Empire

An empire is a collection of countries or territories ruled by one monarch. The territories that make up an empire are often seized by conquest or wars. The British Empire influenced the people living in those countries, impacting their customs, language, politics, laws and culture.

The foundation of the British Empire began in the 16th and 17th centuries - the ‘age of discovery’. During Elizabeth I’s reign, Humphrey Gilbert discovered Newfoundland and claimed it for England. Gilbert was an adventurer, explorer and Member of Parliament who lived between 1539-83. His half-brother, Walter Raleigh continued to explore and discovered Roanoke Island, which is now part of North Carolina.

The empire developed further during the reign of James VI, as territories in North America and the Caribbean became part of Britain. Britain was eager to benefit economically from the resources available oversees and extend their influence over the world. The East India Company in the 17th century was an example of this. This company was founded in 1600 to trade with south east Asian territories. The British Empire continued to grow and by 1913, 412 million people lived in the empire, which was 23 per cent of the entire world’s population.

Huge ships were used to transport enslaved people from Africa to the Americas in terrible conditions. Over two million Africans died during the journey. The enslaved people worked on plantations growing tobacco, rice and sugar, and were treated brutally.

Profits made by trading enslaved people provided money for investment in British industry and made cities such as London very wealthy.

Richard Pennant, or Lord Penrhyn, was a politician who owned a number of slate quarries in north Wales. The family also owned six sugar plantations in Jamaica. He used the profits he made in these plantations to develop his slate quarries, as well as building Penrhyn Castle as a symbol of his wealth. In his role as Member of Parliament for Liverpool, Richard Pennant argued strongly against ending the trade in enslaved people because of the money the city’s port made from this trade.

Sir Thomas Picton was an army officer during the Napoleonic wars. He was killed at the Battle of Waterloo and buried at St Paul’s Cathedral, London.

During his time as the Governor of Trinidad he was well-known for his cruel treatment of enslaved people. He was found guilty of ordering the torture of a 14-year-old girl. In 2020, Cardiff Council voted to take down a statue of Picton at City Hall and the Museum of Wales decided to move his portrait from public view.

The Cyfarthfa Ironworks in Merthyr were founded by Anthony Bacon in 1765. Anthony Bacon owned ships that were used to transport enslaved people from Africa to the Caribbean. The money was subsequently invested in the Ironworks.

There is evidence that iron from the works was used to create cannonballs for ships used in the slave trade and ships used by the East India Company. Although this is not a direct link, Cyfarthfa castle in Merthyr is evidence of the profit made from slavery.

William Williams is considered one of Wales’ foremost hymn writers having written some of the Welsh language’s most important hymns during the 18th century. He also spoke up against the slave trade. In 1792, Williams was one of the first Welshmen to publish a leaflet opposing the slave trade. He also translated the life stories of many enslaved people’s to draw attention to the cruelty of the trade.

Another Welshman who spoke up against slavery was the founder of the Gorsedd of the Bards, Iolo Morganwg. He had a shop in Cowbridge and tried to avoid selling anything linked to slavery. Despite this, two of Iolo’s brothers were involved with a sugar plantation in Jamaica and owned 240 enslaved people. When he faced a period of poverty, he refused money from his brothers to help him, although he eventually agreed to accept it.

From the 1770s in Britain, a movement developed to bring the slave trade to an end. This was known as the abolitionist movement. The work of politicians, ordinary workers, women and the testimonies of formerly enslaved people all contributed to the British abolitionist movement.

Politicians such as Thomas Clarkson and Granville Sharp were leading abolitionists. In 1787, they established the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, whose purpose was to campaign for the slave trade to be brought to an end. William Wilberforce was a member of parliament who began to introduce anti-slavery motions in Parliament from 1789 onwards.

The Quakers strongly opposed the slave trade in Britain and America.

Working-class people in Britain played a key role - over 500 petitions, with a combined total of around 390,000 signatures, were submitted in support of Wilberforce’s abolition bill in 1792.

Formerly enslaved people such as Olaudah Equiano, Ottobah Cugoano and Phillis Wheatley campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade – they formed societies, shared their stories and petitioned Parliament.

Enslaved people found ways to demonstrate their resistance - the successful revolts by enslaved people in Barbados, Jamaica and Demerara shocked the British Government.

Many people, most of whom were women, became involved in the boycotting of sugar and other goods produced using enslaved labour.

In 1807, the British Parliament passed the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act. This ended the buying and selling of enslaved people within the British Empire, but it did not protect those already enslaved. Many enslavers continued to trade illegally.

The abolition of enslavement in the British Empire was not wholly achieved until the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Plantation owners across the British Empire received a share of £20 million, around £17 billion in today's money, in compensation. In contrast, the newly freed people received no compensation.