 The common law, ultimately, would go no further.But the decision of 1772 in James Somersett's case was widely misunderstood as freeing slaves in England, and whilst not legally accurate, this perception was fuelled by the growing abolitionist movement, notwithstanding 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.