2018/08/13 by Matthew Wyman‐McCarthy · 3 citations
Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Abolitionism #Ancient history #Archaeology #Art #Atlantic World #Australian History and Society #British Empire #Colonialism, slavery, and trade #Empire #Historical Economic and Social Studies #Historiography #History #Law #Long nineteenth century #Opposition (politics) #Perspective (graphical) #Political science #Politics #Visual arts
paper · doi:10.1111/hic3.12480
published in History Compass 16(10) (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2018/08/13 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
Abstract Why 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.