144
The slave-trade as it is. Forty thousand slaves annually to Cuba
Pamphlet
London
British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
1860
English
Abolition Campaigns
Friends House Library, London. John Rylands Library, Manchester.
Slave Trade Africa Cuba Spain Colonial Abolition British Foreign Anti-Slavery Society
This pamphlet is critical of the failure of the British government to put a stop to the transatlantic slave trade, despite spending over a million pounds annually. It suggests that the trade is "more perfectly organized than it has ever been at any previous stage of its history" (1) and hugely profitable, funded jointly by companies in Cuba and the US. A number of passages from letters and reports to the British Admiralty are cited, suggesting that prospects for ending the slave trade were not hopeful. The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society suggest that Spain should be told to put a stop to the slave trade, or reimburse the compensation paid by Britain in 1817 with interest. "They appeal to the friends of humanity throughout the country to aid them in this direction. Public opinion is powerful. Let it declare itself on this subject" (3).