Bicentenary of the Abolition of the Slave Trade

This has been an extraordinary debate and I am deeply honoured to respond to it on behalf of the Government. We have heard 16 speeches by Back Benchers and I will try to do justice to the points that hon. Members have raised. In the time available, I may not be able to be as thorough as I would have liked. It is also a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for North-East Bedfordshire (Alistair Burt) and to endorse many of his remarks. I also entirely agree with him about the opening speeches from my right hon. Friend the Deputy Prime Minister and the right hon. Member for Richmond, Yorks (Mr. Hague)—two Yorkshire MPs, and here we have another one replying to the debate. I have also been supported today by the Under-Secretary of State for the Home Department, my hon. Friend the Member for Gedling (Mr. Coaker), who has responsibility for the issue of human trafficking and has responded to previous debates on that important issue, and by the Under-Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, my hon. Friend the Member for Tottenham (Mr. Lammy), who has also responded to previous debates on the issue of the bicentenary. The contributions made by hon. Members during the debate illustrate that the passing of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 1807 200 years ago was a landmark event in the struggle for the equality, dignity and liberty of all people. To commemorate the year, the Government have a range of activities planned that complement the events planned by, and within, communities. There are three main phases to our activity in 2007. The first involves raising awareness of the bicentenary and the transatlantic slave trade, and also of Britain’s role in both the trade and its abolition. I believe that today’s debate has played an important part in that. The second phase of activity involves the commemoration of those who suffered as a result of the slave trade, those who struggled for abolition and those who ensured that the new laws were enforced. The third phase involves tackling the legacy of slavery, with issues arising from the slave trade including poverty and inequality on the African continent, contemporary slavery in its various forms, and inequality and discrimination in Britain today. I shall deal with those three phrases in more detail. Slavery has long existed in human societies, but the transatlantic slave trade was unique in terms of the destructive impact that it had on Africa. It is estimated that more than 12 million people were transported, and that some 2 million died due to the inhuman conditions in which they were transported and the violent suppression of any onboard resistance. It is tempting just to stick with the statistics and to skate over the barbaric practices that were integral to every part of the slave trade. We must also recall that the slave trade brought huge wealth to this country and caused terrible suffering to the slaves taken from Africa and to the communities left behind, with effects that still live on today. I am indebted to my hon. Friend the Member for Hackney, North and Stoke Newington (Ms Abbott), who went into some of the details of the slave trade and what it meant. It is important that we recognise what went on, and her speech was very moving. As other hon. Members have said, it brought home to us the connection between today and the slave trade of previous centuries. Professor James Walvin has written extensively on slavery. He has stated:"““From first to last, slavery was a system characterised by brutality...that had far-reaching ramifications for three continents: for the Americas, whose economic potential was tapped by generations of imported Africans, for Europe, which orchestrated (and benefited) from the whole system, and of course Africa, for which massive loss of population, with attendant violence and upheaval, caused incalculable and long term damage. But Atlantic Slavery had even more profound consequences....for it was...the means by which the West emerged to a position of unrivalled economic and political dominance.””" The passing in Parliament of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807 marked the beginning of the end of that barbaric trade. The Act was the result of a long and often fraught parliamentary battle by committed parliamentarians supporting the abolitionist cause. However, that battle would not have been won without the efforts of the enslaved Africans and the ordinary citizens who fought for abolition. It is also important to recognise the efforts of the men of the Royal Navy, some of whom were freed slaves. They enforced the Act, and some of them gave their lives in that enforcement. To raise awareness of the suffering caused by this barbaric trade—and of the efforts of those who struggled for abolition and ensured that the new laws were enforced—the Government have a range of activities planned throughout 2007. My hon. Friend the Member for Brent, South (Ms Butler) made a moving and important speech, in which she spoke about the curriculum, and I can tell her that the Department for Education and Skills is running a national competition for schools. Entitled ““Understanding Slavery: The Big Conversation 2007””, the competition is designed to educate children about the slave trade and abolition. We are also looking to embed teaching about the slave trade in the curriculum permanently. The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is currently consulting on a new draft secondary curriculum which, for the first time, will include the slave trade as a compulsory element in the key stage 3 history curriculum. My hon. Friend the Member for Islington, North (Jeremy Corbyn) also asked about education matters, but I am afraid that I do not have time to give a detailed response this evening.