Frederick Douglass, former slave and abolitionist, travelled to Great Britain in 1845 for nineteenth months, lecturing against slavery in the United States. To an American audience, Frederick Douglass is perhaps the most famous fugitive slave and one of the most important African American activists in American history. He is less well-known in Britain however, which is somewhat surprising since his activities and speeches were printed in many notable British newspapers, even when he had returned to the United States. The aims of the Frederick Douglass in Britain website are threefold:

• Firstly, to introduce Frederick Douglass to a British audience, combatting the popular assumption that anti-slavery ended in 1807 or 1834 with the abolition of the slave trade and slavery in the British Empire respectively. Anti-slavery societies still existed, and fought against slavery internationally, attacking foreign countries but also their own government for making a profit from the slave trade.

• Secondly, the hope the website will attract an American audience who wish to learn more about Douglass's experiences abroad, and how they shaped his consciousness. This period in his life needs to be highlighted: his speeches are fascinating works of oratory and they give us an interesting insight into his attitude towards slavery. The controversies he was involved in illustrate his power not only as an abolitionist, but as a commanding and influential speaker. Perhaps the most important thing for Douglass however, was that British friends paid for his freedom. When he returned to the United States, Frederick Douglass was legally free.

• Thirdly, the site illustrates how slavery or anti-slavery was not confined to the United States, the Caribbean or the British Empire - all countries were engaged directly or indirectly in slavery, and abolitionists used their transatlantic networks to encourage agitation against it. Indeed, some historians have estimated that over eighty African Americans travelled to the United Kingdom between 1830 and 1865, some to enjoy their freedom, others to campaign for the end of slavery in America. This black presence in Britain deserves attention.