And let’s not forget the British government paid reparations to the slave owners.
Which was a very good move?
It set slaves free, put the issue to bed, and prevented large scale wars (where slaves were often drafted in). Just look at the US Civil War.
After that, the UK spent a huge amount of money on actively preventing slavery on a huge scale. Not only banning it, but outlawing trade related to it, actively hunting slavery ships (the policing of which cost many lives), etc.
There literally hasn’t been another anti-slavery force in history that even comes close.
The UK’s involvement with the slave trade beforehand is obviously bad, but the UK’s measures to stop slavery were fantastic.
E: sorry guys, I guess very effectively and efficiently ending slavery was a bad thing.
Which was a very good move?
It set slaves free, put the issue to bed, and prevented large scale wars (where slaves were often drafted in). Just look at the US Civil War.
After that, the UK spent a huge amount of money on actively preventing slavery on a huge scale. Not only banning it, but outlawing trade related to it, actively hunting slavery ships (the policing of which cost many lives), etc.
There literally hasn’t been another anti-slavery force in history that even comes close.
The UK’s involvement with the slave trade beforehand is obviously bad, but the UK’s measures to stop slavery were fantastic.
E: sorry guys, I guess very effectively and efficiently ending slavery was a bad thing.
This is my perspective too. “Compensating” slave owners was terrible, but the loss of life from the American approach was far more terrible.