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BRITISH SLAVE TRADE IS REORGANISED AND DEREGULATED. Folio (11.25 inches). 23 George II, Chapter 31. General title leaf + pages 547-563. Royal coat of arms and factotum initial. Text in Black Letter. Neatly extracted from a bound volume. British trade in West Africa was completely overhauled and deregulated by the passing of the Trade to Africa Act, 1750. The new rules made it lawful for all British subjects to freely trade and traffic to and from all ports between the Port of Sallee in South Barbary and the Cape of Good Hope without restriction. Thus, the African trade was taken out of the hands of the Royal African Company (RAC) and opened to all British traders, as summarized by the opening sentence of the legislation: / / Whereas the Trade to and from Africa is very advantageous to Great Britain, and necessary for the supplying the Plantations and Colonies thereunto belonging with a sufficient Number of Negroes, at reasonable rates; and for that Purpose the said Trade ought to be free and open to all His Majesty's Subjects / / . The 1750 Act reorganized the failing RAC, which had been run almost exclusively by London investors. In essence, the RAC was replaced by the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa who took over management of nine primary forts, settlements and factories on the African coast, namely: Fort William, Fort James, Fort Sekondi, Fort Winneba, Fort Apollonia, Fort Tantumquery, Fort Metal Cross, Fort Komenda, and Cape Coast Castle (which acted as the administrative center). The new company was managed by the African Committee, which was composed of nine committee members (with three elected from each of the cities of London, Liverpool, and Bristol). Committee members were elected from the body of those who gained membership to the company at a cost of 40 shillings. Annual grants approved by Parliament helped to subsidise the cost of the London office and operation of the forts. As an additional oversight, the committee was obliged to report periodically to the Exchequer, the Admiralty, and (after 1782) the Secretary of War. By design, the new company had a more diverse representation of British investors, merchants, and traders, and included 237 from Bristol, 157 from London, and 89 from Liverpool. Stimulation and diversification of the trade in Negro slaves was a welcome advancement in light of the recent renouncement of the British claim to the Assiento contract for supplying Negro slaves to Spanish colonies, wherein Parliament was undoubtedly looking at ways to make up for lost revenue streams. The 1750 Act was successful in its goal to increase the number of Negro slaves shipped across the Atlantic Ocean to the West Indies and American colonies, albeit under steadily worsening conditions aboard unregulated slaving ships. After the Slave Trade Abolition Act, 1807 came in to force, the Company of Merchants Trading to Africa was prohibited from trading in Negro slaves. However, the company quietly continued the slave trade within its territory until the British government formally abolished operations in 1821 and incorporated the lands into the colony of Sierra Leone.
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