Also, if the War of Secession over here was only indirectly about slavery, in England it most certainly WAS about slavery. Americans commonly overlook the innate morality of the British nation at that time.
Birdwatcher
Actually, I think you will find the situation in the UK was far from "black and white" (no pun intended)..
Many of the textile tycoons in the North West had a lot of sympathy for the South and so did their associated workers.
Despite the UK's Government's official stance, many industries in the North West supported the South. For instance, in a town not far from me there are the remains of an iron foundry that exported cannon and cannon balls to the South..
A further example would be that some of the ships of the Confederate Navy were built or exported from Birkenhead, then one of the major ship building ports in the North West..
That said, I am not sure if any of this support was in anyway based on "principle" but rather more on "capitalism" as the North West had major trading link to the South at that time..
![[Linked Image]](http://i492.photobucket.com/albums/rr288/Bwnci/welsh-flag-large-anim.gif)
