Slavery in Britain His conversion to Evangelical Christianity in 1784 played a key role in interesting him in this social reform. William Wilberforce's Slave Trade Act 1807 abolished the slave trade in the British Empire. It was not until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 that the institution finally was abolished, but on a gradual basis. Since land owners in the British West Indies were losing their unpaid labourers, they received compensation totaling £20 million. The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron (or Preventative Squadron) at substantial expense in 1808 after Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807. The squadron's task was
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 if their lungsReceive our air, that moment they are free.They touch our country, and their shackles fall.That's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud.And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then,And let it circulate through every vein. By 1783, an anti-slavery movement to abolish the slave trade throughout the Empire had begun among the British public. In 1793, Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe signed the Act Against Slavery. Passed by the local Legislative Assembly, it was the first legislation to outlaw the slave trade in a part of the British Empire. In 1807, Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act