After the American Civil War, there was some attempt to help formerly-enslaved people (40 acres and mule), not so much as compensation, but to help them start an independent life. Sadly, those efforts didn't last long. The intention, though, was a far cry from what happened during the Haitian Revolution, when France demanded that the newly-free Haitians pay French slaveholders as compensation for the loss of their "property." In between those events, Britain abolished slavery in 1833. You don't hear much about how that was settled.
These enslaved people were held in far-flung colonies, while their slaveholders mainly resided back home in Britain. To make the transition smoother, the British government offered monetary compensation- not to the newly-freed people, but to the slaveholders. These former slaveholders included many with titles who would just as soon forget about the whole thing once they got the money. Abolition was fashionable at the time, and who wants to be on the wrong side of history? Read about the British aristocrats who pretended their slaveholding history never happened at Jstor Daily. -via Damn Interesting
(Image credit: William Clark)
