The Slave Trade Act 1807, officially An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire. Although it did not abolish the practice of slavery, it did encourage British action to press other nation states to abolish their own slave trades.
Many of the supporters thought the Act would lead to the end of slavery. Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law and that position was confirmed in Somerset's case in 1772, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.
1807Mar, 25
The Slave Trade Act becomes law, abolishing the slave trade in the British Empire.
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Events on 1807
- 7Feb
Battle of Eylau
Napoleonic Wars: Napoleon finds Bennigsen's Russian forces taking a stand at Eylau. After bitter fighting, the French take the town, but the Russians resume the battle the next day. - 19Feb
Aaron Burr
Former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr is arrested for treason in Wakefield, Alabama and confined to Fort Stoddert. - 12Apr
Fort Ricasoli
The Froberg mutiny ends when the remaining mutineers blow up the magazine of Fort Ricasoli. - 22May
Aaron Burr
A grand jury indicts former Vice President of the United States Aaron Burr on a charge of treason. - 20Jul
Internal combustion engine
Nicéphore Niépce is awarded a patent by Napoleon for the Pyréolophore, the world's first internal combustion engine, after it successfully powered a boat upstream on the river Saône in France.