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Slavery Abolition Act 1833

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Slavery Abolition Act 1833
ban of involuntary servitude, Public General Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Official nameAn act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies, for promoting the Industry of the manumitted Slaves, and for compensating the Persons hitherto entitled to the Services of such Slaves. Edit
Short nameSlavery Abolition Act 1833 Edit
CountryUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland Edit
Dey apply to jurisdictionBritish Empire Edit
Part of the series3 & 4 Will 4 Edit
Main subjectslavery Edit
Publication date1833 Edit
Work available at URLhttps://archive.org/details/acollectionpubl16britgoog Edit
Legislated byParliament of the United Kingdom Edit
Legal citation of this text3 & 4 Will. 4 c. 73 Edit
Copyright statuspublic domain Edit
Date of promulgation28 August 1833 Edit

Na de Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 73) be an act of de Parliament of de United Kingdom, wich na e abolish slavery insyd de British Empire by way of compensated emancipation. Na dem legislate de act by Whig Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey ein reforming administration, wey na dem enact by ordering de British government make e purchase de freedom of all slaves insyd de British Empire, den by outlawing de further practice of slavery insyd de British Empire. Na de act be repealed insyd 1998 as a part of a broader restructuring of English statute law, though na slavery remain dem abolish.[1]

Background

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Photograph of the statue.
Grey's Monument insyd Newcastle upon Tyne, in remembrance of Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, wey na he abolish slavery insyd de British Empire

Insyd May 1772, Lord Mansfield ein judgment insyd de Somerset case emancipate a slave wey na dem bring to England wey komot Boston insyd de Province of Massachusetts Bay, den thus he help launch de movement make dem abolish slavery thru out de British Empire.[2][3] Na de case rule say slavery get no legal status insyd England as na e get no common law anaa statutory law basis, den as such sam bro no fi be legally a slave insyd England.[4] However, chaw campaigners, wey dey include Granville Sharp, take de view dat de ratio decidendi of de Somerset case mean say na slavery be unsupported by law within England den dat no ownership fi be exercised on slaves wey dey enter English anaa Scottish soil.[5][6] Ignatius Sancho, wey na insyd 1774 cam be de first known person of African descent make he vote insyd a British general election, wrep a letter insyd 1778 wey dey open in praise of Britain for ein "freedom, den for de chaw blessings I dey enjoy insyd am", before he criticize de actions towards ein black brethren in parts of de Empire such as de West Indies.[7][8]

Campaigns

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By 1783, na an anti-slavery movement make dem abolish de slave trade thru out de Empire begin among de British public,[9] plus na dem establish de Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade insyd 1787.[10] Na de Wedgwood anti-slavery medallion by Josiah Wedgwood, be, according to de BBC, "de most famous image of a black person insyd all of 18th-century art".[11] Na fellow abolitionist Thomas Clarkson wrep: "Of de ladies na chaw wear dem insyd bracelets, wey na odas get dem fitted up insyd an ornamental manner as pins give dema hair. At length, de taste for wearing dem cam be general; den thus fashion, wich usually dey confine einself to worthless things, na dem see for once insyd de honourable office of promoting de cause of justice, humanity den freedom."[12]

Spurred by an incident wey dey involve Chloe Cooley, a slave woman dem bring to Canada by an American loyalist, de Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, John Graves Simcoe, table de Act Against Slavery insyd 1793. Passed by de local Legislative Assembly, na e be de first legislation make dem outlaw de slave trade insyd a part of de British Empire.[13] By de late 18th century, na Britain simultaneously be de largest slave trader den centre of de largest abolitionist movement.[14] Na William Wilberforce wrep insyd ein diary insyd 1787 dat na ein great purpose insyd life be make he suppress de slave trade before he wage a 20-year fight for de industry top.[15]

Na Parliament pass de Slave Trade Act 1807 (47 Geo. 3 Sess. 1. c. 36), wich na e outlaw de international slave trade, buh no be slavery einself. Na de legislation be time make e coincide plus de Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves dem expect by de United States, Britain ein chief rival insyd maritime commerce. Na dis legislation impose fines wey do little make e deter slave trade participants. Na abolitionist Henry Brougham realise dat na trading continue, den as a new MP he successfully introduce de Slave Trade Felony Act 1811 (51 Geo. 3. c. 23) wich at last make de overseas slave trade a felony thru out de empire. Na de Royal Navy establish de West Africa Squadron make dem suppress de Atlantic slave trade by dem dey patrol de coast of West Africa. Na e suppress de slave trade, buh e no stop am entirely. Between 1808 den 1860, na de West Africa Squadron capture 1,600 slave ships wey dem free 150,000 Africans.[16] Na dem resettle chaw insyd Jamaica den de Bahamas.[17][18] Britain sanso use ein influence make e coerce oda countries make dem agree to treaties make dem end dema slave trade den allow de Royal Navy make dem seize dema slave ships.[19][20]

From 1807 to 1823, dem wey dey fight against slavery no really dey show interest to stop am. Eric Williams come show some economic figures for him book, Capitalism and Slavery, to talk say the slave trade no dey give big money compare to the sugar plantation wey dey for Caribbean, so slavery still dey survive for dem places. But from 1823, British Caribbean sugar business start dey decline, and dem no go fit protect di money matter for dem West Indian sugar planters again.[21]

For 1823, dem form Anti-Slavery Society for London. Members be Joseph Sturge, Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, Henry Brougham, Thomas Fowell Buxton, Elizabeth Heyrick, Mary Lloyd, Jane Smeal, Elizabeth Pease, and Anne Knight[22]. Jamaican mixed-race campaigners like Louis Celeste Lecesne and Richard Hill join di Anti-Slavery Society too.

For Christmas holiday for 1831, big-time slave uprising happen for Jamaica, dem call am Baptist War. E start as peaceful strike wey Baptist minister Samuel Sharpe organize. Dem militia wey dey for Jamaica and British garrison come suppress di rebellion ten days later for early 1832. Because plenty people lose property and life for di 1831 rebellion, British Parliament hold two inquiries. Di result from dem inquiries help plenty for di abolition of slavery with di Slavery Abolition Act 1833.[23][24]

Before dis time, sugar planters from rich British islands like Jamaica and Barbados fit dey buy rotten and pocket boroughs, and dem fit form resistance against di movement to abolish slavery. Dis West India Lobby wey later turn into West India Committee collect enough seats to fight back against di abolitionists. But this Reform Act wey dey 1832 come scatter dem rotten borough seats, e make way for plenty members of House of Commons fit push law wey go abolish slavery for everywhere wey British Empire dey.[25]

Di act

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Di act pass di second reading for House of Commons without wahala on 22 July 1833, just one week before William Wilberforce die[26]. E collect royal assent one month later, on 28 August, plus come start di next year on 1 August 1834. For practical matter, na only slaves under six years dem free for di colonies. Former slaves wey don pass six go become 'apprentices', and dem go dey free little by little in two stages: di first set of apprenticeships end on 1 August 1838, while di final apprenticeships go stop on 1 August 1840. Di act no cover 'di Territories wey East India Company get, or di Island of Ceylon, or di Island of Saint Helena[27].' Dem remove di exceptions for 1843 with di Indian Slavery Act, 1843..[28][29]

Payments to slave owners

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Dis one dey talk about: Slave Compensation Act 1837 and London Society of West India Planters and Merchants.

Di act provide compensation for slave owners, but slaves no collect anything. Di amount wey dem go use pay na 'di Sum of Twenty Million Pounds Sterling[30]'. Di British government borrow £20 million to pay di slave owners for di loss of slaves as business assets. For 1833, £20 million [31]be like 40% of di Treasury's annual income or about 5% of British GDP for dat time[32]. To finance di payments, di British government borrow £15 million loan, finalize am on 3 August 1835, with banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild and him brother-in-law Moses Montefiore; £5 million pay straight for government stock, wey worth £1.5 billion today.[33]

People don talk say di money no pay back by di British taxpayers till 2015,[34] , but dis claim dey based on technicality how di British Government finance dem debt, though undated gilts. According to Treasury, that 1837 slave debts join inside one big 4% loan wey dem issue for 1927 (e go expire for 1957 or later)[35]. E be only when British government upgrade dier bond portfolio for 2015 by cashing out all dier remaining bonds wey no get date before dem sabi sey debt don finish. Di long gap between when dem borrow dis money and wen dem show sey dem go pay back no be because of di amount wey dem borrow but di type of financial instrument wey dem use[36]. But, no be say e change di fact sey for practical matter, na taxpayer money dey service di debt wey come from Slavery Abolition Act 1833[37].

Half of di money go to families wey dey own slaves for Caribbean and Africa, di other half go to owners wey dey live for Britain[38]. Di names wey dey show for di payments to slave owners show sey plenty British families get ownership,[39], many of dem (but no all) wey get high social statusl[40]. For instance, Henry Phillpotts (den Bishop of Exeter), and three others wey be trustees for di will of John Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley, collect £12,700 for 665 slaves for West Indies,[41], while Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood, collect £26,309 for 2,554 slaves for six plantation[42]s. Di majority of di men and women wey collect money under di Slavery Abolition Act 1833 dey listed for one Parliamentary Return, wey dem call Slavery Abolition Act, wey na account of all di money wey di Commissioners of Slave Compensation give dem for di Parliamentary Papers 1837–8 (215) vol. 48.[43]

One follow-up group for the Anti-Slavery Society dem form for London for 1839, na dem call am British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, wey dey work to ban slavery for everywhere[44]. E be di oldest international human rights group, wey still dey exist today as Anti-Slavery International[45].

The Repeal

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The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was repealed in its entirety under the Statute Law (Repeals) Act 1998. However, this repeal has not made slavery legal again, as sections of the Slave Trade Act 1824, Slave Trade Act 1843 and Slave Trade Act 1873 are still in force. In addition the Human Rights Act 1998 incorporates into British Law Article 4 of the European Convention on Human Rights which prohibits the holding of persons as slaves.[1]

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Ava DuVernay get job for Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture to make movie wey debut when dem open di museum for 24 September 2016. Dis movie, 28 August: A Day in di Life of a People, dey talk about six important things wey happen for African-American history on di same date, 28 August. Dem events include (among others) William IV give royal assent to di Slavery Abolition Act. [46]

Amazing Grace na 2006 British-American biographical drama film wey Michael Apted direct, e dey about di fight against slave trade for di British Empire, wey William Wilberforce lead, wey make sure dem pass anti-slave trade law for British parliament. Di title na shout out to di 1772 hymn 'Amazing Grace'. Di film dey also show John Newton experience as crewman for one slave ship and how him change him religion, wey inspire him to write di poem wey dem use later for di hymn. Newton dey play big role for Wilberforce and di abolition movement.

Di act dey mention for di 2010 novel The Long Song by British author Andrea Levy and for di 2018 BBC TV adaptation of di same name. Di novel and di series dey tell di story of one slave for colonial Jamaica wey live through di time of slavery abolition for di British West Indies.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Slavery Abolition Act | History & Impact | Britannica".
  2. ↑ Peter P. Inks, John R. Michigan, R. Owen Williams (2007) Encyclopedia of antislavery and abolition, p. 643. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007
  3. ↑ Blumrosen, Alfred W; Blumrosen, Ruth G. (2005). Slave Nation: How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution. Sourcebooks. ISBN 0760778779.
  4. ↑ Law, Liberty and the Constitution – A Brief History of the Common Law, by Harry Potter; ISBN 978-1783275038
  5. ↑ (1827) 2 Hag Adm 94 Archived 16 December 2019 at the Wayback Machine.
  6. ↑ Simon Schama, Rough Crossings (London: BBC Books, 2005), p. 61.
  7. ↑ "Record of Ignatius Sancho's vote in the general election, October 1774". British Library. Archived from the original on 30 September 2020. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  8. ↑ Ignatius Sancho (1778). Letters of the Late Ignatius Sancho.
  9. ↑ "Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada" (PDF). Ontario Heritage Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2017.
  10. ↑ "Foundation of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade". History of Information. Archived from the original on 21 January 2021. Retrieved 17 January 2021.
  11. ↑ "British History – Abolition of the Slave Trade 1807". BBC. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  12. ↑ "Wedgwood". Archived from the original on 8 July 2009. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  13. ↑ "Chloe Cooley and the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada" (PDF). Ontario Heritage Trust. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2017.
  14. ↑ Getz, Trevor; Clarke, Liz (2016). Abina and The Important Men, A Graphic History. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 122.
  15. ↑ William Wilberforce: A Man for All Seasons Archived 26 April 2014 at the Wayback Machine. CBN
  16. ↑ 1807 – The Abolition of Slavery The abolition of the slave trade – Chasing Freedom: The Royal Navy and the suppression of the transatlantic slave trade Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard Archived 4 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine history.ac.uk, accessed 30 August 2019
  17. ↑ "Chasing Freedom Information Sheet". Royal Naval Museum. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
  18. ↑ "Chasing Freedom Exhibition: the Royal Navy and the Suppression of the Transatlantic Slave Trade". Royal Naval Museum. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009.
  19. ↑ Falola, Toyin; Warnock, Amanda (2007). Encyclopedia of the middle passage. Greenwood Press. pp. xxi, xxxiii–xxxiv. ISBN 978-0313334801.
  20. ↑ "The legal and diplomatic background to the seizure of foreign vessels by the Royal Navy". Archived from the original on 10 June 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
  21. ↑ Williams, Eric (1964), Capitalism and Slavery (London: Andre Deutsch).
  22. ↑ Slavery and abolition. Oxford University Press
  23. ↑ Craton, Michael (1982). Testing the Chains. Cornell University Press. pp. 319–323. ISBN 978-0801412523.
  24. ↑ Samuel Sharpe Archived 5 December 2018 at the Wayback Machine jis.gov.jm, accessed 30 August 2019
  25. ↑ Richard Dunn, A Tale of Two Plantations: Slave Life and Labour in Jamaica and Virginia (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 2014), p. 343.
  26. ↑ "Historic Hansard: Ministerial Plan for the Abolition of Slavery HC Dec 22 July 1833 vol 19 cc1056-69". 22 July 1833. Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  27. ↑ "Slavery Abolition Act 1833; Section LXIV". 28 August 1833. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  28. ↑ Maharajan, M. (1 January 2010). Mahatma Gandhi and the New Millennium (in English). Discovery Publishing House. p. 50. ISBN 9788171416035.
  29. ↑ Agnew, William Fischer (1898). The Indian penal code: and other acts of the Governor-general relating to offences, with notes. Calcutta: Thacker, Spink, and Co. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  30. ↑ "Slavery Abolition Act 1833; Section XXIV". 28 August 1833. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 3 June 2008.
  31. ↑ Sanchez Manning (24 February 2013). "Britain's colonial shame: Slave-owners given huge payouts after". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  32. ↑ Public Revenue Details for 1833 Archived 30 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine ukpublicrevenue.co.uk, accessed 30 August 2019
  33. ↑ "Britain's Slave Owner Compensation Loan, reparations and tax havenry" (in British English). 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 29 July 2021. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  34. ↑ "FOI response: Slavery Abolition Act 1833" (PDF). UK Government. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 May 2018. Retrieved 31 January 2018.
  35. ↑ "Freedom of Information Act 2000: Slavery Abolition Act 1833" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  36. ↑ "Freedom of Information Act 2000: Slavery Abolition Act 1833" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 29 August 2020. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  37. ↑ "Britain's Slave Owner Compensation Loan, reparations and tax havenry". 9 June 2020. Archived from the original on 11 July 2023. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  38. ↑ Sanchez Manning (24 February 2013). "Britain's colonial shame: Slave-owners given huge payouts after". The Independent. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  39. ↑ British Parliamentary Papers, session 1837–38 (215), vol. 48. The manuscript returns and indexes to the claims are held by The National Archives.
  40. ↑ "How did slave owners shape Britain?". BBC Teach. Archived from the original on 20 September 2021. Retrieved 20 September 2021.
  41. ↑ "Rt. Hon. Rev. Henry Phillpotts". UCL, Legacies of British slave-ownership. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  42. ↑ "Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood". UCL, Legacies of British slave-ownership. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
  43. ↑ "Researching Slave-owners". Legacies of British Slavery. UCL. Archived from the original on 28 December 2013. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  44. ↑ Sharman, Anne-Marie (1993), ed., Anti-Slavery Reporter vol. 13 no. 8. p. 35, London: Anti-Slavery International
  45. ↑ Anti-Slavery International Archived 13 May 2016 at the Portuguese Web Archive UNESCO. Retrieved 12 October 2011.
  46. ↑ Davis, Rachaell (22 September 2016). "Why Is August 28 So Special To Black People? Ava DuVernay Reveals All In New NMAAHC Film". Essence. Archived from the original on 16 July 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.

Read further

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  • Drescher, Seymour. Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery (2009)
  • Hinks, Peter, and John McKivigan, eds. Encyclopedia of Antislavery and Abolition (2 vol. 2006)
  • Huzzey, Richard. Freedom Burning: Anti-Slavery and Empire in Victorian Britain. (Cornell University Press, 2012) 303pp.
  • Washington, Jon-Michael. "Ending the Slave Trade and Slavery in the British Empire: An Explanatory Case Study Utilizing Qualitative Methodology and Stratification and Class Theories." (2012 NCUR) (2013). online Archived 4 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  • Williams, Eric (1987) [1964]. Capitalism and Slavery. London: Andre Deutsch.
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