The 1788 Dolben Act: Britain's First Slave Ship Regulation

In 1788, a backbench MP named Sir William Dolben steered an unprecedented bill through Parliament: the first law to regulate conditions on British slave ships. This episode traces the Dolben Act from its origins in the abolitionist pamphlet war to its passage amid fierce Liverpool opposition. We look at how Sir William Dolben, guided by Thomas Clarkson's research and James Field Stanfield's testimony, set a maximum number of enslaved people per ship tonnage — a reform that saved thousands of lives, even as critics dubbed it 'the slave trade regulation bill.' We explore the act's limitations, its enforcement, and its legacy as the first parliamentary chink in the slave trade's armor. Along the way, we meet the naval officer-turned-inspector John Reeves, the Liverpool ship owners who evaded the rules, and the African victims whose suffering the law aimed to reduce. A story of incremental change in a brutal system. #SirWilliamDolben #DolbenAct #SlaveTradeRegulation #ThomasClarkson #JamesFieldStanfield #MiddlePassage #Liverpool #WilliamWilberforce #JohnReeves #PrivyCouncil #1788 #Abolition #BritishParliament #SlaveShip #Reform #History #FexingoHistory #18thCentury Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo