The first big step to rid the world of slavery was taken in 1811 when Britain abolished slave-trading. In 1833 an Act of parliament was passed emancipating all slaves in the British colonies, thus in the British colonies, thus setting an example which was followed by other European countries.
In the United States a number of conflicting interests led in 1861 to a civil war between the Northern states who wished to abolish slavery and the seceded Southern states who wanted to retain it on the plantations. In 1863 President Lincoln issued his famous Emancipation Proclamation, and two years later the victory of the North led to a constitutional amendment which prohibited slavery in the United States for ever.
In South America, a kind of agriculture slavery of the Indians continued under the name of peonage, and laws prohibiting the system did not succeed immediately in stamping it out. Even Today conditions of slavery, sometimes disguised as forced labour in payment of debt, exist in some countries,
Until people’s consciences began to be stirred by the efforts of humanitarians like William Wilber force(1759-1833), slavery had generally been regarded as an inevitable part of the natural order of things. From earliest times men had forced their captures enemies to work for them. Slaves were a vital part of most ancient civilizations, providing food and services for their masters and the labour to build such man-made marvels as the pyramids. In Greece and Rome many slaves became skilled workers and held responsible positions.
After the discovery of the New World large fortunes were made by the transport of Negroes from Africa and their exploitation in the Americans.
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