O Bill Aberdeen was an English law passed in 1845, which gave the British Royal Navy rights to act rigidly against the slave trade, which brought thousands of Africans to Brazil annually. This drastic measure was taken by England due to the lack of initiatives by the Brazilian government to put an end to the slave trade.
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Historical context
The issue of the end of the slave trade was a matter of great relevance for both Portugal and Brazil and since the beginning of 19th century, England was acting diplomatically to obtain guarantees from the two countries that the overseas slave trade would end. The first agreement in this regard took place in 1810, with the Treaty of Friendship and Alliance with Great Britain.
This agreement was signed when Brazil was still a Portuguese colony and took place in the context of coming of the Portuguese royal family to Rio de Janeiro. In this agreement, d. João, conductor of Portugal and future d. John VI, undertook to cooperate with the English on the issue of the slave trade.
In 1815, a new agreement was reached, and the English and Portuguese reached a consensus that trafficking was definitely prohibited in the Northern Hemisphere. This agreement was replaced by another signed in July 1817. From 1822, Brazil conquered its independence, and the negotiations that were carried out with Portugal were extended to Brazil.
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The independence of Brazil was only recognized by the British through a commitment made by Brazil that measures to impose an end to trafficking would be taken. The Brazilian commitment was carried out through the Anglo-Brazilian Treaty of 1826 and ensured that steps in this direction would be taken by 1830.
This agreement was approved in Brazil the bean law, on November 7, 1831. The Feijó Law basically decreed the end of the slave trade in Brazil and all Africans who entered Brazilian territory, from its date of approval, would be considered free. This law, however, became known as "law for english to see”, a phrase that suggests its ineffectiveness in combating the slave trade.
A few years after this law, the slave trade in Brazil increased considerably and between 1831 and 1845 about 470 thousand Africans were illegally brought to Brazil|1|. This is because public opinion was openly in favor of the continuation of the slave trade in Brazil and the political authorities were condescending and turned a blind eye to the thousands of Africans brought to here.
The situation was so wide open that in the Chamber of Deputies there were bills that stipulated the end of the 1831 law. This situation deeply bothered the British, especially because the British Prime Minister Robert Peel it had been heavily criticized because of the growth of the slave trade from the second half of the 1830s onwards.
This situation led the British to act more energetically against Brazil and through LordAberdeen a law was passed that stirred Brazilian pride and stirred up the spirits between the two countries: the Bill Aberdeen law.
What was Bill Aberdeen?
The Bill Aberdeen was a law drafted by George Hamilton-Gordon, known as Lord Aberdeen, and passed in August 1845.
Bill Aberdeen was an English law, enacted on August 8, 1845 in the English Parliament and was drafted by George Hamilton-Gordon, also known as Lord Aberdeen, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. This law gave the British Royal Navy rights to monitor the South Atlantic for vessels that smuggled Africans.
All Brazilian vessels found trafficking enslaved Africans would be accused of piracy and the members of these vessels would be tried in accordance with the provisions of English law. Ships captured by the British could be sold, slaves freed and sent back to the African continent.
This law was also known as Slave Trade Suppression Act or Aberdeen Act and generated strong reactions in Brazil. Brazilian representatives expressed their strong opposition to the action of the British and the speeches that emerged after the English law were charged with nationalistic content. This happened because this law allowed British vessels to invade Brazil's territorial waters.
English law used as an argument the treaty signed between Brazil and England, in 1826, and the fact that the Brazil has assumed the commitment, but has taken few actions to effect the fulfillment of this wake up. An analysis of all Bill Aberdeen's determinations, places it as a hard and uncompromising law on the part of England.
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Reactions to Bill Aberdeen
As mentioned, English law generated strong reactions in Brazil and numerous representatives expressed their dissatisfaction with this law. One of the arguments raised was that Brazilian citizens could not be brought to trial by the British justice. Another dissatisfaction was the fact that the British equate the slave trade with the piracy.
This situation stirred up tempers between Brazil and England and reinforced nationalist speeches in the country. The big question was the invasion of Brazilian territorial waters by English vessels and the possibility of war between the two countries frightened many and frightened those who believed in the negative consequences that this would have for the parents.
The intolerance of British actions, with regard to the end of the slave trade, ended up displeasing even those who defended the end of this trade. The speeches always evoked feelingsnationalists and the situation was aggravated by an incident that took place in 1850. On that occasion, a fort installed on the coast of Paraná opened fire on a British vessel, resulting in the death of an English sailor. The British reacted and set fire to Brazilian slave ships.
The situation could have led the country to war with England or the break in diplomatic relations between the two countries. The long-term situation would be detrimental to Brazil and, in addition, the country was isolated internationally, as the slave trade was unpopular in the world. The only way out was to definitively ban the slave trade.
Eusébio de Queirós Law
It was in this context that the Eusébio de Queirós Law was proposed, which definitively prohibited the slave trade in Brazil. The law, however, did not have a humanitarian character, but aimed solely at safeguarding Brazil's position internationally. With this law, a war against the British would be avoided and, in addition, the Brazilian economy would not suffer from possible sanctions taken by England.
This is evident, mainly, because when analyzing the number of Africans sent to Brazil, between 1845-1850, it was noticed that the entry of Africans in Brazil remained high (the annual average was around 40 thousand Africans). Bill Aberdeen, therefore, failed at his essential point – to prevent Africans from entering Brazil – but, on the other hand, managed to pressure Brazil and put him in a situation where he was forced to ban trafficking once and for all.
Brazil, therefore, did not end trafficking, because the British action had harmed this business and for having been convinced of the cruelty of this activity, but did so solely for fear of war against the British or sanctions economical. The internal interests related to the country's sovereignty and economy led to the prohibition of the slave trade.
|1| ARAÚJO, Carlos Eduardo Moreira de. End of trafficking. In.: SCHWARCZ, Lilia Moritz and GOMES, Flávio (eds.). Dictionary of slavery and freedom. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras, 2018, p. 232.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
