What do these famous companies have in common?
Here's a clue.
They all started as Quaker businesses.
But who or what are the Quakers?
What were their beliefs and whay were they
so involved in the movement to end slavery?
Quakers are a group of Christians
who started in 17th Century England.
They call themselves 'Friends'.
Other people call them Quakers
because they say you should tremble (quake) before God.
They live simply, work hard and believe everyone is equal.
They believe in being very honest in business
and in treating their employees well.
They refuse to fight in wars.
In 17th Century England, Quakers were persecuted,
so many of them moved to America.
At first, they were involved in the African slave trade.
American Quakers owned slaves and English Quakers
invested in ships and companies that transported slaves.
Later they came to believe that slavery was wrong.
By 1774 you could not be a Quaker if you owned slaves.
They began working to persuade other people
to stop the slave trade and free the slaves.
Some Quakers would buy slaves and immediately set them free.
Others worked to educate the public
about the evils of slavery.
Others became involved in the 'Underground Railroad'¨Chelping
to hide slaves who had escaped and bring them to safety in Canada.
Today, there are only about 360,000 Quakers in the world.
But their beliefs have had a huge influence on Western society.