How important was William Dolben to the abolition of slavery?
The start of the abolition movement
This teaching and learning package was written by Michelle Townsend as part of work on the PGCE History course at Leicester University, 2006-7.
In 1807 the British Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This made the transatlantic trade in slaves illegal. For many years Britain had traded in slaves to provide a workforce for their plantations in the Caribbean. Africans were captured and put on ships to cross the Atlantic; they were subjected to terrible cramped and dirty conditions and many of the enslaved died or contracted diseases during the crossing.
During the 18th Century a powerful anti-slavery movement began to develop. This often began through religious leaders who were concerned about the 'uncivil' treatment of the slaves; however, the movement began develop a wider appeal with many people who had seen the cruelty first hand. These groups gathered evidence of the cruelty and used this to write pamphlets and protest - William Dolben was amongst those people who campaigned for the abolition of slavery.
In 1807 the British Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This made the transatlantic trade in slaves illegal. For many years Britain had traded in slaves to provide a workforce for their plantations in the Caribbean. Africans were captured and put on ships to cross the Atlantic; they were subjected to terrible cramped and dirty conditions and many of the enslaved died or contracted diseases during the crossing.
During the 18th Century a powerful anti-slavery movement began to develop. This often began through religious leaders who were concerned about the 'uncivil' treatment of the slaves; however, the movement began develop a wider appeal with many people who had seen the cruelty first hand. These groups gathered evidence of the cruelty and used this to write pamphlets and protest - William Dolben was amongst those people who campaigned for the abolition of slavery.
Who was William Dolben?
William Dolben was part of the Dolben family that for two centuries owned part of the Parish of Finedon in Northamptonshire. He was a Member of Parliament who actively voiced his objections to the conditions of slaves and the slave trade. He worked on many of the proposed bills to abolish the slave trade.
Dolben's role in the abolition movement
During 1788 Dolben was MP for Oxford University and inspected slave ships on the Thames. He was disgusted by the conditions slaves were forced to live in, describing the ships as a "crying evil of the middle passage, the horrors of slaves chained hand and foot, stricken with illness." He highlighted many of these conditions to Parliament on several occasions although his efforts mostly fell on deaf ears, leading him to work on a law that would at least improve conditions for those subject to the middle passage.
Later in 1788 Dolben got his wish and Parliament passed the Slave Trade Regulation Act of 1788, which has also been called Dolben's law due to William's involvement in its construction. Dolben wanted to abolish the slave trade altogether, however the vested interests of many MPs prevented this.
The Dolben law was an Act designed to improve the conditions on board the slave ships during the middle passage (the transatlantic crossing from Africa to America). The law enforced a limit to the number of slaves the ships could carry; this ensured that they were not crammed in and had enough space to lie down. The law also required all slave ships to carry a doctor who had to keep records of all slaves on the ship - the doctors received a bonus for the number of slaves who survived. This Act successfully reduced the death rate of slaves on ships and Dolben continued to protest in Parliament against the slave trade and work with William Young to chair the Slave Bill Committee that petitioned Parliament to abolish the slave trade.
This bill was successful and resulted in the 1807 Act which led to the abolition of the transatlantic trade in slaves.
Later in 1788 Dolben got his wish and Parliament passed the Slave Trade Regulation Act of 1788, which has also been called Dolben's law due to William's involvement in its construction. Dolben wanted to abolish the slave trade altogether, however the vested interests of many MPs prevented this.
The Dolben law was an Act designed to improve the conditions on board the slave ships during the middle passage (the transatlantic crossing from Africa to America). The law enforced a limit to the number of slaves the ships could carry; this ensured that they were not crammed in and had enough space to lie down. The law also required all slave ships to carry a doctor who had to keep records of all slaves on the ship - the doctors received a bonus for the number of slaves who survived. This Act successfully reduced the death rate of slaves on ships and Dolben continued to protest in Parliament against the slave trade and work with William Young to chair the Slave Bill Committee that petitioned Parliament to abolish the slave trade.
This bill was successful and resulted in the 1807 Act which led to the abolition of the transatlantic trade in slaves.
