Act Against Slavery

The Act Against Slavery was an anti-slavery law passed on July 9, 1793, in the second legislative session of Upper Canada, the colonial division of British North America that would eventually become Ontario.[1] It banned the importation of slaves and mandated that children born henceforth to female slaves would be freed upon reaching the age of 25.

The text of "An Act Against Slavery".

Synopsis

John Graves Simcoe, Lieutenant Governor of the colony, had been a supporter of abolition before coming to Upper Canada; as a British Member of Parliament, he had described slavery as an offence against Christianity.[2][3] By 1792 the slave population in Upper Canada was not large. However, when compared with the number of free settlers, the number was not insignificant. In York (the present-day city of Toronto) there were 15 African-Canadians living, while in Quebec some 1000 slaves could be found. Furthermore, by the time the Act Against Slavery would be ratified, the number of slaves residing in Upper Canada had been significantly increased by the arrival of Loyalist refugees from the south who brought with them servants and slaves.[4]

At the inaugural meeting of the Executive Council of Upper Canada in March 1793, Simcoe heard from a witness the story of Chloe Cooley, a female slave who had been violently removed from Canada for sale in the United States. Simcoe's desire to abolish slavery in Upper Canada was resisted by members of the Legislative Assembly who owned slaves, and therefore the resulting act was a compromise.[2] The bulk of the text is due to John White, the Attorney General of the day. Of the 16 members of the assembly, at least six owned slaves.[5]

The law, titled An Act to Prevent the further Introduction of Slaves and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Province, stated that while all slaves in the province would remain enslaved until death, no new slaves could be brought into Upper Canada, and children born to female slaves after passage of the act would be freed at the age of 25.[6]

This law made Upper Canada "the first British colony to abolish slavery".[5][7] The Act remained in force until 1833 when the British Parliament's Slavery Abolition Act abolished slavery in most parts of the British Empire.

Aftermath

In 1798, Christopher Robinson introduced a bill in the Legislative Assembly to allow the importation of additional slaves. The bill was passed by the Assembly, but was stalled by the Legislative Council and died at the end of the session.[3]

Thousands of Black Canadians volunteered to serve in the War of 1812. In 1819, Attorney General John Robinson (son of Christopher) declared that by residing in Canada, black residents were set free, and that Canadian courts would protect their freedom.[8][9]

See also

Citations
  1. Historica-Dominion Institute nda.
  2. Archives of Ontario 2011a.
  3. Bode 1993.
  4. Wilson nd.
  5. Taylor 2010.
  6. CBC News nd.
  7. Jean 2007.
  8. Archives of Ontario 2011.
  9. Historica-Dominion Institute nd.

References
  • "From Slavery to Settlement", Archives of Ontario, The Alvin D. McCurdy Collection, 28 December 2011, archived from the original on 14 February 2013, retrieved 19 March 2011 See Archives of Ontario
  • "Enslaved Africans in Upper Canada", Archives of Ontario, Slavery, 28 December 2011a, archived from the original on 2013-01-04, retrieved 19 March 2011 See Archives of Ontario
  • CBC News Interactive, Slavery in Canada, archived from the original on 20 January 2011, retrieved 2010-11-20
  • Bode, Patrick (June 1993), "Simcoe and the slaves", The Beaver, 73 (3): 17
  • "Timeline 1800-1900: From Slavery to Settlement", Historica-Dominion Institute, Black History in Canada, nd, retrieved 19 March 2011 See The Historica Dominion Institute, a series with Rosemary Sadlier, President, Ontario Black History Society as writer-consultant.
  • "Abolition of Slavery", Historica-Dominion Institute, Black History Canada, nda, retrieved 2010-11-20
  • Michaëlle, Jean (21 June 2007), Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean Speech on the Occasion of the Student Forum: "From the Abolition of the Slave Trade to the Elimination of Racial Discrimination", retrieved 20 March 2014
  • Taylor, Alan (12 October 2010), The Civil War of 1812: American Citizens, British Subjects, Irish Rebels, & Indian Allies, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Chapter 2, Location 964, ISBN 1-4000-4265-8, OCLC 503042145Kindle format
  • Wilson, William R. (nd), Early Canada Historical Narratives: an Act to Prevent the Further Introduction of Slaves, Upper Canada History, retrieved 19 March 2014
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