THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: AN EVALUATION BASED ON IMAGE-REALITY AND INTERESTS

Year 2024, Volume: 23 Issue: 90, 668 - 688, 16.04.2024

İbrahim Çağrı Erkul

https://doi.org/10.17755/esosder.1376512

Abstract

Slavery, which has existed since the early periods of human history, entered a new phase when the Portuguese transported enslaved Africans to the American Continent. Although Britain did not initiate the transatlantic slave trade she realized the wealth that this trade brought and increased her share in the slave trade in parallel with the expansion of her empire. At this point, Britain, which had led the slave trade for a long time, made a change based on realism in her policy by passing the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. Thus, this attitude of Britain, which demonstrated its will to eliminate the slave trade and slavery, was important in ending the slave trade and slavery globally. The article aims to reveal the reasons for this change of attitude in terms of Britain's interests and to justify the claim that the empire relatively maintained the benefits it gained from slavery behind the image it created. To justify this claim, a holistic approach was followed regarding Britain's involvement in the slave trade and slavery system, and the issue was discussed in accordance with the chronology. In addition, Britain's relations with Spain, Portugal, France, the United States of America (USA), and Brazil, which were prominent in the slave trade, were discussed and the subject was analyzed in its reality, using the sources of that period.

Keywords

British Empire, Africa, Slave Trade, Abolitionism

BRİTANYA İMPARATORLUĞU VE TRANSATLANTİK KÖLE TİCARETİ: İMAJ-GERÇEK VE ÇIKARLAR TEMELİNDE BİR DEĞERLENDİRME

Abstract

İnsanlık tarihinin ilk dönemlerinden beri var olan kölelik, Portekizlilerin Afrikalı köleleri Amerika Kıtası’na taşımalarıyla yeni bir evreye girmiştir. Britanya her ne kadar transatlantik köle ticaretini başlatmamış olsa da bu ticaretin beraberinde getirdiği zenginliği fark etmiş ve imparatorluğunun genişlemesine paralel olarak, köle ticaretindeki payını arttırmıştır. Bu noktada köle ticaretine uzun bir süre liderlik de etmiş olan Britanya, 1807 Köle Ticareti Yasası’nı ve 1833 Köleliğin Kaldırılması Yasası’nı çıkarak, kölelik politikasında realizm temelinde değişikliğe gitmiştir. Böylece köle ticaretini ve köleliği ortadan kaldırma yönünde bir irade ortaya koyan Britanya’nın bu tutumu, küresel anlamda köle ticaretinin sona erdirilmesinde hayati bir öneme sahiptir. Makale, bu tutum değişikliğinin nedenlerini Britanya’nın çıkarları özelinde ortaya koyma ve imparatorluğun kölelikten elde ettiği faydaları, oluşturduğu imajın ardında göreli olarak sürdürdüğü iddiasını gerekçelendirme amacındadır. Bu iddiayı gerekçelendirebilmek için Britanya’nın köle ticaretine ve kölelik sistemine dahli noktasında bütüncül bir yaklaşım izlenmiş ve konu zaman dilimine uygun olarak ele alınmıştır. Buna ek olarak, Britanya’nın köle ticaretinde öne çıkan İspanya, Portekiz, Fransa, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri (ABD) ve Brezilya ile ilişkilerine değinilmiştir. Ayrıca dönem kaynaklarından da yararlanılarak konu kendi gerçekliğinde analiz edilmiştir.

Keywords

Britanya İmparatorluğu, Afrika, Köle Ticareti, Kölelik Karşıtlığı

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