1788: The British Parliament passed Sir William Dolben’s bill, which represented the first contested legislative step toward regulating the transatlantic sla…

1788: The British Parliament passed Sir William Dolben’s bill, which represented the first contested legislative step toward regulating the transatlantic slave trade. The bill imposed slight restrictions on the number of captives a single vessel could carry, aiming to reduce the horrific mortality rates of the Middle Passage. This measure was a direct response to growing humanitarian pressure and the emergence of an organized antislavery movement in Britain. Despite this regulation, the trade continued to reach record levels of volume and profit through the end of the eighteenth century.