In 1834 Britain abolished slavery, a defining and celebrated moment in our national history. What has been largely forgotten is that abolition came at a price. The government of the day took the extraordinary step of compensating the slave owners for loss of their 'property', as Britain's slave owners were paid £17bn in today's money, whilst the slaves received nothing. The meticulous records that detail this story have lain in the archives virtually unexamined until now. Forensically examining the compensation records, David discovers the range of people who owned slaves and the scale of the slavery business. He traces how Britain's slave economy emerged in the 17th century from just a few pioneering plantation owners, is introduced to some of the brutal tools used to terrorise the slaves, and reads from the sadistic diaries of a notorious British slave owner.
Historian David Olusoga continues his examination of Britain's forgotten slave owners. In this episode, David traces the bitter propaganda war waged between the pro-slavery lobby and the abolitionists, revealing that paying off the slave owners for the loss of their human property was, ultimately, the only way to bring the system to an end. Records held at the National Archives detail the names of the 46,000 slave owners from across the British empire who had a slice of this vast hand-out. Of all the names, 3,000 lived in Britain, yet they owned half of the slaves across the empire. These include members of the clergy and of the House of Lords. Ultimately, David discovers that the country's debt to slavery is far greater than previously thought, shaping everything from the nation's property landscape to its ideas about race. A legacy that can still be felt today.
Historian, author and presenter David Olusoga looks back on how his 2015 documentary Britain's Forgotten Slave Owners helped shine a light on the extent of Britain's involvement in the slave trade.
