In 1834, when the British Empire officially abolished slavery, the government organized what would become one of the largest transfers of wealth to private individuals in history. Yet, none of this money went to the people who had endured generations of forced labour and cruelty. Instead, it was handed out to thousands of slave owners across British colonies as compensation for the loss of their “properties.”
The roots of British involvement in slavery go as far back as the 16th century, with Britain becoming a dominant force in the transatlantic slave trade by the 17th and 18th centuries. British ships transported an estimated 3.1 million Africans across the Atlantic, with about 2.7 million surviving the brutal journey known as the Middle Passage. These men, women, and children were sold into lifelong bondage in the Caribbean, South America, and North America, where they were forced to work on sugar, cotton, and tobacco plantations under inhumane conditions.
Slavery was not only tolerated but legally protected and economically essential to the British Empire. Entire fortunes and institutions; including banks, universities, and aristocratic families, were built on the backs of enslaved Africans.
The Abolition of Slavery in the British Empire
The abolition of slavery in the British Empire did not come from a sudden moral awakening. It was the result of decades of resistance by both enslaved Africans and abolitionist movements. Enslaved Africans resisted through rebellions, work slowdowns, and escapes. Notable uprisings like the Baptist War of 1831 in Jamaica, led by the formerly enslaved preacher Samuel Sharpe, terrified plantation owners and showcased the crumbling stability of slavery.
Also, Abolitionists in Britain, both Black and white, campaigned tirelessly against slavery. Figures like Olaudah Equiano, Mary Prince, and Thomas Clarkson exposed the cruelty of the slave trade through speeches, books, and petitions.
After years of pressure and growing public sentiment against slavery combined with the economic decline of plantation slavery and fears of further rebellion, the Slavery Abolition Act was passed in 1833. This act legally freed around 800,000 enslaved Africans across the British colonies, including the Caribbean, South America, and Canada.
The Slave Compensation Act of 1837
To appease slave owners for their “loss of property,” the British government passed the Slave Compensation Act in 1837. This act set aside £20 million, a massive sum at the time, equivalent to over £20 billion today. The money was not intended for the enslaved who had been forced into brutal labour and dehumanizing conditions for generations; it was strictly reserved for compensating british slave owners for their financial losses.
The compensation was calculated based on the number of slaves each owner possessed. Large plantation owners, like Thomas Leyland, received vast sums, while smaller slaveholders received less. The British government borrowed this money from Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore, and British taxpayers repaid the debt over the next 182 years, with the final payment being made in 2015.
The list of beneficiaries of this act is well-documented. It includes members of the British aristocracy, merchants, and even Members of Parliament. Some families who benefited from this compensation remain wealthy and influential in British society today.
While slave owners were handsomely compensated, the newly freed slaves received absolutely nothing. Not a single penny was allocated for their transition into freedom. Most of them were left with no land, no financial support, and no opportunities for education or employment.
To make matters worse, the law introduced a system called “Apprenticeship,” which forced former slaves above the age of six to work unpaid for their former masters for an additional six to eight years under the guise of ‘training.’ This was essentially a continuation of slavery under a different name. The apprenticeship system was finally abolished in 1838 after widespread protests and reports of continued abuse.
The financial boost given to former slave owners helped them reinvest in other industries, further cementing their wealth. Many shifted their capital into railways, manufacturing, and financial institutions, laying the foundations for modern British economic power. Conversely, the freed slaves who got nothing, were thrown into a cycle of poverty that lasted for generations.
In the Caribbean, for example, freed slaves had little choice but to work on the same plantations for minimal wages, as they had no land or resources to build independent lives. The economic gap created by this system is still visible today in many former British colonies, where descendants of enslaved Africans continue to struggle with poverty and inequality.
Many Caribbean nations, under the banner of CARICOM, have called for reparations from Britain for the unpaid labour and suffering endured by their ancestors. The British government, however, has consistently refused to engage in any meaningful reparative discussions, arguing that slavery was legal at the time and maintaining that it is impractical to hold present generations accountable for historical actions.
Sources:
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/project/details
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-s-colonial-shame-slaveowners-given-huge-payouts-after-abolition-8508358.html
https://www.discoveringbristol.org.uk/slavery/against-slavery/freedom-from-slavery/apprenticeship/slavery-end/
https://reparationscomm.org/reparations-news/britains-colonial-shame-slave-owners-given-huge-payouts-after-abolition/
https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/working-paper/2022/the-collection-of-slavery-compensation-1835-43
