Royal Navy Versus the Slave Traders: Enforcing Abolition at Sea 1808-1898

The British Parliament passed The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807, leading to the formation of the Royal Navy's African Squadron. The Navy fought alone and unrecognised against African chiefs, Arabs, and slave ships of the world, resulting in the abolition of slavery and the scramble for empires in Africa.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 07 July 2021
Publisher: Pen & Sword Books Ltd

The British Parliament passed The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act on March 16, 1807. The following year, the Royal Navy's African Squadron was formed with the mission to intercept and search ships at sea suspected of transporting slaves from Africa to the Americas and the Middle East. The Royal Navy took the fight to the enemy, boldly navigating uncharted rivers and creeks to attack the barracoon's where the slaves were assembled for shipment. For much of its long campaign against the evil of slavery, Britain's Navy fought alone and unrecognised. Its enemies were numerous and formidable. Ranged against it were African chiefs who sold their own people into slavery, Arab riders who accompanied slave caravans to the coast, and the slave ships of the rest of the world, heavily armed and prepared to defend their right to traffic in the forbidden black ivory. The war was long and bitter, and the cost to the Royal Navy in ships and men was heavy, but the result was worthy of the sacrifices made. The abolition of the slave trade led to a scramble for empires, and Africa began to export cocoa, coffee, timber, palm oil, cotton, and ores, all in high demand in the West.

Weight: 362g
Dimension: 157 x 232 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781399013505