A very huge number of articles and books have been devoted to the very debated issue of the origins of Western abolitionism. Nevertheless, its international dimensions as well as abolitionist’s rhetoric have been largely ignored. In this exploratory paper we try to show how abolitionism - as the first international struggle for human rights - contributed to the emergence of moral norms and actions singularly closed to current arguments, as those linked to the idea of international intervention in domestic affairs for humanitarian reasons.
Keywords: Schiavitù, abolizionismo, diritti umani, diritto internazionale