Today in History

March 25, 1807

The Slave Trade Act

The United Kingdom abolished the slave trade with The Slave Trade Act, an act of Parliament passed on 25 March 1807. The Act abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, but not slavery. The institution of slavery would fall 26 years later with the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

Interestingly, Protestant evangelicals lead by the Quakers were the foremost abolitionists of the day, leading the fight to end slavery and the trade. The United Kingdom now felt at an economic disadvantage and began to press its trading partners to end slavery as well. The United States outlawed the trade, but again, not the institution, in 1820.

Outlawed in nearly all countries, slavery even today remains a secret in many parts of the world, both for hard physical labor and the sex trade. Estimates are that there exist as many as 27 million victims of slavery worldwide.