SlaveryDid It Ever End?
From ancient Rome to modern trafficking: Scotland’s part, who fought slavery, and slavery today. Ages 14+, may be upsetting.
43 pages A4 · phone edition 99 pages
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About this guide
From ancient Rome to modern trafficking. In 1833 Britain passed a law to end slavery across most of its empire, and in 1981 Mauritania became the last country to abolish it. Yet about 50 million people were living in modern slavery on any given day in 2021. This guide asks whether slavery ever really ended. It is written for readers aged 14 and over, at home or in school.
More about this guide
Part one goes from the ancient world to the Atlantic slave trade and Scotland’s place in it: the tobacco lords, Scots in the Caribbean, and Joseph Knight’s landmark 1778 case. Part two is about the people who fought slavery, many of them enslaved people who freed themselves, with a timeline, six lives that changed history, and the £20 million paid to slave owners, not the enslaved, in 1833.
Part three looks at slavery today: the world picture, how trafficking works, the exploitation of children, real UK cases and what is in our shopping. Part four explains Scotland’s 2015 law and how to spot and report it. A full warning page and helplines come first: some parts may be upsetting, and you can skip any chapter. There are no pictures of real people. Every figure is from a named source, checked in October 2026.
What’s inside
- Before you read: a warning and where to get help
- What do we mean by slavery?
- Slavery in the ancient world
- The Atlantic slave trade
- Scotland, the plantations and Scottish soil
- Resistance, abolition and what came after
- The £20 million: who got paid?
- Who fought it: a timeline, and six lives
- Slavery today: the world picture
- Human trafficking in depth
- Child trafficking and exploitation
- Modern slavery in the UK: real cases
- Supply chains: what’s in our shopping?
- The law today, and spot it, report it
- Myths checked, a quiz, help and glossary
- To be continued: stories for another guide
Ages 14+. Some parts may be upsetting. This guide covers slavery, trafficking, child exploitation, forced marriage and violence, with a full warning page and helplines at the front. For general information only, not legal advice. If someone is in danger, call 999. Worried someone is being exploited? Modern Slavery & Exploitation Helpline 08000 121 700.
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