Schama examines Britain’s abolitionist movement during Revolutionary War [video 67min]

Simon Schama, author of Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves, and the American Revolution, details how slavery impacted both the United States and Britain during the American Revolution. The author explains that British officers promised escaped slaves complete freedom and put them on ships to Nova Scotia and later to Sierra Leone in West Africa. Schama describes this as the first mass emancipation of slaves in the Americas. This event was hosted by the Washington Post Book Club in DC.