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Somerset Decision makes slavery illegal in Britain.

1772

SLA
EUR
LLP

After a Black man, James Somerset, escapes enslavement by Charles Stewart when they travel to England, Somerset is detained and attempts are made to sell and re-enslave him. His three godparents apply for a writ of habeas corpus, which he wins on the grounds that chattel slavery is not allowed in England and Wales. The decision does not specify the rest of the British Empire, and slavery will continue to be practiced throughout the colonies.