Beginning as early as 1597 and incorporated in the criminal system in 1718 through the Transportation Act, (See below). Subsequently, hundreds of felons were annually shipped to various colonies and sold as servants. Transportation has never gained much attention as expected from scholars and has been more widely analysed in Australia rather than America. This is surprising as next to African slaves, those transported to America from Britain, constituted the largest body of immigrants ever compelled to go to America.
Roger Ekirch, Bound for America: The Transportation of British Convicts to the Colonies, 1718-1775 (Oxford, clarendon, 1990)
(Transportation Act 1718 which would allow convicts to be sentenced to 7 years of labour through transportation to foreign lands)
This material focuses on the 508 petitions sent to the Houses of Parliament over the Abolition of the Slave Trade sent to Prime minster William Pitt. The main conflict in which the source focuses on is over the “Period of time” with the Speaker of the House being thrilled that Britain has been able to come to this decision. This is shown with the Speaker seeing it as "the biggest stigma of the British Character removed".
The focus on abolishment on the slave trade changes to more of “how and “When” with a gradual abolition being preferred over a quick and sudden abolition to make the change more effective, this is shown with focus on the wellbeing of Africans and the West Indies to get them to a suitable level and increase their happiness so they will not need support from the British Empire. This would be done by putting them on an equal footing with man and not having them be “Degraded”. With the source being written in 1792 it falls in the perfect period for a gradual abolition for the slave trade as it comes 15 years before the Slave trade being abolished and 14 years before the Foreign Trade Act which made it so Britain could not transfer slaves to foreign lands.
For further reference, go to William Pitt. The Speech of the Right Hon. William Pitt in the House of Commons, on the 2nd of April, 1792, on the Subject of the African Slave Trade. 1824. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/60201525.
“Our Plantation Is Very Weak”: The Experiences of an Indentured Servant in Virginia, 1623
Richard Frethorne left England setting sail for Jamestown, Virginia in the early 17th century along with thousands of fellow poor British men and women. These people migrated to North America by becoming indentured servants agreeing upon an obligation to work for between 4 and 7 years before being allowed freedom (This was different to slavery due to the servants being treated as humans and not below that which slaves were). After three months, Frethorne exclaims in his letter the terrible suffering he endured as a servant and highlights the constant danger of starving to death or acquiring a lethal disease (the only food they had was water gruel and peas).
The use of the sentence “There is nothing to be gotten here but sickness and death” paints a picture of horrific circumstances for those already worried about ‘Foreign lands’. The source was written in 1623 with the purpose of seeking help from his parents to remove him from this difficult and relentless situation by buying out his indentured sentence.
At the end of his letter he states, “The answer of this letter will be life or death to me. Therefore, good father, send as soon as you can.” The anxiety in his tone expresses how vulnerable those transported to America as labourers were and how significantly it affected thousands of young British men and women both physically and mentally.
Letter from Richard Frethorne to his parents dated 20th March 1623. To see the letter and for further information, go to http://historymatters.gmu.edu/d/6475/.
One of the key moments in early 19th century British history was the abolition of slavery. Abolitionists such as William Wilberforce pushed through the Foreign Slave Trade Bill in 1806, after a previous 11 failed attempts, taking over 15 years, showing how much struggle this took to achieve. In 1807, Britain became the first major power to fully abolish its slave trade.
Economically, it had a negative effect on Britain’s trade and international relations. Unilateral abolition was not far enough for the British people, and universal abolition was something the electorate passionately supported – this became an essential part of government policy. Negotiations took place under the ministry of Viscount Castlereagh, and abolition became a main talking point of the 1815 Congress of Vienna. Lord Castlereagh succeeded in Vienna, making universal abolition a declaration of the Congress, which was signed by the seven leading powers of the anti-Napoleonic coalition – including Spain, Portugal and France. However, the lasting effectiveness of this was limited, for example France refused immediate abolition in favour of more gradual trade. Despite this, the declaration was a radical step in the direction of global abolition.
On the other hand, if Britain had become the leading champion of abolition in 19th century Europe, what the source shows us is that this was largely due to the merit of civil society, and pressure from leading abolitionists like Wilberforce. While being pursued through public pressure, the British also wanted universal abolition for economic reasons – knowing that if major powers continued their slave trade, Britain would soon become economically inferior. The source shows us that Britain was a driving force in the early abolition movement, however, the credit should go to domestic pressure and economic issues, rather than the morality of the government.
Source: https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2714733.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A3d6685411d65b418436c380d2bc0d734
W. Wilberforce, The speech of William Wilberforce, Esq. representative for the county of York, on Wednesday the 13th of May, 1789, on the question of the abolition of the slave trade: to which are added, the resolutions then moved, and a short sketch of the speeches of the other members (London: Logographic Press, 1789), in HeinOnline: https://heinonline-org.liverpool.idm.oclc.org/HOL/Page?collection=slavery&handle=hein.slavery/spwwf0001&id=1&men_tab=srchresults
William Wilberforce was widely seen as one of the driving forces behind the abolition of slavery in Britain which would take place in the 1830’s. This source is a speech delivered by Wilberforce to parliament in 1789, the emotive language used in his speech is to attempt to drum up support behind his cause showcases this. This speech is one of the most important pieces of British anti-slavery literature and makes clear Wilberforce’s political and moral stance on the issue, produced to gain support and exposure for the abolition of slavery in Britain – both in parliament and in the newspapers where it would be published. The eventual abolition of Slavery in 1833 shows Wilberforce succeeded several years after the delivery of the speech. Despite being an informative perspective of the British anti-slavery movement Wilberforce ignores large parts of the slave trade and the significant role played by the British Empire in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. Wilberforce’s speech is a valuable source concerning thoughts on slavery in Britain at the time in which it was produced giving an important piece of evidence years before the trade was abolished that it was part of the agenda.
This source is part of a larger collection created at the start of the 18th century to look more into depth at ‘Pyrates’ and more particularly their first rise and settlement in the Islands of Providence. The book in which the source comes from produced in 1724 discusses how ‘Pyrates’ have been able to be an “Interruption” to English and European Trade (Particularly Spain AND France).
This is due to the power in which ‘Pyrates’ carried which would cause Governments to not waste their time and adapt. The source in which this comes from focuses on ‘Pyrates’ in the Caribbean area and particularly those in the West Indies. An example of a source similar to this in terms of geographical area is on the Africa section or at this link: https://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/carviewsvirtex/persjour/sugarcane/012zzz0001786c9u00004000.html
The book distances themselves however, from governmental work in making ‘Pyrates’ too strong before suppressing them and instead looks into the Histiography and modernization as people who are often labelled as “Barbarous” for their past and not for who they become as settlers on the Caribbean islands.
For more information and to see the source, visit: https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00defo/page/n13.
