Catalogue Number
NMLH.1993.371.99
Object Name
Token
Title
WE ARE ALL BRETHREN SLAVE TRADE ABOLISHED BY GREAT BRITAIN 1807
Place
England & UK; Sierra Leone & Africa;
People
slaves; black
Events
abolition of Slave trade in British Empire
Date
1814; 1830-1850
Description
Although dated 1807, the date of the Abolition Act, the act abolishing the slave trade in the british Empire, these were made in about 1814 and about 1830-50 for use as coinage in the colony of Sierra Leone. The reverse is in Arabic, and translates as 'Sale of slaves prohibited in 1807, Christian era, in the reign of George III: verily , we are all brothers'. The design is by G F Pidgeon and J Philip, the coins or tokens were issued by Macaulay and Babington. The Arabic was perhaps there as the Arab slave trade continued long after the British Abolition, and this token was a way of getting the message spread throughout the area?
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