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

Dame Heather Rabbatts

Dame Heather Rabbatts

Lawyer, business woman and broadcaster. Born Jamaica, came to England aged 3. Chief Executive of London Boroughs of Merton and Lambeth, she has been a campaigner against corruption and for human ri...

Person, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Jamaica

1 memorial
Moncure Daniel Conway

Moncure Daniel Conway

Born Stafford County, Virginia, USA. Social reformer and ethical preacher. He abandoned his Methodist ministry because of what he saw as its repression of free thought and became a Unitarian. He ca...

Person, Gender Issues, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Social Welfare, France, USA

3 memorials
Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria

Reigned: 1837-1901, 64 years. Born Kensington Palace. Daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent and Princess Victoria of Saxe-Coburg. Niece of her predecessor, King William IV. Her first name was Alexandrin...

Person, Race Issues, Royalty, Seriously Famous

72 memorials
Sir Henry De la Beche

Sir Henry De la Beche

Born Welbeck Street. An unusual childhood: his father changed their name from Beach to create a fictional connection with the medieval Barons De la Beche of Aldworth. Inheriting a slave plantation ...

Person, Race Issues, Science

1 memorial
Georges Cuvier

Georges Cuvier

French naturalist and zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuvier was a major figure in natural sciences research in the early 19th century and was instrumenta...

Person, Race Issues, Science, France

1 memorial