[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 73 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 73

Recognizing the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which banned the 
 slave trade in the British Empire, allowed for the search and seizure 
   of ships suspected of transporting enslaved people, and provided 
                compensation for the freedom of slaves.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 16, 2009

  Mr. Rangel submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which banned the 
 slave trade in the British Empire, allowed for the search and seizure 
   of ships suspected of transporting enslaved people, and provided 
                compensation for the freedom of slaves.

Whereas the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which banned the slave trade in 
        the British Empire, allowed for the search and seizure of ships 
        suspected of transporting enslaved people, and provided compensation for 
        the freedom of slaves, passed the British Parliament on March 25, 1807;
Whereas the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act in 1807 led to the 
        full abolishment of slavery in the British Empire with the passage of 
        the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833;
Whereas activities abolishing slavery in Great Britain were instrumental to 
        activities abolishing slavery in the United States;
Whereas approximately 12 million African men, women, and children were 
        transported in the slave trade from 1501 to 1860;
Whereas Africans transported in the slave trade were permanently separated from 
        their families, held captive, and subject to severely inhumane treatment 
        on ships;
Whereas Africans transported in the slave trade were transported to Europe, the 
        Caribbean islands, and North, South, and Central America in over 30,000 
        voyages;
Whereas the British participated in the slave trade as owners of ships, enslaved 
        people, plantations, and a variety of commercial activities relating to 
        the trafficking of human beings;
Whereas the free labor of enslaved people from Africa substantially contributed 
        to the wealth and economic growth of Great Britain and was a key element 
        of foreign commerce;
Whereas in 1772 the Somerset case declared that slavery did not exist under 
        English law;
Whereas in 1778 slavery was declared illegal in Scotland;
Whereas the Quakers established the Committee on Slave Trade in 1783 which 
        consisted of 23 members; six members of the Committee on Slave Trade 
        created and shared anti-slavery information and lobbied the British 
        Parliament for the abolition of slavery;
Whereas a bill to abolish the slave trade passed the British House of Commons, 
        but was rejected in the British House of Lords in 1805;
Whereas in 1808 the British Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron to 
        enforce the ban on transporting slaves; the West Africa Squadron is 
        credited with capturing 595 slave ships between 1843 and 1861;
Whereas in 1833, enslaved people in the British Empire became free with the 
        passage of the Slavery Abolition Act;
Whereas in 1842, Britain and the United States signed the Webster-Ashburton 
        Treaty which banned the slave trade on high seas;
Whereas slavery was finally abolished in the United States in 1865; and
Whereas the United States commemorated the 200th anniversary of the abolition of 
        the transatlantic slave trade in 2007: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That Congress recognizes the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, 
which banned the slave trade in the British Empire, allowed for the 
search and seizure of ships suspected of transporting enslaved people, 
and provided compensation for the freedom of slaves.
                                 <all>