Atlantic slave trade
Denmark was the first European country to ban the slave trade, in 1792, which took effect in 1803. On 22 February 1807, the work of William Wilberforce was rewarded with victory. By 283 votes for to 16 against, the British House of Commons passed the Slave Trade Act to abolish the slave trade. The United States abolished it later that year. The Royal Navy set up a Blockade of Africa to stop the trade. Treaties with other nations allowed the blockade ships to stop their slave trade. However, the smuggling of slaves was very common. Hundreds of thousands of black people were enslaved illegally. New York City was a center for this illegal slave trade. Judges in New York avoided punishing slave traders through the 19th century.