How did the Abolition Acts of 1807 and 1833 affect the slave
trade? As soon as Europeans began to settle in America, in the
early 16th century, they imported enslaved Africans to work for
them. As European settlement grew, so did the demand for
enslaved people. Over the next 300 years more than 11 million
enslaved people were transported across the Atlantic from Africa
to America and the West Indies, and Britain led this trade from
the mid-17th century onwards. Ports such as Bristol, Liverpool
and Glasgow sent out many slaving ships each year, bringing
great prosperity to their owners. Many other cities also grew
rich on the profits of industries which depended on slave-
produced materials such as cotton, sugar and tobacco. The
campaign in Britain to abolish slavery began in the 1760s,
supported by both black and white abolitionists. The battle was
long and hard-fought, with pro-slavery campaigners arguing that
the slave trade was important for the British economy and
claiming that enslaved Africans were happy