British Parliament passes the Slavery Abolition Act

The date set by the 1817 gradual emancipation law arrived, ending legal slavery for the remaining enslaved people in New York. The long delay meant that many people continued to live under slavery...

President Guerrero decreed abolition across the republic, with limited exceptions and uneven enforcement in frontier regions. The measure followed independence-era abolitionist policies and...

The first issue of The Liberator appeared in Boston, calling for immediate emancipation. Black writers, speakers, and organizers were central to the abolitionist movement, even when white editors...

Turner and a group of enslaved people began an uprising in Southampton County that challenged slavery through armed action. White authorities violently suppressed the revolt and killed many Black...

A mass strike and uprising began in western Jamaica during Christmas. Samuel Sharpe and other organizers used church networks to coordinate a demand for freedom and wages; the movement escalated...

Delegates at a national antislavery convention adopted a declaration demanding the immediate abolition of slavery. The meeting followed years of Black organizing, petitions, and resistance, and...

Three days after the national antislavery convention, a group of women met and organized a female antislavery society. Black women were members and leaders, although later narratives often...

The Slavery Abolition Act took effect across most British colonies. Many adults were placed in “apprenticeship,” a coercive labor system that required continued unpaid work for former enslavers....

Enslaved and free African Muslims organized an urban uprising against slavery and racial repression. Authorities crushed the revolt and increased surveillance and deportations. The surviving police...

The apprenticeship system ended, completing formal emancipation in most British Caribbean colonies. Formerly enslaved people celebrated freedom while confronting landlessness, wage coercion, and...