British abolitionism and global empire in the late 18th century: A historiographic overview

Abstract

AbstractWhy did widespread opposition to the African slave trade first emerge in Britain in the late 1780s? This question has been one of the most contested in British imperial historiography for generations. The first half of this article examines various answers that scholars have posited, highlighting in particular their broadening frames of reference. The second half looks at recent works on other aspects of Britain's late 18th‐century empire that are breaking down traditional historiographic divisions, especially between the British Atlantic and British India. This research is demonstrating just how interconnected the British world was during the age of revolutions, and is simultaneously offering new ideas and methodologies for studying British antislavery from a global perspective.