International Day for the Abolition of
Slavery – 2nd December 2016
Slavery… possibly one of the most heinous of crimes……to “own” another human being to work for
you without pay or suitable treatment.
On the 2nd December 2016, we celebrate the abolition of slavery in the Commonwealth for 183
years.
But what is slavery? And who campaigned for its abolition?
The Abolition of slavery
Although most people have heard about the slave trade which happened between the 16th to 18th
century the first documented event of slavery was in 54BCE by the Roman, Cicero. “The British
enslaved by Julius Caesar, were too ignorant to fetch fancy prices in the market.” This documented
report of slavery could be disputed as the Romans did not invade Britain until 55BCE, but there are
also accounts of the Romans attempting to invade Britain in 43BCE.
But back to the 16th to 18th century. In 1562, John Hawkins left the British Empire heading for St
Domingo, in the Dominican Republic to sell Black, Asian and minority ethnic slaves. This happened
because at the time Britain was interested in the items that Africa produced (various metals, plants
and spices), and the cheapest workforce on plantations were slaves.
Due to the lack of access to overseas transport, the Government in Britain could only rely on the
plantation owners to report about how they treat slaves, but due to this many of the reports lied
about the true treatment. But articles made by the anti-slavery campaign and slaves themselves
described treatment such as whippings, brutal living conditions, death and more. Many female
slaves were also raped by the plantation owners, and because the slaves were owned by the
plantation owners, the offspring instantly became slaves at birth. Although the reports from the
anti-slavery campaign could be classed as a smear campaign, the reports by the slaves themselves
are widely accepted because, if slaves were treated as well as the plantation owners said they were,
why would the slaves want to stop being a slave?
In 1760, the fight to abolish slavery began, with both black and white supporters. As before many
plantation owners claimed that keeping slaves was advantageous to Britain’s economy and that the
slaves were happy and well treated, also, many magazines and authors who believed in slavery
published images to discredit the abolition bill. For example, in a book entitled “The Black Man’s
Lament or how to make sugar”, there is an image depicting an abolitionist holding a petition in front
of what looks like two very young women, while holding a slave in chains in the other hand.
The message of this image is clear to people who study history, but to those who do not, the image
is describing the petition for the abolition of slavery saying it is signed by uneducated young females
who have the sensibility to believe anything they see. (We must remember that in Victorian times,
many children, especially woman were seen to be uneducated, the fairer sex and were thought that
they did not have the capability to make decisions.)
After many years of fighting and with many key individuals, including Prince Albert, who opened an
event about the abolition of slavery in 1800s, the slavery abolition act was passed by government in
the year 1833.
“I deeply regret that the benevolent and persevering exertions of England to abolish the atrocious
traffic in human beings have not led to a satisfactory conclusion. I sincerely trust that this great
county will not relax in its efforts until it has finally and forever put an end to that state of things so
repugnant to the principles of Christianity and to the best feelings of our nature….”
Extract of Prince Albert’s abolition of slavery speech, 1800s
But this was not the end of the campaign as many plantation owners did not want to give up their
free workforce and when they finally did, the UK government handed out compensation, not to the
slaves, but to the plantation owners for the loss they would make without the slaves.
Modern Day Slavery
But although some slavery has been made illegal in the UK, there are still instances of people being
coerced into forced labour, domestic work, sex trafficking or criminal activities. See – for more
information - http://www.unseenuk.org/
If you have any concerns about yourself or someone else, that “something doesn’t seem right”:
Report it!
a. Tell a member of staff, a LAC or tutor at college
b. Contact someone from our Safeguarding team - 07970 634158 or 07713 367338
c. Contact the Modern-Day Slavery Helpline - 0800 0121 700 or use the online reporting form
https://modernslavery.co.uk/report-it.html
Staying safe – a general guide for young people
1. Tell a parent or Guardian where you are going, who you are going with and what time they
can expect you home
2. If possible, go out accompanied by friends and return home with them
3. Only accept car journeys from people you know well. Don’t accept a lift from someone
you’ve just met.
4. If you do get lost or you have been left on your own stay in a public place such as a
supermarket, Police station, train station etc.
5. When catching a double decker bus, try to stay on the bottom floor as it has more people
who can see you.
6. Try to find casual jobs, such as babysitting, through family or friends, and be careful about
answering advertisements. Try to go with a parent or friend on the first day.
7. Wherever you are, be aware of how to make an emergency telephone call and the quickest
way out.
Opportunities




The Galleries of Justice and Nottingham Trent University are running a Journey to Justice
exhibition for anyone to learn about how justice became what it is today. The exhibition
covers topics such as Civil rights, Slavery, Evolution of the justice system and more.
The Galleries of justice has asked for volunteers for when they reopen in January. All
volunteers must apply.
Lastly, there are many ways to help us tackle modern slavery, from donating online to
running a marathon or setting up a local campaigning group, to becoming an ethical business
leader.
Contact James Carver - [email protected] for information on any of the
above.
Bibliography:
http://theliberatorfiles.com/prince-albert-and-great-anti-slavery-meeting-in-london/
https://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Slavery/articles/sherwood.html
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/79/Petition-slavery-1826.jpg
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/slavery/