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50-515: Pax Britannica (Latin for "British Peace", modelled after Pax Romana ) refers to the relative peace between the great powers in the time period roughly bounded by the Napoleonic Wars and World War I . During this time, the British Empire became the global hegemonic power, developed additional informal empire , and adopted the role of a " global policeman ". Between 1815 and 1914,

100-598: A balance of power in continental Europe. In this era, the Royal Navy provided services around the world that benefited other nations, such as suppressing piracy and blocking the slave trade . The Slave Trade Act 1807 had banned the trade across the British Empire, after which the Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron and the government negotiated international treaties under which they could enforce

150-655: A British Order-in-Council had restricted the importation of slaves into colonies that had been captured from France and the Netherlands . Following adoption of the 1807 act, Britain used its diplomatic influence to pressure other nations to end their own involvement in the slave trade. With the Anglo-Portuguese Treaty of 1810, Portugal agreed to restrict its trade into its colonies; in the Anglo-Swedish Treaty of 1813 , Sweden outlawed its slave trade; and in

200-547: A blight upon humanity. By 1807 the abolitionist groups in Britain had a very sizeable faction of like-minded members in the British Parliament . At their height they controlled 35–40 seats. Known as the "Saints", the alliance was led by the best known of the anti-slave trade campaigners, William Wilberforce , who had taken on the cause of abolition in 1787 after having read the evidence that Thomas Clarkson had amassed against

250-486: A central principle that Britain practiced by the 1840s. It played a key role in Britain's economic growth and financial dominance . From the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 until World War I in 1914, the United Kingdom played the role of global hegemon (most powerful actor). Imposition of a "British Peace" on key maritime trade routes began in 1815 with the annexation of British Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Under

300-507: A great event; indeed, the only real event in international relations between the Battle of Sedan and the defeat of Russia in the Russo-Japanese war". Taylor emphasizes the long-term impact: Britain traded goods and capital extensively with countries around the world, adopting a free trade policy after 1840. The growth of British imperial strength was further underpinned by the steamship and

350-617: A motion in the House of Commons "that the trade carried on by British subjects, for the purpose of obtaining slaves on the coast of Africa, ought to be abolished." He had introduced a similar motion in 1791, which was soundly defeated by MPs, with a vote of 163 opposed, 88 in favour. Henry Dundas was not present for that vote, but when it was again before MPs in 1792, Dundas tabled a petition from Edinburgh residents who supported abolition. He then went on to affirm his agreement in principle with Wilberforce's motion: "My opinion has been always against

400-586: A period referred to as Britain's "imperial century", around 26,000,000 square kilometres (10,000,000 sq mi) of territory and roughly 400 million people were added to the British Empire. Victory over Napoleonic France left the British without any serious international rival, other than perhaps Russia in Central Asia . When Russia tried expanding its influence in the Balkans , the British and French defeated them in

450-421: A plan to implement gradual abolition by the end of 1799. At that time he told the House that proceeding too quickly would cause West Indian merchants and landowners to continue the trade "in a different mode and other channels." He argued that "if the committee would give the time proposed, they might abolish the trade; but, on the contrary, if this opinion was not followed, their children yet unborn would not see

500-458: A problem making peace an acceptable mode of life for the Romans , who had been at war with one power or another continuously for 200 years. Romans regarded peace not as an absence of war, but as a rare situation which existed when all opponents had been beaten down and lost the ability to resist. Augustus' challenge was to persuade Romans that the prosperity they could achieve in the absence of warfare

550-447: A subsequent session on 5 June 1792, where they were never revived. Thus the 1792 Slave Trade Bill passed the House of Commons; but mangled and mutilated by the modifications and amendments of Pitt , Earl of Mornington , Edward James Eliot and MacDonald, it lay for years, in the House of Lords. Abolitionists’ numbers were magnified by the precarious position of the government under Lord Grenville , whose short term as prime minister

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600-409: Is a simple formula for propaganda , but a difficult subject for research." The Pax Romana began when Octavian (Augustus) defeated Mark Antony and Cleopatra in the Battle of Actium on 2 September 31 BC and became Roman emperor. He became princeps , or first citizen . Lacking a good precedent of successful one-man rule, Augustus created a junta of the greatest military magnates and stood as

650-659: Is undocumented, but Inez Scott Ryberg (1949) and Gaius Stern (2006) have persuasively dated the third closure to 13 BC with the commissioning of the Ara Pacis . At the time of the Ludi Saeculares in 17 BC the Concept of Peace was publicized, and in 13 BC was proclaimed when Augustus and Agrippa jointly returned from pacifying the provinces. The order to construct the Ara Pacis was no doubt part of this announcement. Augustus faced

700-730: The British Residency of the Persian Gulf , local Arab rulers agreed to a number of treaties that formalised Britain's protection of the region. Britain imposed an anti-piracy treaty, known as the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 , on all Arab rulers in the region. By signing the Perpetual Maritime Truce of 1853, Arab rulers gave up their right to wage war at sea in return for British protection against external threats. The global superiority of British military and commerce

750-624: The Continental System whose declared purpose was to weaken the British economy by closing French-controlled territory to its trade. Originally, the French Revolution had abolished slavery, but Napoleon – though claiming the mantle of continuing the revolutionary heritage – had in 1802 taken the reactionary step of reintroducing slavery in the French colonies. Thus, in abolishing the slave trade Britain – which could do little to directly oppose

800-648: The Crimean War (1853–1856), thereby protecting the weak Ottoman Empire . Britain's Royal Navy controlled most of the key maritime trade routes and enjoyed unchallenged sea power . Alongside the formal control exerted over its own colonies, Britain's dominant position in world trade meant that it effectively controlled access to many regions, such as Asia , North America , Oceania , and Africa . British merchants, shippers and bankers had such an overwhelming advantage over those of other empires that in addition to its colonies Britain had an informal empire . After losing

850-693: The German Empire 's imperial peace of 1871 (over its internal components like Saxony ) slowly evolved into the later German state. As a counter-example, the imperial peace of Alexander the Great 's empire dissolved because the Greek city states maintained their political identity. Aron notes that during the Pax Romana, the First Jewish–Roman War was a reminder that the overlapping of the imperial institutions over

900-687: The Po Valley after 190 [BC]; most of the Iberian Peninsula after 133 [BC]; North Africa after 100 [BC]; and for ever longer stretches of time in the Greek East ." The first known record of the term Pax Romana appears in a writing by Seneca the Younger in AD 55. The concept was highly influential, and the subject of theories and attempts to copy it in subsequent ages. Arnaldo Momigliano noted that " Pax Romana

950-753: The Roman Empire achieved its greatest territorial extent in AD 117 (Emperor Trajan ), and its population reached a maximum of up to 70 million people, which was around 33% of the world's population. According to Cassius Dio , the dictatorial reign of Commodus , later followed by the Year of the Five Emperors and the Crisis of the Third Century , marked the descent "from a kingdom of gold to one of iron and rust". The Pax Romana, spanning from 27 BC to 180 AD, stands as one of

1000-725: The Thirteen Colonies , a significant part of British America , in the American Revolution , Britain turned towards Asia, the Pacific and later Africa with subsequent exploration leading to the rise of the Second British Empire (1783–1815). The Industrial Revolution began in Great Britain in the late 18th century and new ideas emerged about free markets, such as Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations (1776). Free trade became

1050-556: The Treaty of Paris of 1814 whereby France agreed with Britain that the slave trade was "repugnant to the principles of natural justice" and agreed to abolish its involvement the slave trade in five years. In the 1814 Anglo-Dutch treaty the Netherlands outlawed its slave trade, and the 1817 Anglo-Spanish treaty called for Spain to suppress its trade by 1820. The United States adopted its Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves on 2 March 1807,

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1100-573: The telegraph , new technologies invented in the second half of the 19th century, allowing it to control and defend the empire. By 1902, the British Empire was linked together by a network of telegraph cables, the so-called All Red Line . The Pax Britannica was weakened by the breakdown of the continental order which had been established by the Congress of Vienna. Relations between the Great Powers of Europe were strained to breaking point by issues such as

1150-563: The Abolition of the Slave Trade , was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom prohibiting the slave trade in the British Empire . Although it did not automatically emancipate those enslaved at the time, it encouraged British action to press other nation states to abolish their own slave trades. It took effect on 1 May 1807, after 18 years of trying to pass an abolition bill. Many of

1200-543: The Atlantic, landing nearly 400,000 slaves. Between 1801 and 1807, they took a further 266,000. The slave trade remained one of Britain's most profitable businesses." The Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was formed in 1787 by a group of Evangelical English Protestants allied with the Quakers , to unite in their shared opposition to slavery and the slave trade. The Quakers had long viewed slavery as immoral, and

1250-509: The House of Commons on 10 February 1807. On 23 February 1807, twenty years after he first began his crusade, Wilberforce and his team were rewarded with victory. After a debate lasting ten hours, the House agreed to the second reading of the bill to abolish the Atlantic slave trade by an overwhelming 283 votes for to 16. The bill received royal assent by King George III on 25 March 1807. The Act took effect on 1 May 1807. However, Kitty's Amelia had received clearance to sail on 27 April, before

1300-560: The Pax Romana are known as the " Five Good Emperors ". Roman trade in the Mediterranean increased during the Pax Romana. Romans sailed East to acquire silks, gems, onyx and spices. Romans benefited from large profits, and incomes in the Roman empire were raised due to trade in the Mediterranean. As the Pax Romana of the western world by Rome was largely contemporaneous to the Pax Sinica of

1350-595: The Slave Trade." He argued, however, that a vote for immediate abolition would be ineffective, as it would not prevent merchants from other countries from stepping in to continue the trade abandoned by the British. He stated: "this trade must be ultimately abolished, but by moderate measures". He proposed an amendment that would add the word "gradual" to the Wilberforce motion. The amendment was adopted, 192 in favour, 125 opposed. The motion as amended then passed 230 in favour, 85 opposed. Dundas insisted that any abolition of

1400-675: The ban. Sea power, however, did not project on land. Land wars fought between the major powers include the Crimean War , the Franco-Austrian War , the Austro-Prussian War and the Franco-Prussian War , as well as numerous conflicts between lesser powers. The Royal Navy prosecuted the First Opium War (1839–1842) and Second Opium War (1856–1860) against Imperial China . The Royal Navy was superior to any other two navies in

1450-533: The deadline. Thus, when she sailed on 27 July, she did so legally. This was the last legal slave voyage for a British vessel. All that took place against the background of the ongoing War of the Fourth Coalition . In the last months of 1806, Napoleon had won a major victory, crushing the military power of Prussia , entering into its capital Berlin and there issuing the Berlin Decree , bringing into effect

1500-621: The decline of the Ottoman Empire , which led to the Crimean War , and later the emergence of new nation states in the form of Italy and Germany after the Franco-Prussian War . Both of these wars involved Europe's largest states and armies. The industrialisation of Germany , the Empire of Japan , and the United States contributed to the relative decline of British industrial supremacy in the late 19th century. The start of World War I in 1914 marked

1550-796: The eastern world by Han China , long-distance travel and trade in Eurasian history was significantly stimulated during these eras. The prominence of the concept of the Pax Romana led to historians coining variants of the term to describe other systems of relative peace that have been established, attempted, or argued to have existed. Some variants include: More generically, the concept has been referred to as pax imperia (sometimes spelled as pax imperium ), meaning imperial peace , or—less literally— hegemonic peace . Raymond Aron notes that imperial peace—peace achieved through hegemony can—sometimes, but not always— become civil peace. As an example,

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1600-637: The end of the Pax Britannica . However, the British Empire remained the biggest colonial empire until the start of decolonization after World War II ended in 1945, and Britain remained one of the leading powers until the Suez Crisis in 1956, during which British and French troops were forced to withdraw from Egypt under pressure from the United States and (to a lesser extent) the Soviet Union . Pax Romana During this period of about two centuries,

1650-401: The end of the traffic." MPs voted in favour of ending the trade in slaves by the end of 1796, after defeating proposals to end the trade in slaves in 1795 or 1794. The House then amended the supporting resolutions tabled by Dundas, to reflect the new target date of 1796. The motion and resolutions did not receive consent in the House of Lords, however, consideration being formally deferred to

1700-553: The front man. By binding together these leading magnates in a coalition, he eliminated the prospect of civil war . The Pax Romana was not immediate, despite the end of the civil wars, because fighting continued in Hispania and in the Alps . Nevertheless, Augustus closed the Gates of Janus (a ceremony indicating that Rome was at peace) three times, first in 29 BC and again in 25 BC. The third closure

1750-642: The incipient Pax Romana appeared during the Republic, and that its temporal span varied with geographical region as well: "Although the standard textbook dates for the Pax Romana, the famous 'Roman Peace' in the Mediterranean , are 31 BC to AD 250, the fact is that the Roman Peace was emerging in large regions of the Mediterranean at a much earlier date: Sicily after 210 [BC], the Italian Peninsula after 200 [BC];

1800-421: The local ones did not erase them and the overlap was a source of tension and flare-ups. Aron summarizes that, "In other words, imperial peace becomes civil peace insofar as the memory of the previously independent political units are effaced, insofar as individuals within a pacified zone feel themselves less united to the traditional or local community and more to the conquering state." The concept of Pax Romana

1850-556: The most enduring periods of peace in the annals of civilization. However, Walter Goffart wrote: "The volume of the Cambridge Ancient History for the years AD 70–192 is called 'The Imperial Peace', but peace is not what one finds in its pages". Arthur M. Eckstein writes that the period must be seen in contrast to the much more frequent warfare in the Roman Republic in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Eckstein also notes that

1900-619: The same month and year as the British action. It provided for the abolition of its Atlantic slave trade but did not alter its internal trade in slaves , while the American abolition of the international slave trade led to the creation of a coastwise slave trade in the United States. Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution forbade the closing of the slave trade for twenty years, until 1808. The long-planned law

1950-444: The slave trade would have to be dependent on the support of West Indian colonial legislatures, and the implementation of laws concerning the amelioration of the conditions of slaves. Abolitionists argued that West Indian assemblies would never support such measures, and that making the abolition of the slave trade dependent on colonial reforms would cause indefinite delay. Three weeks after the vote, Dundas tabled resolutions setting out

2000-520: The string of French military victories on the continent – could at least gain the moral high ground against its French foe. By its Act Against Slavery of 1793, the Parliament of Upper Canada in British North America (modern-day Canada ) abolished the slave trade, freed slaves immigrating by choice or force, as well as children born to enslaved women subsequently upon their 25th birthday, but did not emancipate existing resident slaves. In 1805

2050-665: The supporters thought the act would lead to the end of slavery. Slavery on English soil was unsupported in English law and that position was confirmed in Somerset's case in 1772, but it remained legal in most of the British Empire until the passing of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. 4 . c. 73). As British historian Martin Meredith writes, "In the decade between 1791 and 1800, British ships made about 1,340 voyages across

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2100-594: The trade, such as "the usurping King of Lagos ", who was deposed in 1851. Anti-slavery treaties were signed with over 50 African rulers. In the 1860s, David Livingstone 's reports of atrocities within the Arab slave trade in East Africa stirred up the interest of the British public, reviving the flagging abolitionist movement. The Royal Navy throughout the 1870s attempted to suppress "this abominable Eastern trade", at Zanzibar in particular. In 1890 Britain handed control of

2150-448: The trade. These dedicated Parliamentarians had access to the legal draughtsmanship of James Stephen , Wilberforce's brother-in-law. They often saw their personal battle against slavery as a divinely ordained crusade. On Sunday, 28 October 1787, Wilberforce wrote in his diary: "God Almighty has set before me two great objects, the suppression of the slave trade and the reformation of manners." On 2 April 1792, William Wilberforce sponsored

2200-399: The world's seas, established the West Africa Squadron in 1808 to patrol the coast of West Africa, and between 1808 and 1860 they seized approximately 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard. The Royal Navy declared that ships transporting slaves would be treated the same as pirates . Action was also taken against African kingdoms which refused to sign treaties to outlaw

2250-692: The world, combined. Between 1815 and the passage of the German naval laws of 1890 and 1898, only France was a potential naval threat. Apart from the Crimean War, it did not engage in any major warfare from 1815 to 1914. The most decisive event emerged from the Anglo-Egyptian War , which resulted in the British occupation of Egypt for seven decades, even though the Ottoman Empire retained nominal ownership until 1914. Historian A. J. P. Taylor says that this "was

2300-408: Was aided by a divided and relatively weak continental Europe, and the presence of the Royal Navy on all of the world's oceans and seas. Even outside its formal empire, Britain controlled trade with many countries such as China, Siam , and Argentina. Following the Congress of Vienna , the British Empire's economic strength continued to develop through naval dominance and diplomatic efforts to maintain

2350-493: Was better for the Empire than the potential wealth and honor acquired when fighting a risky war. Augustus succeeded by means of skillful propaganda. Subsequent emperors followed his lead, sometimes producing lavish ceremonies to close the Gates of Janus , issuing coins with Pax on the reverse, and patronizing literature extolling the benefits of the Pax Romana. After Augustus' death in AD 14, most of his successors as Roman emperors continued his politics. The last five emperors of

2400-576: Was highly influential, and there were attempts to imitate it in the Byzantine Empire , and in the Christian West , where it morphed into the Peace and Truce of God ( pax Dei and treuga Dei ). A theoretician of the imperial peace during the Middle Ages was Dante Aligheri . Dante's works on the topic were analyzed at the beginning of the 20th century by William Mitchell Ramsay in the book The Imperial Peace: An Ideal in European History (1913). Slave Trade Act 1807 The Slave Trade Act 1807 ( 47 Geo. 3 Sess. 1 . c. 36), officially An Act for

2450-439: Was known as the Ministry of All the Talents . Grenville himself led the fight to pass the bill in the House of Lords , while in the Commons the bill was led by the Foreign Secretary , Lord Howick (Charles Grey, later Earl Grey). Other events also played a part; the Acts of Union 1800 brought 100 Irish MPs into Parliament, most of whom supported abolition. The Bill was first introduced to Parliament in January 1807. It went to

2500-510: Was passed a year earlier, and with the economic incentives of the slave trade coming to an end, there was both a spike in the number of slaves being traded and a unification of political factions against the trade. The act created fines for ship captains who continued with the trade. These fines could be up to £100 per enslaved person found on a ship. Captains would sometimes dump captives overboard when they saw Navy ships coming in order to avoid these fines. The Royal Navy , which then controlled

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