Some historians, like Eric Williams, say the trade ended because it was no longer profitable for the British.
Eric Williams says the plantation land was worn out, and British plantations had to compete with sugar grown without slaves in places like Cuba.
Other historians, like Drescher, disagree. They say Britain still made more than half of the sugar sold in Europe.
Some historians also say the trade was still going strong when it was stopped, with 300,000 Africans taken to the Americas on British ships in the 1780s.
