ANNO QUADRAGESIMO SEPTIMO
GEORGE III REGIS.
C A P. XXXVI
An Act for the Abolition of the Slave Trade.
[25th March 1807.]
Whereas the Two Houses of Parliament did, by their Resolutions of the Tenth and Twenty-fourth Days of June One thousand eight hundred and six, severally resolve, upon certain Grounds therein mentioned, that they would, with all practicable Expedition, take effectual Measures for the Abolition of the African Slave Trade, in such Manner, and at such Period as might be deemed advisable: And whereas it is fit upon all and each of the Grounds mentioned in the said Resolutions, that the same should be forthwith abolished and prohibited, and declare to be prohibited, and declared to be unlawful; be it therefore enacted by the King’s most Excellent Majesty, by and with the Advice and the 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 dealings 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, practised or carried on, in, at, 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……………………..
AN ADDRESS BY THE MARQUESS OF SLIGO GOVERNOR OF JAMAICA
2ND MAY 1835
“You who have been slaves and lately acting as apprentices, are by this decision made absolutely free; I trust you will show your gratitude to that nation which has made such great personal and pecuniary sacrifices to ensure your freedom, by your loyalty to your common Monarch, and by the willing and anxious obedience you will pay to the laws of the land. New duties devolve upon you with the new position you now occupy: and I hope by the steadiness of your conduct, and your peaceable demeanour, you prove that this greatest of all earthly boons has not been unworthily bestowed upon you; you must now entirely depend upon your own industry for your support. You must recollect that you have now no person to feed you, no person to clothe you, no person to give you medical assistance if you are ill. You must depend upon your own exertions for all those things; you have no houses or grounds of your own; those you have heretofore occupy must now be given up to their owners; your former masters, whose property they are; all belong to him excepting your furniture, clothes and the crops you now have in the ground; these you now have a right to remove to where you please to go if you mean to do so; but I trust that a sense of what is so decidedly your own interests will induce him to leave you in the quiet occupation of your grounds and homes. Thou he who was your master is no longer so, recollect of what service he may be to you. Do not imagine that because you are now free you are independent of one another; no class of the community can be independent of the other. All experience has shown how one hangs on the other. Those of you who have been well treated, recollect that it is now in your power to show gratitude for past kindnesses; those who think that your masters have occasionally felt harshly towards you, recollect that probably you gave provocation, and that if they have been in the wrong, that will not now justify your acting improperly. I trust that on my next visit to this island, I shall hear that your improved habits of industry, your quiet demure, and your increased and increasing wealth will show your obedience to the laws, and that you deserve this great benefit which you now receive.”
THE LAWS OF JAMAICA. A.D.1838.
An act supplementary to the act for the abolition of
Slavery.—[24th March, 1838.]
WHEREAS. Under an act for the abolition of slavery in this island, and for promoting the industry of the manumitted slaves, it is necessary, wherever agreements are not mutually entered into between masters and praedial apprentices, that the duration of daily labour should be fixed and determined by some definite and uniform rule: And whereas it is necessary that other provision should be made for the more certain execution of the laws connected with the regulations of plantations, pens, and settlements, and for the release of praedial labourers desirous of purchasing their discharge from further services as apprentices: Be it enacted by the governor, council, and assembly of this island, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the same, That, in the absence of any agreements between the master, employer, or manager, and the praedial apprenticed labourers of any plantation, pen or settlement, mutually made between such master, employer, or manager, and such apprenticed labourers, all regulations for the duration of labour shall be, and are hereby declared to be, for some specific term in each day, and not less……………………….
On August 1, 1838 in the Square of Spanish Town, the then capital of Jamaica, amid tremendous rejoicing, His Excellency Sir Lionel Smith Governor of Jamaica, read the Proclamation of Freedom to a large crowd of about 8,000 people.
The 1838 Proclamation
By the Queen
A Proclamation
Whereas an Act has been passed by the Legislature of this our Island of
Jamaica for terminating the present system of Apprenticeship on the first day of
August next and thereby granting the Blessing and Privileges of unrestricted
Freedom to all classes of its inhabitants and whereas it is incumbent on all the
Inhabitants of this our Island to testify their grateful sense of this Divine favour,
We do therefore by and with the advice of our Privy Council of this our said
Island direct and appoint that Wednesday the said first day of August next be
observed in all Churches and Chapels as a day of General Thanksgiving to
Almighty God for these his mercies and of humble intersession for his continued
blessing and protection on this most important occasion and we humbly call upon
persons of all classes within this our said Island to observe the said first day of
August next with the same reverence and respect which is observed and due to
the Sabbath………………………..