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
History of slavery in Maryland freedom in the North grew, so did the reward for their capture. In 1806 the reward offered for the recaptured slaves was $6, but by 1833 it had risen to $30. In 1844 recaptured freedom seekers fetched $15 if recaptured within of the owner, $50 if captured more than away. By the 1850s few Marylanders still believed that colonization was the solution to the perceived problems of slavery and free blacks in society. Although one in every six Maryland families still held slaves, most slaveholders held only a few per household. Support for the institution of slavery was localized, varying