A short sketch of the evidence for the abolition of the slave trade, delivered before a committee of the House of Commons

A focused compilation of testimony, statistics and legal excerpts, this work was prepared to persuade a House of Commons committee in the early nineteenth century that the Atlantic slave trade could no longer be ignored. Drawing on the observations of sailors, missionaries and former slaves, the author presents a stark portrait of the trade’s brutality, from the violent capture of people in Africa to the grotesque punishments meted out on plantations. The text is deliberately concise, offering an “abstract and arrangement” of a much larger body of evidence so that ordinary readers can grasp the scale of the suffering without wading through thousands of pages.

The narrative weaves together vivid courtroom‑style statements, excerpts from contemporary newspapers and vivid descriptions of branding, mutilation and the desperate attempts of enslaved people to escape. By grounding moral arguments in concrete, verifiable facts, the author invites listeners to confront the reality behind the headlines and to consider why a growing public conscience was demanding an end to the trade.