After Abolition: Britain and the Slave Trade Since 1807

by Marika Sherwood

With the abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the Emancipation Act of 1833, Britain seemed to wash its hands of slavery. Not so, according to Marika Sherwood, who sets the record straight in this provocative new book. In fact, Sherwood demonstrates that Britain continued to contribute to the slave trade well after 1807, even into the twentieth century. Drawing on government documents and contemporary reports as well as published sources, she describes how slavery remained very much a part of British investment, commerce and empire, especially in funding and supplying goods for the trade in slaves and in the use of slave-grown produce. The nancial world of the City in London also depended on slavery, which - directly and indirectly - provided employment for millions of people. "After Abolition" also examines some of the causes and repercussions of continued British involvement in slavery and describes many of the apparently respectable villains, as well as the heroes, connected with the trade - at all levels of society.
It contains important revelations about a darker side of British history, previously unexplored, which will provoke real questions about Britain's perceptions of its past

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Marika Sherwood was a Hungarian-born historian, researcher, educator and author based in England. She was a co-founder of the Black and Asian Studies Association and a pioneering researcher into the history of Black British people.

Reviews

[Duncan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well researched book which, unfortunately, raises as many questions (about where the profits from slavery went and who carried on trading in slaves and slave produced goods long after it was banned) as it answers.