The Trials of the Slave Traders, Samuel Samo, Joseph Peters, and William Tufft: And the Fugitive Slave Circulars [Paperback]

Reissued together, these two texts from 1813 and 1876 throw light on the history of slavery and its abolition.Britain's 1807 law abolishing slave trading in its empire was put to the test during trials in Sierra Leone in 1812, an 1813 report on which is reissued here, alongside a short 1876 account of the 1772 Somerset v. Stewart case that represented a milestone on the road to abolition.Britain's 1807 law abolishing slave trading in its empire was put to the test during trials in Sierra Leone in 1812, an 1813 report on which is reissued here, alongside a short 1876 account of the 1772 Somerset v. Stewart case that represented a milestone on the road to abolition.In 1812 a number of slave traders were prosecuted in Sierra Leone, the focus of Britain's efforts to eradicate the trade. First published in 1813, this report is believed to have been written by the presiding judge, Robert Thorpe. The trials provoked debate as Thorpe found one trader guilty, but commuted his sentence on the condition that other traders were persuaded to cease their business. Another was dealt with severely as he displayed complicity in evading the laws. Thorpe's judgments relied upon not only the application of the anti-slavery laws, but also the notion of natural laws transcending those of nations, a notion which came under consideration in the landmark Somerset v. Stewart case of 1772, concerning an escaped slave. Published in 1876, a report on this case is also reissued here. Taken together, these two texts provide valuable source material on the history of the slave trade's abolition.The trials of the slave traders; The fugitive slave circulars.