Topic: Slavery
On 26th July we had our first meeting as a discussion group, without a main speaker. The subject was slavery. Nearly everyone had something to say about it. We heard about slavery in ancient Greece and Rome, about slavery in Islam and particularly by Arabs in Africa, and raids by Muslim slavers on the Mediterranean coasts and Northern European coasts including those of he British Isles until late in the eighteenth century.
The Atlantic slave trade began in the sixteenth century: a total of perhaps 1 1/2 million slaves and 16 million deaths in Africa. The triangular trade - manufactured goods to Africa, slaves to West Indies and America, sugar, rum, tobacco and cotton to Europe was extremely profitable. Bristol and Liverpool thrived, and the British Empire was founded on the slave trade. The British Government outlawed the slave trade in 1806 but slavery in the Empire went on for another 30 years until the slaves were freed and huge compensation paid to slave owners both overseas and in the UK.
There are lots of videos about the Slave Trade on the You Tube website.
The link will take you to https:youtube.com website. You may see an advert popping up…just click the 'x' to make it go away. You will find other videos on their website about the South African Wars.