32nd Annual Student Research Conference
“Contrary to Justice, Humanity, and Policy:”
The Slave Trade as an Instrument of British Power, 1803-1820
Ross B. Edelstein`
Dr. Caleb Owen, Faculty Mentor
The British were able to exert a hegemonic influence on Europe after the fall of Napoleon. Economic and military might had helped them defeat the French, and would continue to dominate the way they operated. However, in a world at peace, new strategies for justifying these agents of hegemonic influence were necessary. Thus began the insertion of morality of international politics through the attempts to curtail the slave trade. From arguments against the trade in parliament, to the eventual treaties with Spain offering vast sums of money for an agreement to end the trade, the British were able to exercise their newfound power through this avenue, trading the verbiage of war for that of morality.
Keywords: Slave Trade, Slavery, Britain, Naval History, The Napoleonic Wars, Diplomatic History, International Relations, Imperialism
Topic(s):History Senior Seminar
History
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 204-3
Location: BH 219
Time: 10:45