Question

"Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords….and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and seven, the African Slave Trade, and all…manner of dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or Transfer of Slaves or of Persons intended to be sold, transferred, used or dealt with as Slaves, practised and carried on, in, at to or from any Part of the Coast or Countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful...." - from "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade." Based on this passage, what did this act abolish? A) slavery in Africa B) profiting from slave labor C) slavery in the British empire D) the taking of slaves from Africa

Answer 1

The Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, or as it is known the Slave Trade Act 1807, was meant to end slave trade that got its slaves from Africa (D).

Since this was mainly the only place from which slaves were bought, Africa is directly named in the document as the means to end all slave trade.

However, contrary to these expectations, the act did not abolish slavery in English soil. It was thought that by abolishing slave trade, slavery would naturally end. That didn't happen until 1833 with the Slavery Abolition Act that directly abolished slavery in all English soil.