Slavery in Britain during the time of John Locke
The British tried to monopolize the slave trade because it was economically profitable. This allowed them to maintain economic and political control over the colonies for longer because the British had the ships and resources to run the slave trade. Through the colonization efforts of America it helped to ward off other European’s from doing the same
Racial sentiments were abound in European society well before slavery began. This magnified once slave trade began and slaves began to be viewed as subhuman. British established the Royal African Company to monopolize slavery. British were afraid of indentured servants and switched over to mainly using African slaves to prevent revolts.
Slavery was legal in Britain until 1772. The boom in Africans in England was a direct result of the empire expanding.
John Lok, John Locke’s ancestor was the first to bring African’s to Britain in 1555 as volunteers rather than slaves. He had hoped to teach them English to help them trade material goods.He had hoped that they would take the information they learned and teach others upon their return to Africa. This eventually gave way to slave trade initiated by John Hawkins