London Anti-Slavery Society document
*The London Anti-Slavery Society was founded on January 31, 1823. Also known as the Society for the Mitigation and Gradual Abolition of Slavery Throughout the British Dominions, it was commonly referred to as the Anti-Slavery Society.
It was founded with a meeting of men at the King's Head tavern in London. The Society aimed to abolish slavery in the British Empire. Under the terms of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, this objective was achieved. The elimination of slavery throughout the world was in the minds of early abolitionists. The committee that established the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade in 1787 campaigned to end the trade then dominated by Britain.
The Slave Trade Act of 1807 made the trade illegal in the British Empire but brought no change to the condition of enslaved people. Following this, British abolitionists turned their attention to abolishing slavery itself, first in British colonies and later in the US and the colonies of other European powers (e.g., in South America) and in parts of the world where it had long been legal, such as in the Middle East, Africa, and China. It was known as the London Anti-Slavery Society in 1838 before ceasing to exist.
