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.

Comments are provided by Facebook, please ensure you are signed in here to see them

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...

Read More

Bronze Woman

This was the first statue of a black woman to be on permanent display anywher...

Read More

Buxton Memorial Fountain

Due to strong shadows it was only on our fourth visit that we managed to take...

Read More

Gilt of Cain - Slave trade

This sculpture, 'Gilt of Cain', was unveiled by Bishop Tutu in commemoration ...

Read More

Holy Trinity Clapham - Clapham Sect

The damage on this plaque is the result of WW2 bombs.

Read More

Show all 11

Other Subjects

Bishop Beilby Porteus

Bishop Beilby Porteus

Born York. Bishop of London 1787 - 1809. The first senior church official to support the abolition of slavery. Died at Fulham Palace.

Person, Race Issues, Religion

1 memorial
Henry Sylvester Williams

Henry Sylvester Williams

Anti-slavery and civil rights campaigner.  Born Trinidad.  After the USA he arrived in London in 1896 to study.  Qualified in law.  Elected in 1906 for Church Street Ward, the first black councillo...

Person, Politics & Administration, Race Issues, Caribbean Islands

1 memorial
Brixton Black Women's Group

Brixton Black Women's Group

Started by Olive Morris and other women who had been active in the Black Panther Movement. It was formed to address the specific issues faced by black women, and to offer advice and support to thos...

Group, Community / Clubs, Gender Issues, Race Issues

2 memorials
Cardinal Newman

Cardinal Newman

Born 80 Old Broad Street, eldest son of a banker. Goaded into writing his Apologia by a criticism from Charles Kingsley published in a magazine.  Established The Brompton Oratory. Died Edgbaston, B...

Person, Race Issues, Religion

3 memorials
Olive Morris

Olive Morris

Activist and community leader. Born in St Catherine, Jamaica, and moved to Britain at the age of nine. She was a founding member of the Organisation of Women of African and Asian Descent (OWAAD) in...

Person, Gender Issues, Race Issues, Social Welfare, Caribbean Islands

2 memorials

Previously viewed

St Dunstans -  Lord Northcliffe

St Dunstans - Lord Northcliffe

EC4, Fleet Street

Unveiled in 1930 by Lord Riddell.

1 subject commemorated, 3 creators
Alfred Wallace

Alfred Wallace

CR0, St Peters Road, 44

Wallace Fund identifies this house as 'Pen-y-Bryn' which Wallace rented 1880 - May 1881. There is a timeline there giving his other addre...

1 subject commemorated, 1 creator
B. K. S. Iyengar

B. K. S. Iyengar

Founder of Iyengar Yoga. Born Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar in Bellur, Kolar district, Karnataka, India. Throughout his childhood, he suffered with a number of diseases, until his brothe...

Person, Medicine, India

1 memorial