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The End of Slavery: How the Law Changed

In the late 1700s slavery was lawful in most European colonies and in the Americas, and it was a pillar of their economies. It ended in law through two separate steps in each country: first the slave trade was banned, then slavery itself. The chart shows how far apart the steps were: Britain banned the trade in 1807 and slavery in 1833; the United States banned the trade in 1808 but ended slavery only in 1865; Brazil, the last country in the Americas to end slavery, did so in 1888. It follows the law on paper, not what happened on the ground to the people concerned, which in every country was slower and harsher than the statute books suggest.

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1750177518001825185018751900United Kingdom1772: Somerset's Case1807: Slave Trade Act1833: Slavery Abolition Act1838: Apprenticeship endsFrance1794: First abolition1802: Slavery restored1815: Slave trade banned1848: Abolition for goodUnited States1808: Importing slaves banned1857: Dred Scott v. Sandford1863: Emancipation Proclamation1865: Thirteenth Amendment1868: Fourteenth AmendmentBrazil1850: Eusébio de Queirós Law1871: Law of the Free Womb1885: Sexagenarian Law1888: The Golden Law

1772United Kingdom· Ending slavery itself

Somerset's Case

Lord Mansfield held that an enslaved man in England could not be forcibly taken out of the country, a decision widely read as ending slavery on English soil.

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Read this first

These charts show the main turning points in the law of several countries, from our own knowledge. Each entry is one law or decision, dated by when it was passed or decided; the date it took effect is sometimes later. A chart is a map of turning points, not a complete history, and it records the law on paper, not how it was applied. Check the statutes and decisions named for the exact wording. It is general information, not legal advice.

The story in each country

United Kingdom

The trade was banned in 1807 and slavery in the empire by an Act of 1833, with compensation paid to slave owners rather than to the enslaved.

France

France abolished slavery in 1794, restored it in 1802 and abolished it for good in 1848.

United States

The trade was banned from 1808; slavery itself ended only with the Civil War and the Thirteenth Amendment of 1865.

Brazil

A gradual end by four laws over thirty-eight years, finishing in 1888, the last abolition in the Americas.

Every turning point, in order

United Kingdom

  1. 1772 Somerset's Case

    Ending slavery itself

    Lord Mansfield held that an enslaved man in England could not be forcibly taken out of the country, a decision widely read as ending slavery on English soil.

  2. 1807 Slave Trade Act

    Banning the slave trade

    The Slave Trade Act 1807 made it illegal to trade in enslaved people within the British Empire.

  3. 1833 Slavery Abolition Act

    Ending slavery itself

    The Slavery Abolition Act 1833, in force from August 1834, ended slavery in most of the British Empire and paid twenty million pounds in compensation to slave owners, and none to the enslaved.

  4. 1838 Apprenticeship ends

    Rights and terms after abolition

    The 'apprenticeship' system, which had kept formerly enslaved people working for their former owners without pay for several years, was ended early in August 1838.

France

  1. 1794 First abolition

    Ending slavery itself

    On 4 February 1794 the revolutionary National Convention abolished slavery in the French colonies.

  2. 1802 Slavery restored

    Ending slavery itself

    Napoleon's law of 20 May 1802 kept slavery and the slave trade in the colonies returned to France, and slavery was restored in Guadeloupe that year; Saint-Domingue resisted and became independent as Haiti in 1804.

  3. 1815 Slave trade banned

    Banning the slave trade

    Napoleon decreed the end of the French slave trade in 1815, during the Hundred Days. Louis XVIII confirmed the ban in 1817 and 1818, but it was enforced strictly only after a law of 1831.

  4. 1848 Abolition for good

    Ending slavery itself

    A decree of 27 April 1848, drawn up under the influence of Victor Schoelcher, abolished slavery in all French colonies.

United States

  1. 1808 Importing slaves banned

    Banning the slave trade

    From 1 January 1808, the earliest date the Constitution allowed, federal law banned the importation of enslaved people.

  2. 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford

    Ending slavery itself

    The Supreme Court held that Black people could not be citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

  3. 1863 Emancipation Proclamation

    Ending slavery itself

    President Lincoln declared free the enslaved people in the states in rebellion on 1 January 1863.

  4. 1865 Thirteenth Amendment

    Ending slavery itself

    The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery and involuntary servitude throughout the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

  5. 1868 Fourteenth Amendment

    Rights and terms after abolition

    The Fourteenth Amendment made everyone born in the United States a citizen and guaranteed equal protection of the laws.

Brazil

  1. 1850 Eusébio de Queirós Law

    Banning the slave trade

    Brazil banned the slave trade by a law of 1850, after earlier bans of 1831 that had not been enforced.

  2. 1871 Law of the Free Womb

    Ending slavery itself

    A law of 1871 declared children born to enslaved women free, though they stayed with their mothers' owners until adulthood.

  3. 1885 Sexagenarian Law

    Ending slavery itself

    A law of 1885 freed enslaved people of advanced age, those over sixty.

  4. 1888 The Golden Law

    Ending slavery itself

    The Lei Áurea, signed on 13 May 1888, abolished slavery in Brazil with no compensation to owners. Brazil was the last country in the Americas to abolish it.

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TheLawToKnow Tools. The End of Slavery: How the Law Changed. https://tools.thelawtoknow.com/law-evolution/the-end-of-slavery.