Did Birmingham Profit from Slavery?

As an industrial town, Birmingham undoubtedly relied heavily on its connections to the slave trade. It was a producer of guns, chains, brassware, and a whole range of other industrial products that may have been absorbed into the worldwide system of human exploitation. Indeed, it would have been virtually impossible for any eighteenth or nineteenth century British town not to have a connection to slave-profits. Nevertheless, far less attenion has been paid to Birmingham's 'hidden' relationship with slave profits than with towns such as Bristol, Liverpool or London, where slave ships could be frequently be seen departing for the west coast of Africa in waves of tragic enterprise.

The above advertisement was placed in the Birmingham Aris's Gazette when Wilberforce's campaigns against the trade were starting to gain attention. Many similar adverts could be traced to other towns in Britain. It shows how some eighteenth century manufacturers feared their industrial trades and livelihoods would be threatened if slavery was abolished. Such meetings often argued that slavery should be 'reformed' to become more bearable, rather than ended completely.