Event    From 25/3/1807  To 1/8/1834

Abolition of slavery

The British abolition of slavery came in two parts: first the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act became law on 25 March 1807, which left slavery itself still permitted until the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 which caused all slaves in the British Empire to be emancipated on 1 August 1834. The slaves in India and Ceylon were not freed until Britain took over from the East India Company in 1843.

Compensation was paid, but to the owners, not the slaves. Meticulous records were kept and have been analysed at Legacies of British Slave-ownership.

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This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Abolition of slavery

Commemorated ati

Aboliton of slavery - SE1

{The statue stands at one end of a long composite stone slab inlaid with a de...

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Bronze Woman

This was the first statue of a black woman to be on permanent display anywher...

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Buxton Memorial Fountain

Due to strong shadows it was only on our fourth visit that we managed to take...

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Gilt of Cain - Slave trade

This sculpture, 'Gilt of Cain', was unveiled by Bishop Tutu in commemoration ...

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Holy Trinity Clapham - Clapham Sect

The damage on this plaque is the result of WW2 bombs.

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Other Subjects

Bank of England

Bank of England

Londonist have an interesting post about animals at the Bank of England. The Guardian, 16 April 2022, reporting on an exhibition at the Bank of England, informed that the Bank once owned 599 slave...

Group, Commerce, Politics & Administration, Race Issues

1 memorial
Sir Francis Drake

Sir Francis Drake

Sea captain, explorer and pirate. Born in Crowndale, near Tavistock, Devon. He spent his formative years in the house of his cousin Sir John Hawkins and by 1565 was voyaging to Guinea and the Spani...

Person, Exploring, Race Issues, Seriously Famous, Panama

6 memorials
Voltaire

Voltaire

Born in Paris as Francois Marie Arouet. Adopted the name Voltaire aged 24. The traditional story is that the intolerance of Catholic France forced this free-thinker to escape to the land of liberty...

Person, Literature, Race Issues, Seriously Famous, France

1 memorial
Rhaune Laslett-O'Brien

Rhaune Laslett-O'Brien

Born as Freda Pulverness in Stepney but lived most of her life in and around West London.  After WW2 the housing conditions, the poverty and the racial mix in Notting Hill brought out her skills as...

Person, Community / Clubs, Race Issues, Social Welfare, Tourism / Traditions

1 memorial
Edward Owen Greening

Edward Owen Greening

Co-operative movement activist and social reformer. Born at Warrington, Lancashire. He joined the Anti-Slavery Society and was a supporter of the Northern cause in the American civil war. His invol...

Person, Race Issues, Social Welfare

1 memorial

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H. H. Asquith

H. H. Asquith

Born in Morley, Yorkshire. Prime Minister 1908 to 1916. 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith. Died Sutton Courtenay, Oxfordshire. The Suffragettes' enemy. Film director Anthony Asquith was his son and La...

Person, Politics & Administration, Seriously Famous

4 memorials