Assess the Strategies Used by the British Abolitionists Against the Institution of Slavery
The sugar industry and slavery went hand in hand. This is a statement that can be validated and justified by any historian. The institution of slavery was established to provide a cheap, sure, steady and reliable source of labour. It was consequently established to enable the planters to gain maximum profit. Near the ending of the eighteenth century Britain had undergone a period of industrialization and it became more evident that slave labour posed to be more of a burden than beneficial. The era of inventions and machines allowed for greater allocation of investments in Europe resulting in the lack of interest for sugar and slavery in the Caribbean. This brought about the rise of abolitionists who led a gradual process that began in 1772 and ended with their success in 1838. One such strategy used by abolitionists was the formation of societies. One such Society was The Committee for the abolition of the Slave Trade, created in 1787. This society involved active members such as William Wilberforce, Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp among others. Another society that was developed was The Quakers, otherwise known as The Society of Friends. This society involved the first and most outspoken critics of slavery. Further societies included, the Clapham Sect and The New Tories, which were industrialists who believed that slavery was a wasteful crude, inefficient system of labour which did not fit with the modernization of cheap mechanical production such as steam engines.
The effectiveness of these societies become evident as it can be argued that they represented a unified and collected means of advocating for the abolition of slavery rather than a solitary and possibly, not so effective method of resistance to the system of slavery. To further comprehend the effectiveness of these societies, one may strike a comparison between the British employments of large, organized societies as opposed to the individual French advocates for the abolition of slavery.
The effectiveness of these societies become evident as it can be argued that they represented a unified and collected means of advocating for the abolition of slavery rather than a solitary and possibly, not so effective method of resistance to the system of slavery. To further comprehend the effectiveness of these societies, one may strike a comparison between the British employments of large, organized societies as opposed to the individual French advocates for the abolition of slavery.