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Thomas Clarkson Slavery Essay

1824 Words8 Pages

Carson Bernstein
Mr. Blackman
DE US History
02 January, 2023
Thomas Clarkson Essay
During the late 18th century and early 19th century, slavery was practiced worldwide. Slavery started to become a common practice due to extensive need of labor and lack of technology to make labor easier. In the Americas, it all started with the colonization of Jamestown, named after the English King. The Virginia Company of London granted a charter in 1607 for 400 settlers to set sail for what will soon be found to be Jamestown, Virginia. In 1609 when 400 settlers arrived in Virginia, named after the Virgin Queen. Over time, Jamestown expanded and more settlers were arriving from England into the new Americas. Amongst some of these new settlers were 20 African …show more content…

Tobacco was very profitable and was used as a source of bartering in Jamestown. However, tobacco was labor intensive making it difficult to mass produce due to lack of labor workers. This problem created the need for slaves in the Americas. Starting in Jamestown and spreading along with the rapid expansion North and South, slaves began to become a key part of society in the Americas. Slaves provided a cheaper alternative for labor which was ideal for the intensive labor needed to make tobacco, cotton, and other agricultural products that were used in the Americas. Not only was slavery practiced in the Americas, but it was also used in Britain. Slavery in Great Britain started with the creation of the transatlantic slave trade, which was a trade route that specifically traded slaves in return for other goods. Britain's involvement in the transatlantic slave trade brought slavery into Great Britain and made it popular throughout Great Britain. Slavery started to become the new standard worldwide, and conditions for slaves started to worsen. Some individuals began to notice how badly slaves were treated and started to question: Is slavery fair? One man by the name of Thomas Clarkson would soon change the entire world's perspective on slavery …show more content…

To start off the pathway to abolish slave trade in the United Kingdom, in May of 1787, the Abolition of the African Slave Trade was formed. The committee consisted of a total of 12 men, 9 Quakers and 3 Anglicans, alongside Thomas Clarkson. As his role in the committee, Clarkson traveled across the country gathering any evidence or research possible to bring up an argument before Parliament, in Great Britain, to end the African Slave Trade. For two years, he traveled across the country in search for this research and gathered a good deal of information. However, his travels were not an easy task. Places such as Liverpool and Bristol were very dangerous areas to be openly asking for support in the abolition campaign. Britain, at the time, was in a few wars which made their national debt skyrocket. One of many ways that they distinguished their debt was by slave trade. If the African Slave Trade ended, Britain would have to increase already high taxes in order to pay off their war debts. For this reason, many people wanted the African Slave Trade as it kept their taxes low. Thomas Clarkson proceeded with his campaign and almost got himself killed. Whilst in Liverpool, there was an attempt to drown Clarkson for his beliefs and attempts to abolish the slave trade. Yet, his determination kept him

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