Britain was the first country to abolish slavery in 1807 and it used its naval power, in the shape of the West Africa Squadron, based in Portsmouth to enforce that ban.
During the period 1807-1867 the Squadron freed over 150,000 Africans that were en-route to slavery in America. During that time the Squadron lost 1600 sailors in battle with the slavers and through disease.
At its peak the West Africa Squadron took 50% of the entire naval budget or 2% of the UK's GDP . So the UK was the first country to ban slavery, we used our own ships and sailors to enforce that ban and the British taxpayer paid for it all !
There is no monument to the West Africa Squadron and the sailors who lost their lives enforcing the ban on the evil trade in slavery. I am working with the internationally renowned sculptor, Vincent Grey, who has designed a sculpture that represents three parts of the story - the evil of slavery, the bravery of the sailors and the new life for the freed Africans. The natural place for the sculpture to be situated is Portsmouth the home base of the West Africa Squadron.
I have a small team that will promote the concept on social media, TV and press interviews and our own web site so that people know that Britain was the first country in the world to abolish slavery and used its own resources and men to enforce that ban.
The first version of the sculpture will cost £70K and if funds are available it will be in place, subject to planning permission, in early 2024 and will be unveiled by a celebrity associated with the armed forces - although I cannot reveal their name at the moment !
