many of those imprisoned in the hold below are going to die of thirst. Collingwood pounds his fist on the table, shouting that he's not about to lose all that money. He thinks for a minute, and then he comes up with a plan. The insurance will pay out for the lost cargo, he says, but only if it is jettisoned to save the rest. Kelsall looks at his captain in horror. There are murmurs of discontent among the other officers. In a rage, Collingwood orders his men to do what must be done. Feeling sick to his stomach, Kelsall accompanies his men below decks to the slave quarters. Hundreds of eyes burn into him. Pandemonium breaks out as the crew begin unshackling people, only to drag them across to the tiny windows and throw them into the ocean below. Kelsall tries to close his ears to the screaming and pleading. One man breaks free and runs to Kelsall, begging him to simply let them live without food and water rather than toss them overboard. Kelsal twists the African's fingers away from his uniform, then nods to a crew member to take him. The process goes on for hours. It is repeated the next day and the next. Then, on the first day of December, Kelsol is standing on the deck as something small and light hits him on the head. Then another. He turns his face to the sky and feels the splash of more raindrops. The heavens open, drenching him. Too late. The ship has its drinking water. In all, 142 Africans are killed in the Zong massacre. Captain Collingwood dies three days after the ship reaches Jamaica. However, the insurers refuse to pay out for the lost revenue and the ship's owners begin legal proceedings against them. Two years later, the case reaches the London courts, where it is overseen by the same judge who was involved in the John Annis case. But when the verdict is finally reached, it favors the ship owners. The enslaved people, the court rules, are to be treated no differently from any other cargo. On hearing about the Zong incident and the legal outcome, Equiano is horrified. He turns again to Granville Sharp for help, who then seeks to prosecute the crew members for murder. Though they failed to secure the result they hoped for, Sharp and Equiano continue to campaign about the massacre. It attracted the attention of Quakers and abolitionist groups who highlight it as further evidence of the atrocity of the slave trade.
- [33:27]
Trevor Barnard
Abolitionism needed a cause celebr it needed some form of outrage. And the Zong was exactly that form of outrage. I mean, this was something which happened on British ships by British sailors and then was tried in a British court. And it seemed to violate all sorts of forms of British justice because here was murder being masqueraded as insurance. What it did almost single handedly was say, this is an example of just how wicked the slave trade is. This is an example of something sinful. This is even more than tacky's war. This is an example of British people behaving very badly. My view, if we are to explain how abolitionism moved from a minority pursuit to a mass political movement. The Zong in 1783 was very important.
- [34:19]
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Trevor Barnard
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Trevor Barnard
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- [36:16]
Narrator
for campaigning, Equiano continues to lobby newspapers and influential figures, including members of Parliament. Becoming more prominent, he is invited to give public seminars on the topic of slavery. With a number of other educated, formerly enslaved people, he forms the Sons of Africa, a group which gives talks, distributes literature and puts further pressure on the establishment. It is Britain's first black political organization. Encouraged by his abolitionist friends, Equiano writes and publishes his autobiography. The book's printing costs are met by wealthy supporters, including a few dissenting members of the royal family, who have changed their stance in recent years. It is an instant success, not least because it satisfies the public appetite for a rousing and unusual adventure story of a man who is Able to battle extreme adversity once he accepts God as his savior, Equiano goes on an extensive book tour across much of Britain, giving talks about his memoir and personally selling thousands of copies. He continues to inundate newspapers with letters condemning slavery and devotes time to helping the poor black population of London. For his part, Granville Sharp joins with other prominent abolitionists in the late 1780s to create the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. Its aims run in parallel with with those of the Sons of Africa, but its members have connections in high places. They write and distribute anti slavery literature, put up posters, organize lecture tours, lodge petitions, and lobby members of Parliament for further publicity. They enlist the help of the potter Josiah Wedgwood, who produces porcelain medallions featuring the image of a chained African with the caption am I not a man and a brother? It quickly catches on, becoming a must have fashion accessory that also serves to promote the cause. One founding member, Thomas Clarkson, takes on the task of collecting evidence to support the Society's arguments. He interviews Equiano and others about their experiences. Traveling extensively around the country. He concentrates on ports such as Liverpool and Bristol, approaching those who work on the slave ships and in supporting industries. But many are afraid to speak out. Some are openly hostile. It is early in 1787. In a small run down tavern near the Liverpool docks. Thomas Clarkson orders a pitcher of alex and two tankards and then carries them to a table in a quiet, shadowy corner. Though he's taken care to wear laborious clothes rather than his usual London finery, he's still a stranger in these parts, and his unusual height and red hair instantly mark him out for anyone who might be on the lookout for him. The minutes tick by. Clarkson tries to ignore the stares of the other patrons and begins to wonder if the appointment he has been given is a trap. But then the door opens again and a scruffy individual saunters in carrying a cloth bag. He scans the interior with furtive eyes before approaching Clarkson. Halting in front of the table, he then rubs his stubble. Clarkson responds by touching the brim of his hat, completing the exchange of secret signals. Clarkson pours some beer for his companion. The men pass a few pleasantries, but quickly turn to business. The man lowers his back to the floor with a gentle metallic clink before sliding it across to Clarkson, who reaches down and opens it up. What he sees there both excites him and fills him with revulsion leg irons, a thumb screw and a type of vise used to prise open the mouths of Enslaved people who refuse to eat. If this doesn't convince people of the barbaric nature of slavery, nothing will. Clarkson reaches into his pocket and removes an envelope, which he passes under the table. The man takes the money, stuffs it into his own clothing and leaves, knowing that there are some who will go to great lengths to stop the maltreatment of the enslaved becoming public knowledge. Clarkson decides not to hang around. He finishes his drink and exits, quickly. Walking down to the docks, he takes in the view of the ships being outfitted here. The items he has acquired fill him with rage at the business being conducted in front of his eyes, but he is only too aware of how valuable they are to the cause. But now, from a doorway, two men step out in front of him and they don't look friendly. He halts, turns, finds more men. They're strangers, but he has no doubt that they're here to sabotage his attempts to reveal the truth about their industry. They form a circle and close in on him, cutting off his escape before he can even attempt to reason with them. A pair of arms encircles him from behind. One of the men rushes towards him. Clarkson kicks him in the groin and there's a wail of pain. He heaves himself backwards, driving his captor into the sharp corner of a wall to dislodge him. He's free. But then someone else supplies a punch to the side of his head and then another to his ribs. Something hard strikes him above his kidneys. Clarkson lashes out, swirling the heavy bag around him. It catches one of the gang on the cheek, splitting it open. A gap opens up and Clarkson dives through it. With the baying mob behind him, he runs faster than he has ever run before. Despite all the dangers, Thomas Clarkson's efforts to gather accounts and physical evidence are unceasing. As a further weapon in his arsenal, he publishes a schematic of the slave ship Brooks. The drawing shows how hundreds of occupants are tightly packed into its hold, with each man allocated a space of 6ft by 16 inches, and women and children even less. He presents all of his evidence to a Member of Parliament called William Wilberforce. Extremely popular among his colleagues, Wilberforce is renowned for his quick wit and his beautiful singing voice. Nicknamed the Nightingale of the House of Commons, he was often found singing through the night. Wilberforce's life is changed dramatically in his twenties upon his conversion to Christianity. Knowing that evangelists are often ridiculed in Parliament, he considers stepping down from his position. But he seeks guidance from a cleric called John Newton. Author of the hymn Amazing Grace, Newton, a slave trade captain turned Anglican cleric and abolitionist, advises Wilberforce to remain in post and do God's work from there. Clarkson then persuades Wilberforce to join the society's ranks. In April 1791, when he believes the time is finally right, Wilberforce gives a four hour parliamentary speech putting forward his bill to abolish the slave trade. He ends his speech with these words. Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never again say that you did not know. The bill is debated by lawmakers for two days and then defeated by 163 votes to 88.
- [44:42]
Trevor Barnard
Was there resistance to slavery? Yes and no. There were a large number of important people who got a lot of money from slavery. There were a large number of people who felt that abolishing slavery would have adverse social effects in all sorts of ways. And this is very true among the upper classes. One of the things which is remarkable about abolitionism and Equiano and Clarkson are particularly important here, is that it was from the start a mass based political movement. It attracted all sorts of people, people who weren't part of a political nation at all, who very quickly came to see this as a massive area of social reform. I think we can hardly underestimate just how big it was in the 1780s. So in many ways abolitionism should have succeeded quite early on. From the late 1780s, early 1790s, the mood and the public was ready for it. The difficulty was that there was a great deal of resistance by very powerful people, particularly in the House of Lords, particularly among major groups. The Royal family, for example, was resolutely opposed to Church of England, tended to be opposed. And merchants, of course, in places like Liverpool were fiercely opposed and were powerful.
- [45:52]
Narrator
Wilberforce is nothing if not determined. He proposes his bill again in 1792, also without success. The next year, his bill is only narrowly defeated by just eight votes. It seems as though he's on the right trajectory. But then war rears its ugly head once more. The French Revolution ushers in a Declaration of the Rights of Man that stresses liberty, equality and fraternity. Watchwords for the abolitionist cause. But it also leads to significant unrest globally. In Haiti, then known as Saint Domingue, the events in France inspire a violent insurrection by enslaved people of against their French colonial owners. It is the largest uprising of its kind since that of Spartacus in ancient Rome. It causes many in England, including Prime Minister William Pitt, to fear that it might provoke similar rebellions in British colonies. In Ireland. The Society of United Irishmen also takes their cue from the French in demanding drastic reform in the way that their country territory is governed. It doesn't help the abolitionist cause that many of its advocates, including prominent people like Thomas Clarkson, openly support the French Revolution. The situation worsens when France declares war on Britain in 1793. It deteriorates further still when the United Irishmen, with military assistance from the French, instigate a rebellion calling for the establishment of an independent Irish Republic. Now the British government clamps down on activism. In 1795 it introduces the Treason Bill, under which assemblies of more than 12 people can potentially be outlawed. Many abolitionists are banished to Australia under this act.
- [47:53]
Trevor Barnard
The age of abolition coincides with the age of revolution in complicated ways. So it's complicated with the American Revolution. It's even more complicated with the French Revolution, which of course was much more radical. The American Revolution, which led to the Haitian Revolution, the only successful slave revolt in human history, and to ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. But it also scared the bejesus out of the elite of Britain. And in many ways abolition, which probably would have occurred in the 1790s without the French Revolution, got put on the back burner. Mainly because the elite feared very much that such talks of emancipation and freedom, they didn't know where they would go and they would lead to the sort of revolution that was terrifying them.
- [48:35]
Narrator
In France, support for abolition decreases markedly. But Wilberforce continues to bring his anti slavery bill to Parliament year after year. For some, the process takes too long. Having married a white woman and settled down to start a family in Cambridgeshire. In 1797, 52 year old Oluda Equiano dies in Westminster, London. It is reported in newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic. Though he leaves two daughters, his enduring legacy is his narrative that gives voice to the experiences of countless enslaved Africans. The political situation begins to calm a little after the act of Union of 1801 when Ireland is incorporated into the United Kingdom with representation in the Westminster Parliament. And again in 1805 after French forces are defeated at the Battle of Trafalgar. In 1806, England elects a new prime minister in the form of Lord Grenville, an abolitionist who appoints many like minded ministers to his new cabinet. Later that year, the Foreign Slave Trade Abolition bill is proposed. Designed to prevent British traders from transporting slaves to territories owned by foreign powers, it is sold to members of Parliament as an anti French bill that will deprive them of the slave labor they require. Once passed, it paves the way to full abolition in Britain. Finally, on February 23, 1807, Parliament approves the act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade by an overwhelming majority of 283 to 16. After 20 long years of campaigning, Wilberforce has finally achieved his aim of ending the slave trade across the British Empire. The 1807 act is of monumental significance, but while it prohibits trading in enslaved people, it does not abolish the practice of slavery itself. Although Wilberforce's health continues to decline, he presses on with his pursuit of social change, addressing not only slavery, but also child labor, poverty, prison reform, factory conditions and education for the masses. Following a bout of flu, he gives his final anti slavery speech in April 1833, after which he takes to his sickbed. It is there that he is informed of the passing of the bill for the Abolition of Slavery, initiating the gradual eradication of slavery across most of the British empire. Wilberforce dies three days later. The following year, 800,000 people are released from enslavement across the colonies.
- [51:38]
Sponsor Voice 2
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- [51:49]
Trevor Barnard
think he is misunderstood.
- [51:50]
Sponsor Voice 2
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- [52:09]
Narrator
this May on the Noiser Podcast Network. Real Vikings concludes as the epic excursions of the Norsemen culminate in a monumental showdown on Short History of We'll witness the world changing events of the Spanish Civil War and uncover the real James Bond on Real Survival Stories, a remarkable tale of escape from a devastating earthquake in China and an extraordinary encounter with a humpback whale. And in Sherlock Holmes short Stories where amidst the misty expanse of Dartmoor for one of Conan Doyle's most beloved works, the Hound of the Baskervilles. Get all of these shows and more early and ad free on Noiser plus and by the way, a short history of ancient Rome. Noiser's first book is out now in paperback available in all good bookshops. The British government pays out millions of pounds in compensation for to the former slave owners, but not a penny of reparation to the freed people themselves. Britain had been a leading player in the slave trade, but now it sets a precedent that causes other nations to re evaluate their involvement in the aftermath of the American Revolutionary War. The northern states abolished slavery, while those in the southern states, containing plantations for cotton, sugar, tobacco, and hemp, hold on. When the abolitionist Abraham Lincoln becomes President In 1860, this confederacy of Southern states attempts to establish a separate nation. The schism leads to the American Civil war, in which slavery continues to play a major role. Lincoln's emancipation declaration frees 3 million enslaved people in the Confederate confederacy, many of whom flee to the north to fight for the Union Army. Finally, in December 1865, seven months after the end of the war, the 13th Amendment to the Constitution is put in place, ending slavery across the whole of the United States. The moral and ethical shift in world values is a testament to the ceaseless determination and effort of people like Wilberforce, Clarkson, Sharp, and, of course, those like Oluda Equiano, who could provide firsthand accounts of the horrors of slavery. And yet, 200 years later, the struggle to end it is ongoing.
- [54:43]
Trevor Barnard
My institute that I run studies both modern slavery and historical slavery. And my colleagues in modern slavery say we should never talk about eradicating modern slavery. We shouldn't use that abolitionist language, because eradicating slavery is like eradicating murder. It's not going to happen. It's always going to be that way. Some of the most unfortunate things are that there are probably more people in slavery today than there were in 1800, although a smaller percentage of a world population is probably about 40 million people in slavery, including quite a number of people in this country as well.
- [55:14]
Narrator
Modern slavery is a global phenomenon. Operated by a sophisticated network of human traffickers. It disproportionately affects the vulnerable, including children, refugees, and those in extreme poverty. But even where laws are in place to prevent it, they are often inadequately enforced. The slave trade has left deep scars, ongoing racial inequalities, and economic disparities that we are still grappling with today. Understanding the history of the abolition movement, its victories and its limitations is key to facing these enduring challenges and continuing the fight for justice and equality. Next time on short history of we'll bring you a short history of high women.
- [56:13]
Trevor Barnard
What it comes down to is that humans love stories. I think the story is what defines being human.
- [56:23]
Sponsor Voice
While there are people who are very happy to listen to sweet, moralistic stories,
- [56:27]
Trevor Barnard
most want to hear sordid details. They want to hear about adventure and people escaping by the skin of their teeth and undergoing arduous adventures, Great deeds of daring, bravery, you know, even if it's in the name of something terrible, such as a lethal robbery. In real life. That's no longer considered entertainment, and we would actually be appalled to see it in reality. I think that entertainment values have changed. We need these rogues to be romantic heroes rather than the villains that they often were.
- [57:02]
Narrator
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Trevor Barnard
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Trevor Barnard
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Narrator
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Trevor Barnard
Okay, one judgment anyway.
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Narrator
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