Were brit royals principally responsible for the evil SLAVE trade, and did this trade ENRICH the british?

Question

http://www.channel4.com/history/microsites/S/slavetrade/slave2.html

Answer 1

No, the slave trade existed for thousands of years before the British became involved. Remember the Romans? The Vikings? And just about every other ancient culture.

And other countries were equally guilty, as well as the people who enslaved their own countrymen and sold them to the slave traders. Yes, all those involved made plenty of money from the trade.

But the important thing is that Britain was the first to abolish slavery, long before the US did. And that slavery continues today in many countries.

Answer 2

No. But they helped. "Christian" Spain, and its ***** Queen Isabella kicked it off. As well the Dutch and the Portuguese of course.

Answer 3

As the previous answerer said; no, slavery was around a long time before the British royal family were. And yes; there is absolutely no question that slavery enriched the British... They built the most powerful empire in history (in the context of colonialism) on enslaving the people whose land/countries they colonised. But that said, when slavery was the in thing a few centuries ago, all the colonial powers (and a few non-colonial powers) all benefited a lot from slavery. Finally, the British were the first (at least significant power) who abolished the trade.

Answer 4

I dont see how you can tie the British royal family as the principles of slavery since it began long before their reign... They abolished it far before any other countries...