Question

"Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords….and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and seven, the African Slave Trade, and all…manner of dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or Transfer of Slaves or of Persons intended to be sold, transferred, used or dealt with as Slaves, practised and carried on, in, at to or from any Part of the Coast or Countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful...." - from "An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade." Based on this passage, what did this act abolish? A) slavery in Africa B) profiting from slave labor C) slavery in the British empire D) the taking of slaves from Africa

Answer 1

Answer:D

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

The correct answer is D: this act abolished the taking of slaves from Africa. Let's see why:

A, B and C are wrong because:

It's important to not mistake slavery by slave trade. To abolish slavery would mean to end it immediately as a form of work that was an important profit source in many parts of the British Empire. This would be a more radical act that would happen only with the Slave Abolition Act 1833.

D is correct because:

It was thought by then that by abolishing trade of people bought in Africa all slavery would naturally end, that's why this act forbids it. This proved wrong: slavery survived, not only because not all nations respected this act (Brazil, for example, would forbid slave trade only in 1830), but also because the slave trade became a domestic trade. Brazil had slaves until 1888 based on trades between its regions, selling and buying sons and daughters of African slaves.