British Abolition Act
The Slave Trade Act of 25 March 1807 abolished the British slave trade, making it illegal to transport enslaved people on British ships or from British ports. The Act was the culmination of two decades of abolitionist campaigning led by William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson, and the Clapham Sect, drawing on evangelical Christian arguments and Enlightenment natural rights philosophy. The Royal Navy subsequently deployed a West Africa Squadron to enforce the act and intercept illegal slavers. Britain's industrial dominance meant it could afford to forgo the slave trade's profits; the Act did not, however, emancipate those already enslaved in British colonies—that required the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833.
- Year: 1807 CE
- Category: Political
