Conclusion

Abstract

Abolition was a moral issue. Abolition was an economic issue. Abolition was therefore a political issue, much to the consternation of politicians. The fight against the French slave trade reflected the mixed nature of the question. At first differing public opinions on either side of the Channel forced London and Paris to define their national interests in diametrically opposed ways. Three possible responses were to ignore the problem, fight a war over it or compromise. The strength of British popular feeling made the first – France’s preferred option – impossible. The good sense of both governments, which assigned less importance to the commerce than did their domestic lobbyists, ruled out the second. Instead, Castlereagh and Talleyrand made a deal, which would have been enough to settle most traditional economic or security concerns.