14:00
King's College London
April 30
King's Building Room: Dockrill Room (KIN 628) Strand Campus, Strand, London, WC2R 2LS
In the eighteenth century, the English dominated the Atlantic slave trade. The greatest number of Africans shipped to the Americas was carried in English vessels, under English masters on voyages funded by English merchants. Yet the English slave trade was late to develop. It had a difficult and uncertain start.
This talk will explore the roots of the English trade: the earliest faltering efforts and false starts, the challenges, difficulties and legal background, and why it was so well placed to flourish from the early eighteenth century, ironically just as the first glimmerings of a moral opposition to slavery itself were emerging in English thought.
Neil Datson is a graduate of the University of Oxford. He is a working farmer in the Cotswolds and an independent researcher with a particular interest in naval history and a longstanding supporter of the King’s Maritime History Seminars. He is the author of The British Air Power Delusion, 1906-1941, to be published in September 2023.
This event is open to the public and free to attend both in-person and online (via Zoom). In-person spaces are limited, so register now to secure your spot!