Slavery at Common Law - Subsequent Legislation

Subsequent Legislation

The common law, ultimately, would go no further. But the decision of 1772 in James Somersett's case was widely understood as freeing slaves in England, and whilst perhaps not entirely legally accurate, this perception was fuelled by the growing abolitionist movement, although this was scarcely an accurate reflection of the decision. Slavery did not, like villeinage, die naturally from adverse public opinion, because vested mercantile interests were too valuable. Nevertheless in 1792 the House of Commons voted in favour of "gradual" abolition, and in 1807 parliament outlawed the African slave trade by legislation. This prevented British merchants exporting any more people from Africa, but it did not alter the status of the several million existing slaves, and the courts continued to recognise colonial slavery. The abolitionists therefore turned their attention to the emancipation of West Indian slaves. Legally, this was difficult to achieve, since it required the compulsory divesting of private property; but it was finally done in 1833, at a cost of £20 million paid from public funds in compensation to slave owners. From 1 August 1834 all slaves in the British colonies were "absolutely and forever manumitted."

In the American colonies it was widely assumed that positive law was needed to make slavery lawful, and various states passed laws to this effect.