From Peter Rees - Go show some link love..
The transatlantic slave trade, which led to the forced removal of up to 12 million African people over 300 years, is one of the ugliest periods in human history. By the end of the eighteenth century, three out of four people on earth lived under some kind of slavery. The slave trade changed Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, and North and South America economically, demographically and culturally.
The trade in human cargo also created a global market and stimulated major economic growth and the transfer of vast amounts of wealth into the hands of European and American companies.
But through a mass movement that brought together enslaved Africans, anti-slavery campaigners and ordinary members of the public, the slave trade came to an end during the mid-nineteenth century. The abolition of the transatlantic slave trade is one of the modern greatest moral triumphs. This makes the re-emergence of modern slavery all the more shocking.
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Slavery ended because former slaves toured Britain, talking about life on the plantation and slave ships, while anti-slavery activists demonstrated handcuffs, shackles and thumbscrews. The campaigners used the postal service, newspapers, books and pamphlets. They held meetings. They were powered by a belief that human beings had the capacity to care about others. The campaign in Britain was something the world had never seen before - the first time a large number of became outraged over someone else’s rights.
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Within a few years, more than 300,000 Britains were refusing to eat slave-grown sugar. An abolition commitee existed in every major town or city. Parliament was flooded with pettitions: the one from Edinburgh stretched the floor of the commons floor; 20,000
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Within a few years, more than 300,000 Britains were refusing to eat slave-grown sugar. An abolition commitee existed in every major town or city. Parliament was flooded with pettitions: the one from Edinburgh stretched the floor of the commons floor; 20,000
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The abolition of slavery only happened because people got LOUD! Modern slavery is worth getting LOUD about! Modern slavery will only disappear if you and I get LOUD!
