[HPforGrownups] Re: Golden statue in MoM - foreshadowing? (SPEW forever!)

[T.M. Sommers]

No: HPFGUIDX 72058

ghinghapuss wrote:
>  --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "T.M. Sommers" <tms2 at m...> 
> 
>>wrote:<SNIP> 
>>
>>>Britain abolished the slave trade in 1808, the same year as the 
>>>constitutional ban on the importation of slaves became effective 
>>>in the US (and note that the US ban was enacted in 1787). 
>>>Slavery was abolished in the Empire in 1832.  So there is only 
>>>about a 30 year difference between Britain and the US.  Since the 
>>>British brought African slavery to North America in the first 
>>>place, they don't have much cause to feel less culpable.
>
> I'd like to point out that ban the use of something in one's country 
> is very different than banning the trade of that same thing else 
> where.  Slavery was banned in the UK long before it was in the US 
> even though the trade of slaves continued for a while after.  I do 
> believe that the British can hold the moral high ground on that 
> point. 

It may have been banned in the UK proper earlier, but it 
continued in places ruled from London until 1832.  And the 
situation would probably have been very different in the UK 
itself had slavery been economically significant there.