Heinemann History - Britain and the Slave Trade - Rosemary Rees

Sep 28, 2026

Britain and the Slave Trade by Rosemary Rees in the Heinemann Library presents the history of how the British slave trade developed, connected to broader European trading practices, and shaped economic life. The text explains earlier use of enslaved labour across empires, then focuses on British merchants buying and selling African people, the role of plantation sugar, and how new consumer goods and markets supported the trade. It also outlines key unit topics and includes sources, acknowledgements, and study materials.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages38

Reading Time59 min

AccessFree to download

What was the Slave Trade?

Why did British merchants buy and sell African people?

Growth in Trade

Who benefited from the Slave Trade?

Why was the Slave Trade abolished?

A Mystery

Glossary

Index

| H e in e m a n n H i s t o r y | | --- | Britainand tbeSlave Trade | Rosem ary Rees | | --- | Heinemann D e p t h S t u d ie s https://archive.org/details/britainslavetrad0000rose | H e | | in | e | m | a | n | n | H i s t | o r y | | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | Rosemary Rees Heinemann Library, a division of Heinemann Publishers(Oxford)Ltd,Halley Court,Jordan Hill,Oxford OX28EJ OXFORD LONDON EDINBURGH MADRIDATHENS BOLOGNA PARIS MELBOURNESYDNEY AUCKLAND SINGAPORE TOKYOIBADAN NAIROBI HARARE GABORONEPORTSMOUTH NH(USA) C Rosemary Rees 1995 The moral right of the proprietor has been assertedFirst published 1995 9596979810987654321 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data isavailable from the British Library on request. ISBN 0-431-07069-5 Designed by Ron Kamen,Green Door Design Ltd,Basingstoke Illustrated by Jeff EdwardsPrinted in Spain by Mateu Cromo Front cover:A painting by a British naval officer,showing slaves below deck. Acknowledgements The author and publisher would like to thank thefollowing for permission to reproduce photographs: The Bridgeman Art Library:1.8 The Bridgeman Art Library/British Library:2.5,2.8The Bridgeman Art Library/British Museum:1.1The Bridgeman Art Library/City of Bristol Museum andArt Gallery:3.4 Cambridge University Press/Royal GeographicalCollection:3.1 Mary Evans Picture Library:4.8 E.T.Archive:2.3Fotomas Index:2.11 Guildhall Library,Corporation of London:3.7The Billie Love Historical Collection:4.11The Mansell Collection:1.4,4.5 The Menil Collection,Houston/Hickey-Robertson:2.14National Library of Jamaica:2.16 National Maritime Museum,London:Front coverNational Portrait Gallery:4.7Peter Newark's American Pictures:2.1 The Trustees of the Wedgwood Museum,Barlaston,Staffordshire:4.4 Every effort has been made to contact copyright holdersofmaterial published in this book.Any omissions will berectified in subsequent printings if notice is given to thepublisher. Details of written sources In some sources the wording or sentence structure hasbeen simplified to ensure that the source is accessible. J.W.Arrowsmith,Bristol Past and Present,Bristol,1881-2:3.3 William Bosman,A New and Accurate Description of theCoast of Guinea,London,1705:1.6 Mrs.Carmichael,Domestic Manners -Social Conditionsof the Population of the West Indies,Negro UniversitiesPress,1969:2.9,2.13 L.Comitas and D.Lowenthal,Slaves,Free Men,Citizens,Anchor Books,1973:2.15 W.H.B.Court,The Rise of the Midland Industries,1938: 3.5 M.Cranton,J.Walvin and D.Wright,Slavery,Abolitionand Emancipation,Longman,1976:4.3 William Dickinson,Mitigation of Slavery,1814:2.6Bryan Edwards,History of the British Colonies in theWest Indies,London,1801:2.12 Olaudah Equiano,The Interesting Narrative of the Life ofOlaudah Equiano,London,1789:1.5,1.7,2.2Peter Fryer,Staying Power:The History of Black Peoplein Britain,Pluto,1984:4.1,4.2 C.L.R.James,The Black Jacobins,Allison and Busby,1980:2.7,4.9 John Matthews,AVoyage on the river Sierra Leone onthe Coast of Africa,London,1788:1.3Ramsey Muir,A History of Liverpool,1907:3.2Lady Nugent,Lady Nugent's Journal of her Residence inJamaica from 1801-5,Institute of Jamaica,1966:2.10Malachy Postlethwayt,The African Trade,the GreatPillar and Support of the British Plantation Trade inAmerica,J.Robinson,1746:3.6 Sackville-West,Knoll and the Sackvilles,1922:4.6James Walvin,Black Ivory,HarperCollins,1992:1.2,2.4 Note In this book some of the words are printed in boldtype.This indicates that the word is listed in theglossary on pages 30-1.The glossary gives a briefexplanation of words that may be new to you. Unit 1What was the Slave Trade? 4 Unit 2What was life like for black slaves? 10 Unit 3Who benefited from the Slave Trade?18 Unit 4Why was the Slave Trade abolished?22 A Mystery 28 Unit 5 30 Glossary 32 Index TURRIFF ACADEM)LIBRARY #

FAQs

What does the text say about how the slave trade developed in Britain?

It connects the period of the Industrial Revolution and European trading with British involvement in buying and selling enslaved people, linking this to broader commercial activity.

Why did British merchants buy and sell African people, according to the document?

The document explains that plantation labour in places like the West Indies supported British demand for commodities, especially sugar, which was used not only in drinks but also in desserts and baking.

How did the growth of trade affect Britain and the surrounding regions?

It describes sugar entering Britain for use and re-export, profits that supported investment in houses, land, industry, and business, and a boom in ships, ports, and towns that became international trading centres.

Sep 28, 2026

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