In 1862 Lancashire was the world’s leading cotton producer. It took in cotton from the South of America and processed it into cloth in its mills. It made Britain prosperous. The mills produced 40% of the countries GDP. Manchester was the centre of the world.
The cotton would come in to Liverpool and be transported to the mills in Manchester. It provided the single greatest amount of work in Britain.
At the height of the American civil war the confederacy stopped the export of cotton. They wanted to force Britain to come in on the side of the confederacy. They miscalculated.
The Mill owners and Lancashire workers were united. They refused to join the confederacy on the basis that it was morally reprehensible to use slave labour (over a million black slaves were used in the Southern fields). The Confederacy saw slavery as the backbone of its economy. The Union opposed slavery.
The Mill owners and workers stated they would rather starve than support slavery. The voted to support the North. The mills closed and the people starved but they were staunch in their support of what was morally right.
Slavery can never be justified!
My Grandmother came from Lancashire. She was proud and she was fair. She was a determined woman.
Sometimes you have to stand up for what is right and just. For once the bosses and workers were united in a cause. The American Union and black slaves owe a debt of gratitude to the proud people of Lancashire. Their sacrifices helped bring down slavery!!