The Slavery of the British West Indies Colonies was one of the main texts used by British abolitionists in their campaign to ban slavery at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Published in two volumes, the first in 1824, with the second following in 1830 (the Royal Library holds the second volume only), the book provides a description of slavery in Britain’s Caribbean colonies and the injustices inflicted upon enslaved people. Its author was James Stephens, a lawyer and close friend of William Wilberforce.

Stephens had travelled to St Kitts via Barbados in 1783 where he witnessed first-hand part of a trial in which four enslaved people were accused and convicted of murder. Alarmed by the obvious innocence of the men and the fact there was evidence to suggest a white man was the murderer, Stephens vowed never to own a slave and became a staunch opponent of enslavement. Stephens met Wilberforce on a visit to Britain in 1789 and once he had returned to St Kitts, set about supplying him with information about the slave trade and the treatment of those enslaved. He returned to London permanently in 1794.

In 1796, following the death of his wife, Stephens developed a deep religious conviction and was drawn closer to Wilberforce’s circle, a group now known as the 'Clapham Sect'. He went on to marry Wilberforce’s sister Sarah in 1800. As a part of the Clapham Sect, Stephens made many valuable contributions to the group's efforts to abolish slavery, making speeches in Parliament on the subject and participating in committees that advocated for abolition.