The first English group to turn against slavery was the Quakers, also known as the Society of Friends. They were the first religious movement to condemn slavery and prohibited their members from owning slaves. In 1761, the Quakers decided none of their members could be involved in the slave trade, marking their early and clear opposition to slavery
. In 1783, a group of Quakers founded the first abolitionist organisation in Britain, and they continued to be influential leaders throughout the abolition movement. They were also the majority in the Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade formed in 1787, which campaigned politically to end the slave trade
. Thus, the Quakers were the pioneering English group to publicly and organizationally oppose slavery, setting the foundation for the wider abolitionist movement in the UK.
