Abolitionist

Definition

A person who campaigned to end the slave trade or slavery. Abolitionists included formerly enslaved people such as Olaudah Equiano, whose autobiography was published in 1789 and widely read in Britain, as well as religious groups, women and working people. Campaigners used petitions, pamphlets, public meetings and boycotts of slave-grown sugar. Teachers should avoid a saviour narrative and highlight Black activists and enslaved resistance. See also: abolition, emancipation, and the guide Abolition Movements and the End of the Trade.