1834: The End of Slavery?

Not all parts of the British Empire came under the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act. Slavery continued in territories run by the East India Company, Ceylon (modern day Sri Lanka) and St Helena.

The market for enslaved people did not disappear following abolition in Britain. Traders continued to meet demand in places like Brazil and Cuba.

To combat the illegal trade in African people who had been enslaved, the British Navy organised anti-slavery patrols off the West African coast. Between 1809 and 1869 the Navy seized over 1,600 slave ships and freed about 150,000 Africans.

Despite this, it is estimated that a further 1 million people were enslaved and transported throughout the 19th century.

A question mark hangs over the wreck of the Douro, a Liverpool ship that in 1843 was wrecked and sunk beneath the seas at Round Rock, Isles of Scilly. This was 36 years after British ships were banned from the slave trade.

Reputed to be heading to Portugal when it went down, the ship had a cargo of textiles and munitions. Divers have since found large numbers of manillas – bronze bracelet-shaped trading tokens on the wreck. These were used as currency to trade for enslaved men and women in West Africa.

The manillas found in the Douro wreck suggest that the ship might have been involved in illegal slaving, or it was carrying supplies for the banned trade.

Ending slavery
  • The Road to Abolition

    Learn about the formation of the Committee for Effecting the Abolition of the African Slave Trade.

  • Notable Legal Cases

    Read about some of the notable legal cases concerning slavery and the slave trade.

  • Slavery After 1807

    Find out what happened following the Abolition Act in 1807.

  • Women Against Slavery

    Find out about women abolitionists and listen to our podcasts about women's involvement in the anti-slavery campaign.

  • 1834: The End of Slavery?

    Slavery continued in some territories run by the East India Company as not all parts of the British Empire came under the 1833 Slavery Abolition Act.

  • Legacies of the Slave Trade

    When slavery was abolished, slave owners were compensated, the enslaved received nothing. Here we link to registers of both owners and the enslaved.

  • Legacies of Slavery and Abolition in Listed Places

    The National Heritage List for England includes our research into places with a connection to the slave trade and the campaign for its abolition.