The Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1880 also known as Anglo-Ottoman Convention for the suppression of the African traffic and Anglo–Ottoman Convention for the Suppression of the Slave Trade, was a treaty between the

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great B ...

and the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

from 1880. The Convention addressed the slave trade of the Ottoman Empire, specifically the

Red Sea slave trade The Red Sea slave trade, sometimes known as the Islamic slave trade, Arab slave trade, or Oriental slave trade, was a slave trade across the Red Sea trafficking Africans from the African continent to slavery in the Arabian Peninsula and the ...

of Africans across the Red Sea toward the Ottoman province of Hejaz.

Background

The British conducted an international anti-slavery campaign. In 1857, British pressure resulted in the Ottoman Sultan issuing a firman (decree), the Firman of 1857, that prohibited the slave trade from the Sudan to Ottoman Egypt and across the Red Sea to Ottoman Hijaz. However the preceeding anti-slave trade firman of 1854 had already caused the Hejaz rebellion in the Hijaz Province, and resulted in the slave trade in the Hijaz being exempted from the prohibition of the

and the prohibition remained nominal on paper only. The

Anglo-Egyptian Slave Trade Convention The Anglo-Egyptian Slave Trade Convention, also known as Anglo-Egyptian Convention for the Suppression of the Slave Trade or Anglo-Egyptian Convention for the Abolition of Slavery was a treaty between Great Britain and the Khedivate of Egypt from 1 ...

of 1877 had addressed the trade of African slaves to the Ottoman Empire, specifically Ottoman Egypt from Sudan. However this convention had not been effective. Many slaves were transported via the Red Sea, and the khedive of Egypt had not authority to search the slave ships outside of the coast of

Ottoman Arabia The Ottoman era in the history of Arabia lasted from 1517 to 1918. Ottoman degree of control over these lands varied over the four centuries with the fluctuating strength or weakness of the Empire's central authority. History Early period In t ...

(Hejaz).

The Convention

After British presure, with support from the Grand Vizier and the Council of Ministers, Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

finally agreed to address the issue of the slave trade in the Red Sea. The Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1880 banned the

. The British were given the right to stop and control all ships suspected of trafficking slaves on Ottoman waters In practice, this prohibition was not enforced in the Hejaz Province. The Ottoman authorities officially opposed slavery for the sake of diplomacy in their foreign policy, but tolerated slavery and slave trade in the provinces of the Empire in their internal policy. Consequently, the anti-slavery laws that were introduced after foreign pressure was not enforced. This made the convention inefficient, Hejaz being a major destination of the Red Sea slave trade.

Aftermath

The introduction of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1880 and its inefficient enforcement caused a continuing Britsh pressure upon the Ottoman Empire regarding the suppression of slavery and slave trade in the Empire. In 1883, a draft was presented in order to complement and compensate for the bad enforcement of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1880. In an Imperial firman (decree) of 1887, chattel slavery was declared formally abolished and no longer legally recognized, the decree stating: "The Imperial government not officially recognizing the state of slavery, considers by law every person living in the empire to be free". This law was however nominal and slave trade continued. After British pressure, Sultan

promulgated a law against the Black slave trade on 30 December 1889, the Kanunname of 1889. However, this law did not include any special punishment against slave trade within the empire, and it was not deemed efficient. The Ottoman Empire participated in the

Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference 1889–90 The Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference 1889–90 was held between 18 November 1889 and 2 July 1890 in Brussels. The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society submitted a report to this conference. The Brussels Conference led to the negotiation of th ...

. Due to the 1889 law introduced prior to the Conference, the British confirmed that the Ottomans had lived up to the commitments of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1880. The Ottoman Empire and 16 other countries signed the 1890 Brussels Conference Act for the suppression of the slave trade. The Act obliged the Ottoman Empire to manumit all slaves within its borders who had been illegally trafficked, and granted every signure states the right to liberate or demand the liberation of every one of their citizens who had been brought to the Ottoman Empire as slaves since 1889, and this Act was enforced in 1892.Miers, S. (2003). Slavery in the Twentieth Century: The Evolution of a Global Problem. Storbritannien: AltaMira Press. p. 94

References

* {{Anti-slavery treaties 1880 in Africa Anti-slavery treaties Abolitionism in Africa Abolitionism in Asia Abolitionism in Europe 1880 in the British Empire 1880 in the Ottoman Empire 1880 treaties Treaties of the Ottoman Empire Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922) African slave trade Ottoman Empire–United Kingdom relations Slave trade legislation 19th century in slavery Slavery in the Ottoman Empire Red Sea slave trade Trans-Saharan slave trade Abolitionism in the Ottoman Empire Abolitionism in the United Kingdom

Background

The Convention

Aftermath

See also

References