THE BAHAMA ISLANDS 427 



AMELIORATION OF THE CONDITION OF THE SLAVES. 



Abolition of the Slave-Trade. 



In all of the West Indian colonies of Great Britain the slaves gradually 

 increased until they composed the 'greater part of the population. Early in 

 the history of each it had heen discovered that the employment of slave labor 

 was profitable, owing to the favoring conditions of soil and climate. The 

 enterprising English merchants of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries 

 realized this, and also saw the opportunity of making great gains by supplying 

 the settlements and plantations with the much-needed labor. The slave- 

 trade, which began to meet this demand, grew to great proportions until it 

 reached its height in the latter half of the eighteenth century. The trade in 

 its mildest form was a barbarous illustration of man's inhunumity to man : 

 nevertheless it was fostered under various guises by royal courts, and in 

 addition to the lucrative returns to both trader and planter, the alleged im- 

 provement in the condition of its victims was put forward in its justification. 

 The scenes where it was carried on were far removed from the mass of the 

 English people, and the actual conditions under whidi it flourished were not 

 well known outside of a very limited circle, until late in the eighteenth cen- 

 tury, when the inquiring minds of the reformers began to investigate this 

 trade as one thing that demanded their attention. Agitation against tlie 

 slave-trade was begun and kept up, gradual accessions being made to the ranks 

 of the reformers, until at the close of the JSTapoleonic period the whole world 

 began to feel the influence of their labors in behalf of the negro. Pultlic men 

 of weight and influence were numbered among the enemies of the trade, and 

 their demands for reform could be heard in the ral)inet. in the Houses oF 

 Parliament and throughout the country. For tlie liritish Empire the slave- 

 trade had been abolished in the year 1807. Attempts had been made to make 

 that abolition effective, but great difficulties had to be met and overconu'. 

 Nearly all the rest of Europe and the Americas were engaged in the enterprist' 

 and, besides, many Englishmen dared allow their capital to be used in it. 

 The agitation of the reform party grew in importance with the passing of 

 the years, the leaders gained increased audience among all classes, and the 

 feeling against the now illegal traffic rose to a high ])itch. Perhaps the most 

 active agency in spreading the reform was the African Institution which 

 worked in London, and which came into especial prominence in the years 

 1814-1815. This societv had in view the amelioration of the condition of the 



