Chapter 15

In Chapter 15 of Adam Hochschild's Bury the Chains, Hochschild debates why the abolitionist movement in England gained momentum so quickly, while in other countries the issue remained stagnant and slow to catch on. England was the perfect location for a movement of this magnitude to occur. It had the beginnings of an industrialization and the best postal service in the world. The postal service allowed news to travel quickly and at one time an abolitionist was able to get from Edinburgh to London in only 75 hours. This was essential to organizing a movement of this magnitude as it allowed everyone to be informed quickly. Newspapers were also crucial for the spread of information as they used one another's articles and reprinted them. Coffeehouses also played a major role as they were social gathering places where people could discuss the newspapers and other propaganda. England also had uncensored newspapers which at the time was almost unheard of anywhere else. Not to mention the large debate societies which often put on debates of slavery versus abolition. Perhaps the largest reason why England was able to see the slave trade as unjust was because of a policy they had: naval impressment. This was the capture of British citizens who were then forced to join the navy. This perhaps helped English people feel they had something akin to the slaves. England was the perfect place for a movement like this to occur because of the several circumstances that presented themselves at the time of the abolitionist movement.