History of slavery many years of lobbying by the abolitionist movement, led primarily by William Wilberforce, the British Parliament voted to make the slave trade illegal anywhere in the Empire with the Slave Trade Act 1807. Thereafter Britain took a prominent role in combating the trade, and slavery itself was abolished in the British Empire with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard. Action was also taken against African leaders who refused to agree to British treaties to outlaw the trade. Akitoye, the 11th Oba
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Governor. Peaceful protests continued until a resolution to abolish apprenticeship was passed and "de facto" freedom was achieved. Full emancipation for all was legally granted ahead of schedule on 1 August 1838. As a notable exception to the rest of the British Empire, the Act did not extend to any of the Territories administered by the East India Company, including the islands of Ceylon, and Saint Helena. Slavery was criminalised in the Company territories via the Indian Slavery Act of 1843. A successor organisation to the Anti-Slavery Society was formed in London in 1839, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society,