Why did people support the slave trade and how did they benefit?

L/O – To discover who benefited from the slave trade and to identify the arguments used to defend it

Starter – Which groups of people profited from the Slave Trade? Think about what was brought and sold

The Clarkson Challenge• Thomas Clarkson became so

angry about the slave trade that he decided to devote the rest of his life to trying to stop it. He faced a real challenge as the slave trade had many supporters.

• Your challenge over the next few lessons is to collect evidence as you travel with Thomas Clarkson that will persuade people living at the time that the slave trade should be abolished.

The Clarkson Challenge• As Clarkson continued his research into the slave trade he

met Quakers and others who were already campaigning for an end to slavery.

• Clarkson saw that a national campaign was needed. In May 1787 the ‘Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade’ was formed.

• However, Clarkson and his fellow campaigners faced an almost impossible task. Nearly everyone in Britain accepted slavery as completely normal. Furthermore, lots of people were doing extremely well from the slave trade.

• How could Clarkson stop the slave trade? What would he have to do?

Clarkson’s Responsibilities

1. Researcher/Investigator

Clarkson had to collect as much evidence as possible to prove how badly slaves were treated.

His research could then be used by William Wilberforce, another anti-slavery campaigner, in Parliament to raise awareness of the horrors of

the slave trade

2. Witnesses

Clarkson had to find witnesses who would appear before Parliament. Very

few people were willing to give evidence against the slave trade as they thought it might put their own lives in

danger

Clarkson’s Responsibilities

3. Persuasive writer and speakerClarkson had to prepare speeches and pamphlets

to persuade people in different parts of the country to support the campaign. Clarkson believed that

human beings would always care about the sufferings of others if they knew enough about

them. Therefore the way to persuade people to take action against slavery was to expose the truth

4. Pressure GroupsClarkson had to encourage people to

form local pressure groups to:• Raise money for the cause

• Send petitions to the government• Organise boycotts of goods such

as sugar that had been produced by slaves

Why was Clarkson’s challenge so difficult?• Clarkson and his fellow anti-slavery

campaigners faced a major challenge. Nearly everyone in Britain, from farm workers to bishops, accepted slavery as completely normal.

• The sugar plantations in the West Indies were part of Britain’s most valuable colonies. By the end of the 18th century, £4 million came into Britain from its West Indian plantations, compared with £1 million from the colonies it controlled in the rest of the world.

Why was Clarkson’s challenge so difficult?• In Britain, those who had

made much of their wealth from colonial trade built fine mansions and invested in new factories and industries.

• The profits from the slave trade gave a massive boost to the economy of towns and cities throughout the country and provided jobs for tens of thousands of seamen, merchants and shipbuilders.

1. Look at these groups of people who benefited from the slave trade. What words would you use to describe the task faced by Clarkson and others who wanted to

abolish slavery?

2. Which of these groups of people do you think was most to blame for the slave trade? Place the eight groups of people on your hand-outs, with those most to

blame at the centre.

Know your enemy!• Clarkson’s work was difficult,

even dangerous. Powerful people made lots of money from the slave trade and were out to stop him.

• Clarkson needed to know the arguments they used to defend the slave trade before he could challenge them.

• Answer questions 1-3 on your hand-outs

Plenary

1. What did Clarkson do to campaign against the slave trade?2. What were the benefits of slavery?3. Which groups of people benefited?

4. Who was most to blame for slavery?5. What arguments were used to defend slavery?

6. Was greed, ignorance or racism the main reason why people supported slavery?

Did we meet our learning objective?L/O – To discover who benefited from the slave trade

and to identify the arguments used to defend it