The role of freed slaves in establishing : the Sierra leone settlement in the eighteenth century

Abstract EN

The abolitionist movement, was an activity that aimed to end slave trade, it appeared in England during the eighteenth century, was a major topic for the public and it was supported by protestant religious figures and even human rights associations that worked to undermine and end this trade, and many petitions and protests that complained and opposed the existence of this slavery were submitted to the relevant authorities.

this prolonged struggle in England culminated in the liberation of slaves and the prevention of this brutal trade in the English lands that had prevailed for hundreds of years, and this came after the decision of “judge Mansfield” in 1772 to liberate a black slave named "Somerset".

with the rise of the American independence revolution against England, which lasted from 1775 until the peace conference was held in Paris in 1783, Britain announced that all black slaves who had fought with her during this war against America after the decree of 1775, and despite the defeat were free and no longer a property of their former masters.

resolution 1772 led to the emancipation of slaves in England, and also attracted other slaves from other countries to come seek their freedom in England.

their number increased remarkably with the arrival of loyal blacks after 1783, and together they formed a group of miserable and poor people scattered in the English streets and ports, begging for living as most of them were unemployed, had no craftsmanship or workmanship, which created a panic among the population and a social crisis for the government, but with the intervention of some philanthropists who provided them with food-aid, that later turned to the creation of a committee of their own for relief and this latter worked with the government to find a permanent solution by moving them to another place in Africa, specifically in sierra Leone, in order to form a settlement to them.