British Parliamentary Acts suppressing the slave trade
Parliamentary Acts relating to abolition and the suppression of the slave trade.
58 vols. Large 8vo (approx. 295 x 190 mm). Each disbound.
€ 3,500.00
Rare British parliamentary papers on the suppression of the slave trade and the abolition of slavery in the British colonies and abroad. While slavery had been illegal on the British mainland under Common Law since the 12th century, it was still practiced in British colonies until the early 19th century. However, pressure from the Jamaican and other slave revolts, successful lawsuits filed by enslaved persons who had been transported to Great Britain, and growing abolitionist sentiment combined to force Parliament to act. Included in this important collection are agreements made with foreign nations, including Sweden, Russia, the Netherlands, France, and Sierra Leone, which aimed to suppress the movement of slave ships in international and coastal waters. Others dictate the process of abolition in the colonies, which included a transition phase in which formerly enslaved persons continued to work for former slaveholder for roughly three years as an indentured servant, which required much legal clarification.
A thorough record of nearly one hundred years of acts suppressing slavery and the slave trade. Disbound from volumes of parliamentary papers. Generally in quite good condition.