African Slavery in England

         The African slave trade and the history of the use of African slaves is much more complex than what most people believe. This eportfolio will focus solely on Britain's part in the slave trade and the captured Africans that were sold into slavery in England. England came to be the biggest shipper of captured Africans to the new world, the colonies in America. The African slaves that were sold into slavery in England had a very different experience then the captured Africans there were sold into slavery in the New World. The Africans that were forced to England mostly were used for domestic services, such as they did all the cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children. This is not to say that their lives were better or more easy then the slaves sold into the colonies but that there experiences were different. The role that the British took in the physical slave trade made it into a wealthy man's business, many British men who wanted to seek money took part in this, the trade for humans was booming. Many people do not know that the first Africans that were to come to England were not slaves at all, but a part of the great Roman army. These Africans were in charge of watching over and securing Romans farthest lands what would become England. Many Africans of this army settled down in this new land even after their Roman army duty was over.African slaves were documented in the United Kingdom as early as 1570’s. During this time period Slaves usually fell into a few different roles many served as household servants that were required to take care of  a family's daily needs. While others were forced into prostitution for the well to do men in British society.  During queen Elizabeth the first's rule there were such a large population of Africans that in the year of 1596 that she ruled that all Africans expelled from the United Kingdom; she feared that the Africans were taking jobs away from the white British and that they were plotting and insurrection. This decree from Elizabeth brought no action, slaves were already an integral part of society and culture in the United Kingdom.The road to the abolishment of slavery in Britain was a long one filled with different laws passed by parliament. The first law passed was the Slave Trade Act of 1807 this law abolished the slave trade in the British Empire, but not slavery itself. Many of the bills supporters thought that this law would lead to the quick death of slavery in the United Kingdom but it was not until much later when the full abolishment of slavery occurred in the United Kingdom. Full abolishment occurred in the united kingdom with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, which abolished slavery throughout the British empire.