British Slavery Abolition Act receives royal assent

In Somerset v Stewart, Lord Mansfield ruled that James Somerset, an enslaved African brought to England, could not be forcibly removed from England for sale under the existing law. The decision did...

A cross-confessional abolitionist committee was founded in London. Its campaign used petitions, print, testimony and consumer organizing. It helped build public pressure, while enslaved people’s...

A mass uprising of enslaved people in Saint-Domingue began a revolutionary process that defeated slavery and French colonial rule. The revolution made Black self-emancipation and sovereignty an...

Haiti declared independence after defeating French forces. It became the first independent Black republic and the only state created through a successful revolution by enslaved people. France later...

The London Charter of the International Military Tribunal included enslavement among crimes against humanity when committed against civilian populations in connection with other crimes within the...

The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration, including a prohibition on slavery and the slave trade. It gave a universal language to abolition and human dignity, but did not determine...

States adopted a treaty to intensify efforts to abolish slavery, the slave trade and slavery-like practices. Its focus was suppression and prevention in the present and future. It did not explicitly...

The General Assembly adopted ICERD amid decolonization and the global struggle against apartheid. The convention strengthened legal duties against racial discrimination. It supplied an important...

The UN adopted a convention providing that statutory time limits do not apply to war crimes and crimes against humanity as defined in the postwar framework. It became relevant to later reparations...