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
Percy Freke (politician) in May 1707. He married his second cousin Elizabeth, the daughter of Ralph Freke of Hannington, Wiltshire, in a secret ceremony in 1672, and publicly in 1673 at St Margaret's, Westminster. Their only son, Ralph, named after Elizabeth's father, was born shortly after; he followed his father into politics and was created a baronet in 1713. Elizabeth died at age 69 or 73 on 7 April 1714, and was buried in Westminster Abbey, where her two sisters, Judith and Frances, were also later buried. Percy Freke (politician) Percy Freke (died May 1707) was an Irish politician. His first name is