Latest / The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History
The £20 Million Payout: Britain's Compensation to Slave Owners
In 1833, Britain passed the Slavery Abolition Act, ending slavery in most of its empire — but it also set aside a staggering £20 million (40% of the national budget) to compensate former slave owners, not the enslaved. Lucas and Luna explore the political maneuvering behind the act, the failed apprenticeship system that kept former slaves in near-bondage until 1838, and the economic legacy of that payout. They discuss the key figures: Thomas Fowell Buxton, who took over the abolitionist mantle after Wilberforce, and the West India Interest lobby that fought to protect plantation profits. The…
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