yr13_ia_2007_hibbert_e

=Conclusion (100-150 words= The reason for the abolition can be broken down to three important factors. Firstly, Britain was fighting wars with the Americans and the French for the best of 30 years. Money was being spent on the wars and the Slave Trade was seriously weakened by the defeat in the American Revolution. It seemed that Britain had a bit of a ‘cash flow’ problem. Too much money was being spent on the wars and the upkeep on the slave trade without enough return. Secondly, increased pressure in parliament from well supported figures like Wilberforce and the success of Mary Prince’s book about the hardships and cruelty of slavery caught the attention of the public. Thirdly, the change in public morality, from ‘imperialistic’ views to that of ‘humanitarian’ views put pressure on the government to listen. This final factor meant that the government could now use public opinion to cover up the fact that the economy was lacking and that in truth they only really cared about the economy anyway. The question that this leaves us with is that if Britain had won the American Revolution would the abolition still have happened? Or would the economic pleasures have held them back?