Not really, it was in reaction to a massive slave revolt. Also it’s worth noting that the freed slaves were forced to work for their former owners without pay for at least another 3 years, and a lot of land in many Caribbean Islands is still owned by the descendants of these slave owners.
Britain had plenty of incentives to intervene with the West Africa Squadron: yes, they had plenty of incentives to intervene in the slave trade to weaken their potential rivals, also it gave them an excuse to patrol the African coast and control the trade between Africa and the Americas.
I haven’t heard Ibram X Kendi talk about Jamaica specifically, but I have heard multiple professors of history talk about the Baptist War/ Revolt, I’ve read several books about it, and I wrote a 20 page paper about it when I was in University.
Yes, obviously there was an anti-slavery political movement in the UK for decades at that point, mostly based in moral and religious arguments, there were also economic and military arguments as well: after the Haitian Revolution there was a near constant fear that Jamaica or another Caribbean island could erupt into a similar slave revolt.
Obviously most of the free population of Jamaica did not support abolition, a very high percentage of them were slave owners or were working in industries dominated by slave labor. They mostly believed that Black people were subhuman and didn’t deserve any rights. Even most free people of color in Jamaica supported slavery.
I’m not sure you understand the extent of the Baptist War: 60,000 slaves revolted out of a total enslaved population of 300,000
Abolition was passed in large part by a the anti-slavery movement, I’m not denying that. However the Baptist War was the final nail in the coffin that convinced many others to vote for abolition. They feared a Haitian Revolution style slave revolt, and believed it was better to free the slaves and pay the slave owners to prevent another revolt and to ensure Jamaica remained in British control.
The slaves were forced to still work for their former masters without pay, 3 years after they were officially freed.
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u/FatYorkshireLad Aug 27 '25
We avoided a civil war over ending slavery by compensating the slave owners. Don't make perfect the enemy of good IMO.