A replica of the slave ship the Zong, moored by Tower Bridge to mark 200 years since the Slave Trade Act 1807 (April 2007)

HMS Northumberland moored by HMS Belfast during the same commemoration, marking modern anti-slaving operations

The Slave Trade Act (citation 47 Geo III Sess. 1 c. 36) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on 25 March 1807 the long title of which is "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade". The original act is still held among the collections of the Parliamentary Archives. This is a list of Acts of the Scottish Parliament. ... This is a list of Acts passed by the Parliament of Northern Ireland. ... This is a list of Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly passed by that body during its existence between 2000 and 2002 when it was suspended. ... The is a list of Orders in Council for Northern Ireland which are primary legislation for the province when the it is being directly ruled from London and also for those powers not devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. ... Statutory Instruments (SIs) are parts of United Kingdom law separate from Acts of Parliament which do not require full Parliamentary approval before becoming law. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 84 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (1024 × 768 pixel, file size: 84 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I, the creator of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. ... Zong is the name of a ship owned by James Gregson and was involved in the African Slave Trade of the eighteenth Century. ... For the bridge of the same name in California, see Tower Bridge (California). ... HMS Northumberland (F238) is a Type 23 frigate of the Royal Navy. ... Belfast at her London berth in 2004. ... An Act of Parliament or Act is law enacted by the parliament (see legislation). ... March 25 is the 84th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (85th in leap years). ... Year 1807 (MDCCCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ... The Parliamentary Archives of the United Kingdom preserves and makes available to public the records of the House of Lords and House of Commons back to 1497, as well as some 200 other collections of Parliamentary interest. ...

Main article: Atlantic slave trade

The act abolished the slave trade in the British empire. The trade had begun in 1562, during the reign of Elizabeth I when John Hawkins led the first slaving expedition. The Atlantic slave trade, started by the Portuguese[1], but soon dominated by the English, was the sale and exploitation of African slaves by Europeans that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean from the 15th century to the 19th century. ... Slave redirects here. ... The British Empire in 1897, marked in pink, the traditional colour for Imperial British dominions on maps. ... Year 1562 was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. ... Elizabeth I redirects here. ... John Hawkins Admiral Sir John Hawkins (also spelled as John Hawkyns) (Plymouth 1532 – November 12, 1595) was an English shipbuilder, naval administrator and commander, merchant, navigator, and slave trader. ...

The people who pushed the act through were a group of Evangelical Protestants allied with Quakers and united in their opposition to slavery and the slave trade. The Quakers had long viewed slavery as immoral, a blight upon humanity. By 1807 the anti-slave-trade groups had a very sizable faction of like-minded members in the British Parliament. They controlled, at their height, some 35-40 seats. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... The Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers, or Friends, is a religious community founded in England in the 17th century. ... Year 1807 (MDCCCVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar). ...

Known as the "saints" this alliance was led by William Wilberforce, the most important of the anti-slavetrade campaigners. These parliamentarians had access to the legal draughtmanship of James Stephen, Wilberforce's brother-in-law, and were extremely dedicated. They often saw their personal battle against slavery as a divinely ordained crusade. William Wilberforce (24 August 1759 – 29 July 1833) was a British politician, philanthropist, and abolitionist who led the parliamentary campaign against the slave trade. ... James Stephen (30 June 1758-10 October 1832) was an English lawyer, associated with the abolitionist movement. ...

In addition, many who were formerly neutral on the slavery question were swayed to the abolitionist side from security concerns after the successful Haitian Revolution in 1804. Combatants Haiti France Commanders Toussaint LOuverture, Jean-Jacques Dessalines Charles Leclerc, vicomte de Rochambeau, Napoleon Bonaparte Strength Regular army: <55,000, Volunteers: <100,000 Regular army: 60,000, 86 warships and frigates Casualties Military deaths: unknown, Civilian deaths: <100,000 Out of the 60,000 men sent betweeen Feb. ... 1804 was a leap year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

Their numbers were magnified by the precarious position of the current government under Lord Grenville (his short term as Prime Minister was known as Ministry of All the Talents). Not long after the act was passed, Grenville's government lost power to the Duke of Portland. Despite this change, the later British governments continued to support the policy of ending the slave trade. William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville (October 25, 1759 - January 12, 1834), was a British Whig statesman and Prime Minister. ... William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom 1806-1807. ... William Henry Cavendish Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, (April 14, 1738 - October 30, 1809) was a British Whig and Tory statesman and Prime Minister. ...

After the British ended their own slave trade, they felt forced by economics to press other nations into placing themselves in the same economic straitjacket, or else the British colonies would become uncompetitive with those of other nations. The British campaign against the slave trade by other nations was an unprecedented foreign policy effort. The United States also abolished its African slave trade at the same time, though it did not attempt to abolish slavery then practised within American borders.

Both the British and American laws were finalized in March of 1807, the British law being effective on May 1, 1807 and the American law on January 1, 1808. Other small trading nations that did not have a great deal to give up, such as Sweden, quickly followed suit, as did the Dutch, who were also by then a minor player.

The British navy declared that ships transporting slaves were the same as pirates, and so ships carrying slaves were subject to destruction and any men captured were (potentially) subject to execution. Enforcement of the US law was less effective, and the US government refused to comply with joint enforcement (partly because of concern over British impressment). Look up Impressment in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

External links

• Text of Act
• Parliamentary Archives Image of the 1807 Act
• The Parliamentary Archives holds the original of this historic record
• Anti Slave Trade Petition of 1806 supporting the Act of Abolition
• Teaching resources about Slavery and Abolition on blackhistory4schools.com