In
English lawEnglish law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the United States...
and the
common lawCommon law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through legislative statutes or executive action, and to corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law....
of former British colonies, the treatment of
slaverySlavery is a form of forced labor in which people are considered to be the property of others. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive compensation...
, the slave trade, and the rights of slaves and slave owners developed slowly over centuries, characterised by inconsistent decisions and varying rationales. Until 1807 there was virtually no legislative intervention in relation to slavery, and accordingly the common law had something of a "free hand" to develop, untrammeled by the "paralysing hand of the Parliamentary draftsmen".
Some groups assert slavery was not recognised as lawful, often on the basis of pronouncements such as those attributed to
Lord MansfieldWilliam Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, SL, PC was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at Westminster School...
, that "the air of England is too pure for any slave to breathe."
Early common law
For most of the early common law history, the courts were not called upon to consider the position in relation to slavery. However, the law did, from at least the time of the
Magna CartaMagna Carta, also called Magna Carta Libertatum , is an English legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215. It was written in Latin and is known by its Latin name...
of 1215 recognise that all persons had a basic right to liberty, and it was recognised before that date that persons had a basic right not to be the subject of assaults by others. Accordingly, it has been subsequently argued (most famously by
Granville SharpGranville Sharp was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle blacks in Sierra Leone, and founded the St. George's Bay Company, a forerunner of the Sierra...
in
Somersett's CaseSomersett's Case is a famous judgement of the English Court of King's Bench in 1772 which held that slavery was unlawful in England .-The case:...
) that as slavery usually involved one or both of these things, it would only be lawful if there was
positive legal impetusPositivism is a philosophy that holds that the only authentic knowledge is that which is based on actual sense experience. Metaphysical speculation is avoided...
for its legality. However, this analysis does not square particularly well with the law of the time as a whole; serfdom, and later villeiny, involved both a loss of freedom and in certain circumstances the law permitted physical chastisement of serfs, villeins and even indentured apprentices.
In 1102 the Council of Westminster held in London issued a decree: "Let no one hereafter presume to engage in that nefarious trade in which hitherto in England men were usually sold like brute animals." The legislative force of this decree is not certain; it was intended to abolish the trading of
serfsSerfdom is the socio-economic status of unfree peasants under feudalism, and specifically relates to Manorialism. It was a condition of bondage or modified slavery which developed primarily during the High Middle Ages in Europe...
in London, but the decree is sometimes cited as authority for the proposition that trading in slaves became illegal in England at that date. Even if that is correct (which is open to question, subsequent cases distinguishing between villeiny (although not serfdom) and slavery), it is clear that the law was not expressed to abrogate the status of either serfs generally, or slaves who were brought to England from abroad. There are also reports relating to Irish decree in 1171 "that all the English slaves in the whole of Ireland, be immediately emancipated and restored to their former liberty." The same source indicates that slavery in England was abolished by a general charter of emancipation in 1381.
http://www.fullbooks.com/The-Anti-Slavery-Examiner-Part-2-of-41.html Other historical sources for such an emancipation proclamation appear thin, although the date would coincide with the
Peasants' RevoltThe Peasants' Revolt, Tyler’s Rebellion, or the Great Rising of AD 1381 was one of a number of popular revolts in late medieval Europe and is a major event in the history of England. Tyler's Rebellion was not only the most extreme and widespread insurrection in English history but also the best...
, after which a number of concessions were made by the 14 year old King
Richard IIRichard II was the eighth King of England of the House of Plantagenet. He ruled from 1377 until he was deposed in 1399. Richard was a son of Edward, the Black Prince and was born during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III...
, which were later rescinded. Certainly villeinage continued in England, slowly decaying, until the last villein died in the early 1600s.
In later common law cases, none of the foregoing decrees or proclamations were cited or referred to as binding law in relation to the status of slaves generally.
Cartwright's case
In 1569 a man, Cartwright, was observed savagely beating another, which in law would have amounted to a
batteryAt common law, battery is the tort of intentionally and voluntarily bringing about an unconsented harmful or offensive contact with a person or to something closely associated with them . Unlike assault, battery involves an actual contact...
, unless a defence could be mounted. Cartwright averred that the man was a slave whom he had brought to England from Russia, and thus such chastisement was not unlawful. Although such reports of the case as exist are limited, it is reported that the court held that the man must be freed, and it is often said that the court held "that England was too pure an air for a slave to breathe in."
Subsequent citations of the effect of the case was actually to impose limits on the physical punishment on slaves, rather than to express comment on legality of slavery generally. In the case of John Lilburne in 1649, the defendant's counsel relied upon
Cartwright's case to show that the severity of a whipping received by Lilburne exceeded that permitted by law. In none of subsequent common law cases prior to Somersett's case was Cartwright's case cited as authority for the proposition that slavery was unlawful. However, those disputes predominantly concerned disputes between slave merchants (the notable exception being
Shanley v Harvey, as to which see below), for whom it would have been commercially unwise to
pleadIn law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement filed with a court by parties in a civil action, such as a complaint, a demurrer, or an answer. A complaint is the first pleading filed by a plaintiff which initiates a lawsuit...
that slavery was unlawful.
It is inferred that because he was from
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
Cartwright's slave was white, and probably a Christian, although this is not recorded. However, it is not impossible that he was African, as although they were uncommon,
African slaves in RussiaMajor-General Abram Petrovich Gannibal, also Hannibal or Ganibal or Ibrahim Hannibal or Abram Petrov, was an African who was brought to Russia by Peter the Great and became major-general, military engineer and governor of Reval...
were not unknown prior to the emergence of the
Atlantic slave tradeThe Atlantic slave trade, also known as the transatlantic slave trade, was the trading, primarily of African people, to the colonies of the New World that occurred in and around the Atlantic Ocean. It lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries...
.
African slave trade and the common law
However, the initial opposition of the courts of England to the status of slavery began to change with the rising importance of the African slave trade. An extensive traffic in negro slaves from Africa began in the 1600s, primarily to supply labour for the
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
and
cottonCotton is a soft, staple fiber that grows in a form known as a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, India and Africa. The fiber most often is spun into yarn or thread and used to make a soft,...
plantations in British colonies abroad. English merchants were prominent in the slave trade at this time, and in commercial disputes slavery soon presented the English courts with novel legal questions. Under the
lex mercatoria slaves were treated as chattels, with few if any rights, but the English courts did not always recognise mercantile custom as law. The question arose in English courts because personal actions could be laid in England even if the cause of action arose abroad.
The "infidel" rationale
Initially, the courts held that an action for
troverTrover is a form of lawsuit in common-law countries for recovery of damages for wrongful taking of personal property. Trover belongs to a series of remedies for such wrongful taking, its distinctive feature being recovery only for the value of whatever was taken, not for the recovery of the...
would lie for negroes, as if they were chattels, but this was reasoned on the grounds that they were infidels rather than slaves, and lacked the rights enjoyed by Christians; (reasoning which would later find echoes in the U.S. case of
Dred Scott v. SandfordDred Scott v. Sandford, , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court that ruled that people of African descent imported into the United States and held as slaves, or their descendants—whether or not they were slaves—were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the...
60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857)) but
Judge HoltSir John Holt was Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 17 April 1689 to his death.He was born in Abingdon in Berkshire , the son of Sir Thomas Holt, MP for that town, and was educated at Abingdon School, Gray's Inn and Oriel College, Oxford...
was to later reject this analysis, and also denied the possibility of bringing an
assumpsitAssumpsit is an action for the recovery of damages caused by the breach or non-performance of a simple contract, either express or implied, and whether made orally or in writing....
on the sale of a negro in England: "as soon as a negro comes to England he is free; one may be a villein in England, but not a slave." However, this comment was construed as more of an admonition against careless
pleadingIn law as practiced in countries that follow the English models, a pleading is a formal written statement filed with a court by parties in a civil action, such as a complaint, a demurrer, or an answer. A complaint is the first pleading filed by a plaintiff which initiates a lawsuit...
rather than a reproach to slave dealers. The plaintiff was felt to have simply overdone the fictions, and was allowed to amend his declaration to allege the sale of a slave in
VirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" because it is the birthplace of eight U.S. presidents. The geography and climate of the state are shaped by the Blue...
, where slavery was recognised by law, and the English courts would recognise and enforce the rights arising under Virginian law. Slaves were regularly bought and sold on the
LiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and
London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
markets, and actions on contract concerning slaves were common in the 1700s without any serious suggestion that they were
voidIn law, void means of no legal effect. An action, document or transaction which is void is of no legal effect whatsoever: an absolute nullity - the law treats it as if it had never existed or happened....
for illegality. Even the statement made in the various trover decisions appear to have been directed to good pleading rather than the legality of slavery: a pleading which averred the conversion of a "negro" rather than a "slave" would fail, as there was no inherent reason why a negro should not be a free man. In 1706 Chief Justice Holt refused an action for trover in relation to a slave holding that no man could have property in another, but held that an alternative action, trespass
quare captivum suum cepit, would be available, which was actually felt to have strengthened the legal position of slaveowners.
Ultimately the comments made in Holt's decisions had little long term effect. In 1700 there was no extensive use of slave labour in England as there was in the colonies. Negro servants were common as status symbols, but their treatment was not comparable to that of plantation slaves in the colonies. The legal problems that were most likely to arise in England were if a slave were to escape in transit, or if a slave-owner from the colonies brought over a slave and expected to continue exercising his power to prevent the slave from leaving his service. Increasing numbers of slaves were indeed brought into England in the 1700s, and this may help to explain the growing awareness of the problems presented by the existence of slavery. Quite apart from the moral considerations, there was an obvious conflict between the mercantile custom of recognizing property in slaves and the English tradition of freedom protected by
habeas corpusHabeas corpus is a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from harming him or herself, or from being harmed by the judicial system...
. If the courts acknowledged the property which was generally assumed to exist in slaves in the colonies, how would such property rights be treated if a slave was subsequently brought to England?
The Yorke-Talbot slavery opinion
However, the decisions of Holt had caused sufficient consternation as to the legal status of slaves that some slave owners sought clarity of the law. In 1729 various slave owners obtained the
Yorke-Talbot slavery opinionThe Yorke-Talbot slavery opinion was a legal opinion issued by two Crown law officers in 1729 relating to the legality of slavery under English law.-Background:...
made by the Crown's principal law officers at one of the
Inns of CourtThe Inns of Court in London are the professional associations to one of which every barrister in England and Wales must belong. They have supervisory and disciplinary functions over their members. The Inns also provide libraries, dining facilities and professional accommodation...
. The law officers opined that under English law (i) a slave's status did not change when he came to England, (ii) a slave could be compelled to return to the colonies from England, and (iii) that baptism would not manumit a slave. The opinion cited no authorities, and set out no legal rationale for the views expressed in it, but it was widely published and relied upon. One of the authors of the opinion,
Lord HardwickePhilip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke PC was an English lawyer and politician who served as Lord Chancellor. He was a close confidante of the Duke of Newcastle Prime Minister between 1754 and 1756 and 1757 until 1762....
(although at the time he was only known as Philip Yorke), subsequently endorsed the views expressed in the opinion (although not expressly referring to it) whilst sitting in judicial capacity in
Pearne v Lisle (1749) Amb 75, 27 ER 47. The case revolved around title to fourteen slaves who were in
AntiguaAntigua is an island in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region, the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua means "ancient" in Spanish and was named by Christopher Columbus after a church in Spain, Santa Maria La Antigua — St. Mary the Ancient...
, and involved a number of technical points as to colonial law. But Lord Hardwicke held that slavery was not contrary to English law, and that as the common law of England applied at the time to Antigua, that slavery was not unlawful in Antigua.
At this time the cases in which the English courts had recognised property in slaves had arisen from purely commercial disputes and did not establish any rights exercisable as against the slaves themselves, if the slave was within the jurisdiction. As with villeins centuries before, the analogy with chattels (as between putative owners) failed to answer the leading question whether slaves could establish their freedom by bringing suit in the courts (as between slave and owner). The writ
de homine replegiando was outmoded, and so the usual eighteenth-century question was whether
habeas corpus lay to free slaves from captivity.
Sir William BlackstoneSir William Blackstone was an English judge, jurist and professor who produced the historical and analytic treatise on the common law entitled Commentaries on the Laws of England, first published in four volumes over 1765–1769...
was in no doubt that "the spirit of liberty is so deeply ingrained in our constitution" that a slave, the moment he lands in England, is free. Other prominent lawyers, such as Lord Hardwicke and
Lord MansfieldWilliam Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, SL, PC was a British barrister, politician and judge noted for his reform of English law. Born to Scottish nobility, he was educated in Perth, Scotland before moving to London at the age of 13 to take up a place at Westminster School...
, felt that it was better to recognise slavery, and to impose regulation on the slave trade rather than to withdraw from it, since less enlightened nations would reap the benefits of abolition and slaves would suffer the consequences. The "infidel" argument for maintaining African slaves as chattels was abandoned in the middle of the 1700s, since by then many slaves had been converted to
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
without gaining
de facto freedom; and legal justifications for slave ownership were now sought by analogy with the old law of villeinage.
Shanley v Harvey
In
Shanley v Harvey (1763) 2 Eden 126, a claim was instituted by Shanley as
administratorIn law an administrator can be:* a person appointed by the court to handle the estate of someone who died without a will....
of the estate of his deceased niece.
Shanley had brought Harvey as a child slave, to England, 12 years earlier and had given him to his niece. She had him
baptisedIn Christianity, baptism is the ritual act, with the use of water, by which one is admitted to membership of the Christian Church and, in the view of some, as a member of the particular Church in which the baptism is administered.The usual form of baptism among the earliest Christians was for the...
and had changed his name. She became very ill and about an hour before her death, she gave Harvey about £800 in cash (a substantial sum in those days), asked him to pay the butcher's bill and to make good use of the money. After her death, Shanley brought an action against Harvey to recover the money.
Lord HenleyRobert Henley, 1st Earl of Northington PC , Lord Chancellor of Great Britain, was the second son of Anthony Henley, a member of a well-to-do family in Hampshire, who was a Whig member of parliament, and a well-known wit and writer....
, the Lord Chancellor, dismissed the action, with costs against Shanley. In his judgment he held that as soon as a person set foot on English soil, he or she became free and that a "negro" might maintain an action against his or her master for ill usage, together with an application for
habeas corpusHabeas corpus is a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from harming him or herself, or from being harmed by the judicial system...
if detained. However, such comments were not necessary for the decision in the case, and in law were only
obiter dictumAn obiter dictum is Latin for a statement "said by the way."Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary gives obiter dictum three definitions:...
and not binding on subsequent courts.
R v Stapylton
One of the few non-commercial disputes relating to slavery arose in
R v Stapylton (1771, unreported) in which Lord Mansfield sat. Stapylton was charged after attempting to forcibly deport his purported slave, Thomas Lewis. Stapylton's defence rested on the basis that as Lewis was his slave, his actions were lawful.
Lord Mansfield had the opportunity to use a legal procedure at the time in criminal cases referred to as the Twelve Judges to determine points of law (which were not for the
juryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment...
) in criminal matters. However, he shied away from doing so, and sought (unsuccessfully) to dissaude the parties from using the legality of slavery as the basis of the defence.
In the end Mansfield directed the jury that they should presume Lewis was a free man, unless Stapylton was able to prove otherwise. He further directed the jury that unless they found that Stapylton was the legal owner of Lewis "you will find the Defendant guilty". Interestingly, Lewis was permitted to testify. The jury convicted. However, in the course of his summing up, Lord Mansfield was careful to say "whether they [slave owners] have this kind of property or not in England has never been solemnly determined."
James Somersett's case
The question of a slave's rights as against his putative master (as opposed to merchant's rights as against each other) eventually came before Lord Mansfield and the King's Bench in 1771. A writ of
habeas corpusHabeas corpus is a legal action, or writ, through which a person can seek relief from the unlawful detention of him or herself, or of another person. It protects the individual from harming him or herself, or from being harmed by the judicial system...
had been issued to secure the release of James Somersett, a negro confined in irons on board a ship arrived in the Thames from Virginia, bound for Jamaica, and the return stated that he was a slave under the law of Virginia. Lord Mansfield was anxious to avoid the issue principle, and pressed the parties to settle; but the case was taken up by the West India merchants, who wanted to know whether slaves were a safe investment, and by abolitionists such as
Granville SharpGranville Sharp was one of the first British campaigners for the abolition of the slave trade. He also involved himself in trying to correct other social injustices. Sharp formulated the plan to settle blacks in Sierra Leone, and founded the St. George's Bay Company, a forerunner of the Sierra...
, so that it became a
cause célèbre. The law of villeinage was turned by Somersett's counsel into an argument against slavery, since the kind of proof that was required to establish villein status was not available in claiming slaves. After arguments closed it still took Lord Mansfield 3 agonising months before he delivered his judgment, which in the end, was short and delivered orally only. In the event the court ordered in 1772 that "the black must be discharged". But Lord Mansfield, while stating that slavery was "odious", did not decide that slavery was unlawful, nor even that Somersett was no longer a slave, confining himself to the narrow point that a slave could not be made to leave England against his will. The decision also left aside the problem in the
conflict of lawsConflict of laws is an institution of international law and intranational interstate law that regulates all lawsuits involving a "foreign" law element where different judgments will result depending on which jurisdiction's laws are applied as the lex causae.In civil law systems, private...
; if a person was a slave by law of his
domicile*In architecture, domicile is a general term for a place of residence or "permanent residence" in legal terms*Domicile, a thrash metal band from Manchester, England...
, which was not disputed in the case of Somersett, a mere temporary presence in England would not set him free permanently, even for the purpose of English law. Several contract cases concerning overseas slaves in fact came before Lord Mansfield, and counsel did not even think it worth arguing that the contracts were illegal or contrary to public policy.
Joseph Knight's case
Two years after the Mansfield decision in England, a servant in Scotland, Joseph Knight, sought the freedom to leave John Wedderburn of Bandean's employment and claimed in his pleadings that the very act of landing in Scotland freed him from perpetual servitude, as slavery was not recognised in Scotland (records do not now record whether this was on the basis of the Mansfield decision). Many years earlier Knight had been purchased by Wedderburn in Jamaica from a slave trader, although his status at the time of the trial was the subject of disagreement (Knight averred that Wedderburn wished to take him back to Jamaica to sell him on as a slave in the colonies, which Wedderburn denied).
The case caused disagreement in the courts as Wedderburn, referred to through the document as "The Complainer", insisted that slavery and perpetual servitude were different states. He argued that in Scots law Knight, even though he was not recognised as a slave, was still bound to provide perpetual service in the same manner as an
indentured servantAn indentured servant is a laborer under contract to an employer for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities...
or an
apprenticed artisanApprenticeship is a system of training a new generation of practitioners of a skill. Apprentices or protégés build their careers from apprenticeships...
. The Justices of the Peace in Perth, at first instance, found in favour of Wedderburn. However, when Knight then appealed to the Sheriff Deputy the first instance decision was then overturned. Wedderburn then made a further appeal to the
Lords of Council and SessionThe Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland. It is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal and sits exclusively in Parliament House in Edinburgh.The Sheriff Court is the other Scottish civil court; this sits locally...
. The Court of Session emphatically rejected Wedderburn's appeal, ruling that "the dominion assumed over this Negro, under the law of Jamaica, being unjust, could not be supported in this country to any extent: That, therefore, the defender had no right to the Negro’s service for any space of time, nor to send him out of the country against his consent: That the Negro was likewise protected under the act 1701, c.6. from being sent out of the country against his consent."
Evidence presented by both sides in the case survives in the National Archives of Scotland (reference CS235/K/2/2).
http://www.www.nas.gov.uk/about/071022.asp
R v Hodge
In 1811, Arthur Hodge became the first (and only) British subject ever to stand trial for the
murderMurder, as defined in common law countries, is the unlawful killing of another human being with intent , and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
of a slave. As part of his defence, Hodge argued that "A Negro being property, it was no greater offense for his master to kill him than it would be to kill his dog," but the court did not accept the submission, and point was dismissed summarily.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=llst&fileName=064/llst064.db&recNum=183&itemLink=r%3Fammem%2Fllst%3A%40field%28DOCID%2B%40lit%28llst064div1%29%29%3A%230640004&linkText=1 Counsel for the prosecution also obliquely referred to the
Amelioration Act 1798The Amelioration Act 1798 was a statute passed by the Leeward Islands in relation to slaves in the British Caribbean colonies....
passed by the Legislature of the
Leeward IslandsThe British Leeward Islands was a British colony existing between 1833 and 1960, and consisting of Antigua, Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica....
, which applied in the
British Virgin IslandsThe British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S. Virgin Islands...
. That Act provided for penalties for slave owners who inflicted cruel or unusual punishments on their slaves, but it only provides for fines, and does not expressly indicate that a slave owner could be guilty of a greater crime such as murder or another
offence against the personIn criminal law, an offence against the person usually refers to a crime which is committed by direct physical harm or force being applied to another person.They are usually analysnnnned by division into the following categories:*Fatal offences...
.
The trial took place under English common law in
British Virgin IslandsThe British Virgin Islands is a British overseas territory, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S. Virgin Islands...
, however, there was no appeal (Hodge was executed a mere eight days after the
juryA jury is a sworn body of people convened to render an impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment...
handed down their verdict - the jury (composed largely of slave owners) actually recommended mercy, but the court nonetheless sentenced Hodge to death) and so the directions of the trial judge are not treated by commentators as an authoritative
precedentIn common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a legal case establishing a principle or rule that a court or other judicial body utilizes when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts.-Binding precedent:...
.
Subsequent legislation
The common law, ultimately, would go no further. But the decision of 1772 in James Somersett's case was widely understood as freeing slaves in England, and whilst perhaps not entirely legally accurate, this perception was fuelled by the growing abolitionist movement, although this was scarcely an accurate reflection of the decision. Slavery did not, like villeinage, die naturally from adverse public opinion, because vested mercantile interests were too valuable. Nevertheless in 1792 the
House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 646 members, who are known as "Members...
voted in favour of "gradual" abolition, and in 1807 parliament outlawed the African slave trade by legislation. This prevented British merchants exporting any more people from Africa, but it did not alter the status of the several million existing slaves, and the courts continued to recognise colonial slavery. The abolitionists therefore turned their attention to the emancipation of West Indian slaves. Legally, this was difficult to achieve, since it required the compulsory divesting of private property; but it was finally done in 1833, at a cost of £20 million paid from public funds in compensation to slave owners. From 1 August 1834 all slaves in the British colonies were "absolutely and forever manumitted."
In the American colonies it was widely assumed that positive law was needed to make slavery lawful, and various states passed laws to this effect.
See also
- Abolition of slavery
Abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and emancipate slaves in western Europe and the Americas. The slave system aroused little protest until the 18th century, when rationalist thinkers of the Enlightenment criticized it for violating the rights of man, and Quaker and other evangelical...
- History of slavery
The history of slavery covers many different forms of human exploitation across many cultures throughout history. Slavery, generally defined, refers to a situation where one human being is considered to be the property of another, and is therefore obligated to perform tasks for their owner without...
- James Somersett
- Joseph Knight (slave)
- Slavery Abolition Act 1833
The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was an 1833 Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom abolishing slavery throughout most of the British Empire The Act was repealed in 1998 as part of a wider...
- Slavery in the colonial United States
- Slave Trade Act 1807
The Slave Trade Act was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom passed on 25 March, 1807, with the long title "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade". The original act is in the Parliamentary Archives...
- Slavery in Britain and Ireland
Slavery in Britain and Ireland dated back to the times of Roman occupation. It was finally abolished by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, with some exceptions for part of the British Empire...
- Somersett's case
Somersett's Case is a famous judgement of the English Court of King's Bench in 1772 which held that slavery was unlawful in England .-The case:...
External links