Chapter 21 Summary-BTC

In Chapter 21 of Bury the Chains, Hochschild opens the chapter with the duel that is occurring with William Witt and George Tierney in Putney Heath. James Stephen re-enters the chapter and is described as “one of the empire’s leading maritime lawyers” (301). Because of Stephen’s knowledge of the world of international commerce, he became and influential member in the abolition movement. Due to his maritime knowledge, Stephen played a role in organizing the Foreign Slave Trade Act which would cut off two-thirds of the British slave trade. Luckily, the low turnout rate at the debate at the House of Commons helped pass the act without any problems. The next stop for the act was the House of Lords and luckily, the support of the public was still against the slave trade and after gathering a petition with an adequate number of names, the bill passed. As growing support for the antislavery movement continued and flourished, a bill abolishing the slave trade passed in both houses of Parliament in 1807. Unfortunately, despite the abolition of the slave trade, the slaves in the Caribbean islands were still slaves.