What were the influences of the changing political climate on the abolition movement?

The influence of the American War of Independence:

• 1783 - loss of America furthered the support for abolition
• It raised the questions about liberty and the rights of men
• Also, the loss of their colony which had bought many of the slaves traded made the slave trade seen in a less positive light
• Late 1700s - Americans formed their own identity and political practices, influenced by republicanism and individual liberty
• American revolutionaries professed notions of equality and the wrongs of keeping people in slavery for the benefit of a mother country
• 1790 - the parallels with slavery this drew in America began the abolition movement
• In Britian, the issue became a popular topic of discussion and left behind a new political atmosphere that placed the importance of freedom to be emphasised by abolitionists
• There was now more justification for ending the slave trade which was denying African's any freedom of their own
• Having lost an important colony, there was soul-searching in Britian about its failings; slavery and the slave trade became a prominent feature in this reflection
• The American Revolution sowed the seed of doubt about this trade in the mind of Britons
• People became more receptive to the ideas of the abolitionists
• Combined with Equiano's autobiography, the movement was able to build momentum in a more reflective environment
• 1788 - Dolben Act passed
• 1799 - Slave Regulation Act

Napoleon and the British slave trade:

• The revolutionary war with France brought the slave trade directly into focus 
• The French revolutionry government overturned slavery on the grounds of libertarian principle
• 1802 - Napoleon took control of the country and reintroduced the slave trade into French colonies; encouraged a much more critical consideration of the practice by Britian
• To oppose the slave trade was now became a symbol of patriotic duty and the movement flourished
• Wilberforce was able to gain support of Pitt in 1806 and Grenville in 1807 which saw the slave trade come to an end
• The timing would suggest that at best French slave activity was a contributing factor to the British decision
• There was substantial interest in abolition even before the re-adoption of the slave trade in France
• The re-emergence of the trade did not transform public opinion but rather reinforced it, breathing new life into the campaign 
• 1794 - the new French government abolished slavery as part of securing the principles of liberty,…