(Reuters) - Britain marks 200 years on March 25 since it enacted a law banning the trans-Atlantic slave trade, although full abolition of slavery did not follow for another generation. Following are some key dates in the trans-atlantic trade in slaves from Africa and its abolition. read more
Although it hurts my sense of patriotism to write this, Britain was not the first country to abolish the slave trade. The Jacobin revolutionary National Convention in France abolished slavery and all associated trade in February 1794, in all French territories, everywhere in the world. read more
The abolition of slavery occurred at different times in different countries. It frequently occurred sequentially in more than one stage - for example, as abolition of the trade in slaves in a specific country, and then as abolition of slavery throughout empires. read more