From your post:- “The British abolished slavery in their colonies because it was no longer profitable but it was still profitable for their global rivals, the French and Spanishâ€
The French abolished slavery during the French revolution, (before the Brits). In 1807 as the Brits were abolishing the slave trade in their empire, Napoleon was trying to reinstate it in his. The slave trade was abolished in Britain largely because of activists like William Wilberforce, and the Quakers, based on their religious principles. It may be true that economics played a role in the final decision, but without the moral outrage of a large part of Britain it would have taken very much longer to happen. The fact that it was not abolished in the US until the 1860s suggests that your argument for economics as the primary driver for abolition is shaky. Don’t get me wrong; the British did much that was vile, but focusing only on the bad doesn’t go anywhere useful either
Current Events » in reply to re: Patriotism in Britain
re: Patriotism in Britain