Decades before the American Civil War and 13th amendment ended slavery in the US, Britain passed two anti-slavery laws: the “Slave Trade Act 1807” banning the slave trade around the empire, and the “Slavery Abolition Act 1833” which officially made it illegal to own slaves.
Britain enforced its legislation via their strong navy. Ship captains who were caught transporting slaves were subject to fine initially, but soon the Royal Navy declared all perpetrators of slave trading to be treated the same as pirates—the punishment for piracy was death.
Read this thread to see other benefits too. the globe. You may not agree that they were all good – but this thread will give you a great deal to think about.
The British Empire was, in many ways, a force for good.
— ThinkingWest (@thinkingwest) May 24, 2024
Nearly everywhere it occupied it:
-raised the standard of living
-developed infrastructure
-promoted education
It also single-handedly ended slavery for much of the world…🧵(thread) pic.twitter.com/hVNQIIu9Rg