"owning slaves in Britain was made illegal long before the slave trade was abolished (officially in the 1770's...)"

The drivel content of that last post is amazingly high.    I recommend the poster actually do some research before sounding off again, lest he have even more words to eat.

Otherwise I'll be glad to straighten him out in a few days--if others don't do it first.   I don't have the time to waste right now.

I recommend a book called The Slave Trade, by Hugh Thomas, to start with. Please don't miss the bells in various English cities ringing in relief when a bill to abolish the slave trade was defeated--after the 1770's.

So sorry that I, a mere colonial, have to play this role.