Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
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Act for the Abolition of Slave Trade passed on 25 March 1807
Parliament
On 5 February and 24 March 1807, both chambers of the British Parliament agreed on the abolition of slavery.
Vote figures show a vast majority:
- House of Lords
- 100 to 34
- House of Commons
- 283 to 16
On 25 March 1807, the law comes into effect by the Royal Assent.
Abstract from the Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade
"Be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the Authority of the same, That from and after the First Day of May One thousand eight hundred and seven, the African Slave Trade, and all manner of dealing and trading in the Purchase, Sale, Barter, or Transfer of Slaves, or of Persons intended to be sold, transferred, used, or dealt with as Slaves, practiced or carried on, in, at, to or from any Part of the Coast or Countries of Africa, shall be, and the same is hereby utterly abolished, prohibited, and declared to be unlawful […]" (Beck 2006: 245)
Reactions
Before the law comes into effect, Prime Minister W.W. Grenville called it „[o]ne of the most glorious acts that [has] ever been done by any assembly of any nation in the world“.
But…
Even though this law was passed, slavery did still continue until 1833, when the Emancipation Act released all 800.000 slaves in the British colonies.
Sources
- Beck, Rudolf / Schröder, Konrad (Ed.): Handbuch der britischen Kulturgeschichte. Paderborn: Wilhelm Fink Verlag, 2006.
- Encylopedia Britannica: Black History: Slavery. [30.11.2010] http://www.britannica.com/blackhistory/article-24160