Slavery in Britain

Slavery in Britain existed even before the Roman period from AD 43 to AD 410, and the practice endured in various forms in British controlled territories until the 18th century. English merchants, especially from the ports of Liverpool, London and Bristol, were a significant part of the Transatlantic slave trade, until the Slave Trade Act 1807 prohibited the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire. After the act was passed Britain interdicted the international transatlantic slave trade both diplomatically and with the Royal Navy's West Africa Squadron, established in 1808. After the ending of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, the Royal Navy had the ships available to back up diplomatic efforts to end slavery, by both increasing resources for the West Africa Squadron from 1818 and, when diplomatic pressure on the Barbary corsairs proved insufficient, by bombarding Algiers in 1816 in a ferocious engagement.

In England the Norman conquest of England resulted in the gradual merger of the pre-conquest institution of slavery into serfdom in the midst of other economic upheavals. Given the widespread socio-political changes afterwards, slaves were no longer treated differently from other individuals in either English law or formal custom. By the middle of the 12th century, the institution of slavery as it had existed prior to the Norman conquest had fully disappeared, but other forms of unfree servitude continued for some centuries.

English merchants were a significant force behind the Atlantic slave trade between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, but no legislation was passed to either formally legalize or abolish chattel slavery in the Home Islands. Instead, the common law system, based on laws established since the Norman conquest governing legal protections of individuals, protected those residing in England from any formal form of slavery, and a formal legal precedent against the practice, extending to those who may have been enslaved under foreign jurisdictions, was eventually established by Somerset v Stewart (1772) 98 ER 499. In Scotland, colliery (coal mine) slaves (in practice serfs rather than chattel slaves) were still in use until 1799, when an act was passed which established their freedom, and made slavery and bondage illegal.

An abolitionist movement grew in Britain during the 18th and 19th centuries, until the Slave Trade Act 1807 prohibited the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire. However it was not until 1937 that the internal, land-based trade of slaves was fully outlawed in all subsequent colonies of the British Empire, with slavery in Nigeria and slavery in Bahrain being the last to be abolished in the British territories.

Despite being contrary to the laws of the UK, practices described as "modern slavery" still exist in Britain and have often involved the effects created by human traffickers attacking those from poorer countries, such as those undertaking various crimes victimising Vietnamese nationals. At the same time, multiple groups within the organised crime networks in the UK have frequently targeted British nationals. The country's government has, in a public statement, noted how "gangs exploit vulnerable individuals to transport [illegal] substances", and "who is recognised as a victim of modern slavery" includes both men and women as well as adults and children. Specifically, in 2022, a full "12,727 potential victims of modern slavery were referred to the Home Office in 2021, representing a 20% increase compared to the preceding year".