Episode 2 of 3

Passage of the Slavery Abolition Act

When: 22 July 1833 to 1 August 1834
Where: Parliament of the United Kingdom
Part of: Slavery is abolished in the British Empire under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833

The Act passed its second reading unopposed on 22 July 1833, a week before Wilberforce died, received royal assent on 28 August, and came into force on 1 August 1834.

The act passed its second reading in the House of Commons unopposed on 22 July 1833, just a week before William Wilberforce died. The Commons third reading and passage occurred on 7 August, whereon it was sent to the Lords. Read there a second time on 12 August, it passed the Lords on 20 August. The bill received royal assent on 28 August and came into force the following year, on 1 August 1834, abolishing slavery in the British Empire by way of compensated emancipation.

Sources

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-19

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.