An Index to the Slavery and Slave Trade Enquiry: The British Parliamentary House of Commons Sessional Papers, 1788–1792

The article describes volumes pertaining to slavery and the slave trade in the British Parliament House of Commons Sessional Papers of the eighteenth century, published by Sheila Lambert in 1975 but seldom used by historians of Africa and the trans-Atlantic slave trade. In addition, the article provides an index for the eight volumes from 1788 to 1792 that concern the slave trade. The index is arranged according to the names of individuals who provided testimony to the House of Commons or who are referred to in the testimonies, as well as according to places in Africa and the Americas that are mentioned in the testimonies. There is also a list of tables that are included in the texts and a list of ships mentioned in the testimonies, which can be referenced with respect to the ships in Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database. The materials were assembled in connection with the campaign to abolish the British slave trade, which was eventually achieved in 1807. As is clear from the testimonies and statistical information, the enquiry into the slave trade is a valuable source of documentary material that is relevant to scholars studying the coastal regions of Atlantic Africa in the eighteenth century and the trans-Atlantic slave trade during the period when the British trade was at its height.