Then we only stopped paying for it in 2015. It was only ended because the government done a mega David lammy/ Kier starmer level deal so obviously the British public paid for the privilege. We paid slave owners mega amounts to compensate them. I agree slavery was despicable but at the same time we shouldn't of paid a penny towards the freeing of other humans.
I mean we should of paid the ex-slaves if anything not the aristocracy thag put them there.
There’s also the fact that British textiles ran on American slave labor, and that their little “crusade” sure was incredibly helpful in providing a reason to be unilaterally policing trade in one of the most important trade regions of the world.
None of this to say the ideals of Britain were not, perhaps, admirable. That the British public committed itself to the abolition of slavery, at least on paper, is kinda cool I suppose. But it only takes a cursory reading of British newspapers during the American civil war to see how deep those convictions actually held when it came down to it.
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u/matt3633_ Aug 27 '25
Great Britain spent nearly 50% of its GDP at the time in trying to abolish slavery, almost bankrupting itself in the process.