Slavery Abolition Act 1833 - wikipedia Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Slavery Abolition Act 1833 United Kingdom Long title An 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. Citation 3 & 4 Will. 4 c. 73 Dates Royal assent 28 August 1833 Commencement 1 August 1834 1 December 1834 ( Cape of Good Hope ) 1 February 1835 ( Mauritius ) Repealed 19 November 1998 Other legislation Repealed by Statute Law ( Repeals ) Act 1998 Relates to Slave Trade Act 1807, Slave Trade Act 1824, Slave Trade Act 1843, Slave Trade Act 1873 Status : Repealed Text of statute as originally enacted The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ( 3 & 4 Will. IV c. 73 ) abolished slavery throughout the British Empire. This Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom expanded the jurisdiction of the Slave Trade Act 1807, making the purchase or ownership of slaves illegal within the British Empire, with the exception `` of the Territories in the Possession of the East India Company '', Ceylon ( now Sri Lanka ), and Saint Helena. The Act was repealed in 1997 as a part of wider rationalisation of English statute law ; however, later anti-slavery legislation remains in force. Contents 1 Background 2 Act 3 Compensation for slave owners 4 Protests against apprenticeships 5 Exceptions and continuations 6 Repeal 7 Appearance in popular culture 8 See also 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links Background In May 1772, Lord Mansfield 's judgment in the Somersett 's Case emancipated a slave in England and thus helped launch the movement to abolish slavery. The case ruled that slavery was unsupported by law in England and no authority could be exercised on slaves entering English or Scottish soil. In 1785, English poet William Cowper wrote : We have no slaves at home -- Then why abroad ? Slaves can not breathe in England ; if their lungs Receive our air, that moment they are free. They touch our country, and their shackles fall. That 's noble, and bespeaks a nation proud. And jealous of the blessing. Spread it then, And let it circulate through every vein. By 1783, an anti-slavery movement to abolish the slave trade throughout the Empire had begun among the British public. In 1793 Lieutenant - Governor of Upper Canada John Graves Simcoe signed the Act Against Slavery. Passed by the local Legislative Assembly, it was the first legislation to outlaw the slave trade in a part of the British Empire. In 1807, Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which outlawed the slave trade, but not slavery itself. Abolitionist Henry Brougham realized that trading would continue and as a new MP successfully introduced the Slave Trade Felony Act 1811 which at last made slave trading criminal throughout the empire. The Royal Navy established the West Africa Squadron to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. It did suppress the slave trade, but did not stop it entirely. Between 1808 and 1860, the West Africa Squadron captured 1,600 slave ships and freed 150,000 Africans. They resettled many in Jamaica and the Bahamas. Britain also used its influence to coerce other countries to agree treaties to end their slave trade and allow the Royal Navy to seize their slave ships. illustration from the book : The Black Man 's Lament, or, how to make sugar by Amelia Opie. ( London, 1826 ) In 1823, the Anti-Slavery Society was founded in London. Members included Joseph Sturge, Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, Henry Brougham, Thomas Fowell Buxton, Elizabeth Heyrick, Mary Lloyd, Jane Smeal, Elizabeth Pease, and Anne Knight. William Wilberforce had prior written in his diary in 1787 that his great purpose in life was to suppress the slave trade before waging a 20 - year fight on the industry. Protector of Slaves Office ( Trinidad ), Richard Bridgens, 1838. During the Christmas holiday of 1831, a large - scale slave revolt in Jamaica, known as the Baptist War, broke out. It was organised originally as a peaceful strike by the Baptist minister Samuel Sharpe. The rebellion was suppressed by the militia of the Jamaican plantocracy and the British garrison ten days later in early 1832. Because of the loss of property and life in the 1831 rebellion, the British Parliament held two inquiries. The results of these inquiries contributed greatly to the abolition of slavery with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. Act The Act had its third reading in the House of Commons on 26 July 1833, three days before William Wilberforce died. It received the Royal Assent a month later, on 28 August, and came into force the following year, on 1 August 1834. In practical terms, only slaves below the age of six were freed in the colonies. Former slaves over the age of six were redesignated as `` apprentices '', and their servitude was abolished in two stages : the first set of apprenticeships came to an end on 1 August 1838, while the final apprenticeships were scheduled to cease on 1 August 1840. The Act specifically excluded `` the Territories in the Possession of the East India Company, or to the Island of Ceylon, or to the Island of Saint Helena. '' The exceptions were eliminated in 1843. Compensation for slave owners The Act provided for compensation for slave - owners. The amount of money to be spent on the compensation claims was set at `` the Sum of Twenty Million Pounds Sterling ''. Under the terms of the Act, the British government raised £ 20 million ( £ 16.5 billion in 2013 pounds, when calculated as wage values ) to pay out in compensation for the loss of the slaves as business assets to the registered owners of the freed slaves. In 1833, £ 20 million amounted to 40 % of the Treasury 's annual income or approximately 5 % of the British GDP ( 5 % of the British GDP in 2016 was around £ 100 billion ). To finance the compensation, the British government had to take on a £ 15 million loan, finalised on 3 August 1835, with banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild and his brother - in - law Moses Montefiore. The money was not paid back until 2015. Half of the money went to slave - owning families in the Caribbean and Africa, while the other half went to absentee owners living in Britain. The names listed in the returns for slave compensation show that ownership was spread over many hundreds of British families, many of them ( though not all ) of high social standing. For example, Henry Phillpotts ( then the Bishop of Exeter ), with three others ( as trustees and executors of the will of John Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley ), was paid £ 12,700 for 665 slaves in the West Indies, whilst Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood received £ 26,309 for 2,554 slaves on 6 plantations. The majority of men and women who were awarded compensation under the 1833 Abolition Act are listed in a Parliamentary Return, entitled Slavery Abolition Act, which is an account of all moneys awarded by the Commissioners of Slave Compensation in the Parliamentary Papers 1837 - 8 ( 215 ) vol. 48. Protests against apprenticeships On 1 August 1834, an unarmed group of mainly elderly people being addressed by the Governor at Government House in Port of Spain, Trinidad, about the new laws, began chanting : `` Pas de six ans. Point de six ans '' ( `` Not six years. No six years '' ), drowning out the voice of the Governor. Peaceful protests continued until a resolution to abolish apprenticeship was passed and de facto freedom was achieved. Full emancipation for all was legally granted ahead of schedule on 1 August 1838. Exceptions and continuations As a notable exception to the rest of the British Empire, the Act did not extend to any of the Territories administered by the East India Company, including the islands of Ceylon, and Saint Helena. Slavery was criminalised in the Company territories via the Indian Slavery Act of 1843. A successor organisation to the Anti-Slavery Society was formed in London in 1839, the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, which worked to outlaw slavery worldwide. The world 's oldest international human rights organisation, it continues today as Anti-Slavery International. It is believed that after 1833 clandestine slave - trading continued within the British Empire ; in 1854 Nathaniel Isaacs, owner of the island of Matakong off the coast of Sierra Leone was accused of slave - trading by the governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Arthur Kennedy. Papers relating to the charges were lost when the Forerunner was wrecked off Madeira in October 1854. In the absence of the papers, the English courts refused to proceed with the prosecution. In Australia, blackbirding and the holding of indigenous workers ' pay `` in trust '' continued, in some instances into the 1970s. Modern slavery, both in the form of human trafficking and people imprisoned for forced or compulsory labour, continues to this day. Repeal The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 was repealed in its entirety by the Statute Law ( Repeals ) Act 1998. The repeal has not made slavery legal again, with sections of the Slave Trade Act 1824, Slave Trade Act 1843 and Slave Trade Act 1873 continuing in force. In its place 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. Appearance in popular Culture Ava DuVernay was commissioned by the Smithsonian 's National Museum of African American History and Culture to create a film which debuted at the museum 's opening on September 24, 2016. This film, August 28 : A Day in the Life of a People, tells of six significant events in African - American history that happened on the same date, August 28. Events depicted include ( among others ) William IV 's royal assent to the Slavery Abolition Act. See also Timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom Act Against Slavery, an act in Upper Canada that banned the importation of slaves there in 1793 Blockade of Africa Brussels Conference Act of 1890, an early abolitionist treaty Slave Trade Acts Slavery in Britain Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution which ended slavery or involuntary servitude in the United States in 1865 for those not convicted of a crime. 1926 Slavery Convention from which an international treaty resulted References Jump up ^ Peter P. Inks, John R. Michigan, R. Owen Williams ( 2007 ) Encyclopedia of antislavery and abolition ', p. 643. Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007 ' ' Blumrosen, Alfred W. and Ruth G., Slave Nation : How Slavery United the Colonies and Sparked the American Revolution, Sourcebooks, 2005 Jump up ^ ( 1827 ) 2 Hag Adm 94. Jump up ^ Rhodes, Nick ( 2003 ). William Cowper : Selected Poems. p. 84. Routledge, 2003 Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 6 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017. CS1 maint : Archived copy as title ( link ) Jump up ^ http://www.history.ac.uk/1807commemorated/exhibitions/museums/chasing.html Jump up ^ `` Chasing Freedom Information Sheet ''. Royal Naval Museum. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 2 April 2007. Jump up ^ `` Chasing Freedom Exhibition : the Royal Navy and the Suppression of the Transatlantic Slave Trade ''. Archived from the original on 10 December 2009. Retrieved 25 September 2009. Jump up ^ Falola, Toyin ; Warnock, Amanda ( 2007 ). Encyclopedia of the middle passage. Greenwood Press. pp. xxi, xxxiii -- xxxiv. ISBN 9780313334801. Jump up ^ `` The legal and diplomatic background to the seizure of foreign vessels by the Royal Navy ''. Jump up ^ Slavery and abolition. Oxford University Press Jump up ^ William Wilberforce : A Man for All Seasons. CBN Jump up ^ `` Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ; Section XII ''. 28 August 1833. Retrieved 30 October 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ; Section LXIV ''. 28 August 1833. Retrieved 3 June 2008. Jump up ^ `` Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ; Section XXIV ''. 28 August 1833. Retrieved 3 June 2008. ^ Jump up to : Sanchez Manning ( 24 February 2013 ). `` Britain 's colonial shame : Slave - owners given huge payouts after ''. The Independent. Retrieved 11 February 2018. Jump up ^ https://www.ukpublicrevenue.co.uk/piechart_1833_UK_total Jump up ^ `` UK public spending and GDP in 1833 ''. Retrieved 3 January 2017. Jump up ^ `` UK public spending and GDP in 2016 ''. Retrieved 3 January 2017. Jump up ^ Kris Manjapra ( 29 March 2018 ). `` When will Britain face up to its crimes against humanity ? ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 30 March 2018. Jump up ^ British Parliamentary Papers, session 1837 -- 38 ( 215 ), vol. 48. The manuscript returns and indexes to the claims are held by The National Archives. Jump up ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zw8dq6f Jump up ^ `` Rt. Hon. Rev. Henry Phillpotts ''. UCL, Legacies of British slave - ownership. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Jump up ^ `` Henry Lascelles, 2nd Earl of Harewood ''. UCL, Legacies of British slave - ownership. Retrieved 11 August 2013. Jump up ^ UCL -- Researching Slave - owners Jump up ^ Dryden, John. 1992 `` Pas de Six Ans ! '' In : Seven Slaves & Slavery : Trinidad 1777 -- 1838, by Anthony de Verteuil, Port of Spain, pp. 371 -- 379. Jump up ^ Sharman, Anne - Marie ( 1993 ), ed., Anti-Slavery Reporter vol 13 no 8. P. 35, London : Anti-Slavery International Jump up ^ Anti-Slavery International UNESCO. Retrieved 12 October 2011. Jump up ^ Louis Herrman ( December 1974 ). `` Nathaniel Isaacs '' ( PDF ). Natalia. Pietermartizburg : The Natal Society Foundation ( 4 ) : 19 -- 22. Retrieved 10 August 2010. Jump up ^ `` Stolen Wages Reparation Scheme WA ''. Department of Aboriginal Affairs. Government of Western Australia. Archived from the original on 17 August 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Jump up ^ Korff, Jens. `` Stolen Wages ''. Creative Spirits. Creative Spirits. Retrieved 5 September 2014. Jump up ^ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/13/modern-slavery-uk-traveller-site-lincolnshire-judge-timothy-spencer Jump up ^ `` Statute Law ( Repeals ) Act 1998 ''. 19 November 1998. Retrieved 4 June 2008. Jump up ^ `` Slavery Abolition Act 1833 ( repealed 19.11. 1998 ) ( c. 73 ) ''. Retrieved 19 June 2009. Jump up ^ `` Slave Trade Act 1824 ''. 24 June 1824. Retrieved 4 June 2008. Jump up ^ `` Slave Trade Act 1843 ''. 24 August 1843. Retrieved 4 June 2008. Jump up ^ `` Slave Trade Act 1873 ''. 5 August 1873. Retrieved 4 June 2008. Jump up ^ `` Human Rights Act 1998 ''. 11 September 1998. Retrieved 7 September 2010. Jump up ^ Davis, Rachaell ( September 22, 2016 ). `` Why Is August 28 So Special To Black People ? Ava DuVernay Reveals All In New NMAAHC Film ''. Essence. Further reading 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 External links Text of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Legacies of British slave - ownership is a database of the Parliamentary return of people who made claims for compensation under this act United Kingdom legislation Pre-Parliamentary legislation List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain Parliament of England to 1483 1485 -- 1601 1603 -- 1641 Interregnum ( 1642 -- 1660 ) 1660 -- 1699 1700 -- 1706 Parliament of Scotland to 1707 Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain 1707 -- 1719 1720 -- 1739 1740 -- 1759 1760 -- 1779 1780 -- 1800 Acts of the Parliament of Ireland to 1700 1701 -- 1800 Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1801 -- 1819 1820 -- 1839 1840 -- 1859 1860 -- 1879 1880 -- 1899 1900 -- 1919 1920 -- 1939 1940 -- 1959 1960 -- 1979 1980 -- 1999 2000 to date Halsbury 's Statutes Legislation.gov.uk Short titles relating to the European Union ( formally European Communities ) 1972 to date Church of England measures List Church of England Assembly ( Powers ) Act 1919 Legislation of devolved institutions Acts of the Scottish Parliament List Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales List Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland Orders in Council 1994 to date for Northern Ireland 1972 -- 2009 Secondary legislation United Kingdom statutory instruments Scottish statutory instruments Acts of Sederunt Acts of Adjournal Protestant missions to Africa People Roland Allen William Anderson Frederick Stanley Arnot John Arthur Samuel Bill Joseph Booth Daniel Coker Daniel Kumler Flickinger George Grenfell Carl Hugo Hahn Joseph Hardcastle Joseph Crane Hartzell Johannes Ittmann Franz Heinrich Kleinschmidt Johann Ludwig Krapf Margaret Nicholl Laird Christian Ignatius Latrobe David Livingstone Mary Livingstone Alexander Murdoch Mackay Joseph Merrick Robert Moffat Andrew Murray Helen Roseveare Hans Paludan Smith Schreuder John Philip Martti Rautanen Orishatukeh Faduma Alfred Saker Heinrich Schmelen William Henry Sheppard Mary Slessor John McKendree Springer Marion Scott Stevenson Charles Studd Hulda Stumpf William Taylor Gottlieb Viehe Missionary agencies American Board Africa Inland Mission Berlin Missionary Society Bethel Mission BMS World Mission Congo - Balolo Mission Christian and Missionary Alliance Church Mission Society Echoes of Service Finnish Missionary Society Heart of Africa Mission Livingstone Inland Mission London Missionary Society Mission Africa Mission to the World Paris Evangelical Missionary Society Rhenish Missionary Society USPG WEC International Wycliffe Global Alliance Pivotal events Slave Trade Act 1807 Slavery Abolition Act 1833 See also Christianity in Africa Timeline of Christian missions Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Slavery_Abolition_Act_1833&oldid=866480745 '' Categories : United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 1833 Slavery in the British Empire Abolitionism Slavery legislation Slave trade legislation August 1833 events Hidden categories : CS1 maint : Archived copy as title CS1 : Julian -- Gregorian uncertainty Use dmy dates from January 2017 All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from August 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Eesti Ελληνικά فارسی Français Bahasa Indonesia Lietuvių 日本 語 Plattdüütsch Polski Română Svenska Türkçe 4 more Edit links This page was last edited on 30 October 2018, at 16 : 09 ( UTC ). 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Question: when was slavery abolished in the british colonies
Answer: 1833