Reasons for the development of the slave tradeThe legal position
The British played a major part in the Atlantic slave trade. Enslaved Africans were the most profitable source of labour. Britain鈥檚 military and commercial strength were vital in its development.
The status of enslaved people as property was long established. The use of the property law meant that the enslaved were not considered humans, but commodities.
The Yorke-Talbot ruling
In 1729 the joint British Attorney General, Sir Philip Yorke and the Solicitor General Charles Talbot were asked to consider whether an enslaved person could be freed. They expressed the opinion that an enslaved person was the master鈥檚 property and could not become free.
We are of the opinion, that a slave, by coming from the West Indies, either with or without his master, to Great Britain or Ireland, doth not become free; and that his master鈥檚 property or right in him is not thereby determined or varied.
鈥 Sir Philip Yorke, Charles Talbot
The Somerset Ruling
The Somerset Ruling of 1772 concerned an enslaved person鈥檚 liberty and status as property. The enslaved person in question was James Somerset, who had escaped from his master while in England. He was recaptured and was to be transported to Jamaica. The case centred on whether slavery, which was tolerated in the colonies, was compatible with English law. The final decision of Lord Chief Justice, Lord Mansfield, was that no enslaved person could be forcibly removed from the country and resold.
No master ever was allowed here to take a slave by force to be sold abroad because he deserted from his service.
鈥 Lord Mansfield
But this was not the same as saying that enslaved people in Britain were now free. The legal position of enslaved African people remained unclear until the early 19th century.