Slavery After The Abolition Of The Slave Trade: The United States And The British West Indies

Abstract

Relations between the abolitionist movements in the United States and the United Kingdom have been frequently and systematically described. In the British discussion of abolition and emancipation, the event recently receiving the greatest attention among scholars and by the public has been the abolition of the slave trade. The post-emancipation economic performance of the ex-slave economies in the West Indies (and elsewhere) were influenced by several local characteristics. The basic national Constitutional provisions regarding slavery were the clauses regarding white (not slave) political representations, and the rules regarding the international slave trade. Post-emancipation production patterns in the British West Indies varied, with some islands continuing sugar production, but others showing rather long-term or even permanent declines in sugar production. Keywords: abolitionist movements; British West Indies; international slave trade; United States