The pro-slavery argument

Montage of images showing first page of a memorial sent to Earl Grey, cover of a pamphlet supporting the slavers and an image of a Babuckur slave.

Unlike the anti-slavery campaigners there was no real society or body to organise the pro-slavery campaign nor were there any really convincing campaigning points. But this is not to say that the pro-slavers were devoid of support: they could find encouragement both within the Houses of Parliament and outside.

The pro-slavers themselves tended to be groups such as the West India Planters and Merchants who wanted to protect their interests. Much of their case rested on the facts that slavery made a significant contribution to the wealth of Britain and that the British government had condoned it in the past. As Lord Stowell (a famous judge of the time) said “if it be a sin, it is a sin in which the Country has had its full share of guilt.”

You can find out more about the arguments used by the pro-slavers by looking at the sources and information.

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