IV 
110TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. CON. RES. 101 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the bicentennial of the 1807 Abolition 
of the Slave Trade Act, which banned the slave trade in the British 
Empire, allowed for the search and seizure of ships suspected of trans-
porting enslaved people, and provided compensation for the freedom 
of slaves, should be commemorated. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 27, 2007 
Mr. RANGEL submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs 
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 
Expressing the sense of Congress that the bicentennial of 
the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which banned 
the slave trade in the British Empire, allowed for the 
search and seizure of ships suspected of transporting 
enslaved people, and provided compensation for the free-
dom of slaves, should be commemorated. 
Whereas the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, which banned 
the slave trade in the British Empire, allowed for the 
search and seizure of ships suspected of transporting 
enslaved people, and provided compensation for the free-
dom of slaves, passed the British Parliament on March 
25, 1807; 
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•HCON 101 IH 
Whereas the passage of the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act 
in 1807 led to the full abolishment of slavery in the Brit-
ish Empire with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act 
in 1833; 
Whereas activities abolishing slavery in Great Britain were 
instrumental to activities abolishing slavery in the United 
States; 
Whereas approximately 12 million African men, women, and 
children were transported in the slave trade from 1501 
to 1860; 
Whereas Africans transported in the slave trade were perma-
nently separated from their families, held captive, and 
subject to severely inhumane treatment on ships; 
Whereas Africans transported in the slave trade were trans-
ported to Europe, the Caribbean islands, and North, 
South, and Central America in over 30,000 voyages; 
Whereas the British participated in the slave trade as owners 
of ships, enslaved people, plantations, and a variety of 
commercial activities relating to the trafficking of human 
beings; 
Whereas the free labor of enslaved people from Africa sub-
stantially contributed to the wealth and economic growth 
of Great Britain and was a key element of foreign com-
merce; 
Whereas in 1772 the Somerset case declared that slavery did 
not exist under English law; 
Whereas in 1778 slavery was declared illegal in Scotland; 
Whereas the Quakers established the Committee on Slave 
Trade in 1783 which consisted of 23 members; six mem-
bers of the Committee on Slave Trade created and shared 
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•HCON 101 IH 
anti-slavery information and lobbied the British Par-
liament for the abolition of slavery; 
Whereas a bill to abolish the slave trade passed the British 
House of Commons, but was rejected in the British 
House of Lords in 1805; 
Whereas in 1808 the British Royal Navy established the 
West Africa Squadron to enforce the ban on transporting 
slaves; the West Africa Squadron is credited with cap-
turing 595 slave ships between 1843 and 1861; 
Whereas in 1833, enslaved people in the British Empire be-
came free with the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act; 
Whereas in 1842, Britain and the United States signed the 
Webster-Ashburton Treaty which banned the slave trade 
on high seas; 
Whereas slavery was finally abolished in the United States in 
1865; and 
Whereas the United States will commemorate the 200th anni-
versary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 
2008: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the bi-
centennial of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act, 
which banned the slave trade in the British Empire, al-
lowed for the search and seizure of ships suspected of 
transporting enslaved people, and provided compensation 
for the freedom of slaves, should be commemorated. 
Æ 
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