Slavery Abolition Act 1833 receives royal assent

Background. The Act was legislated by the reforming administration of Whig Prime Minister Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey. It ordered the British government to purchase the freedom of all slaves in the British Empire and outlawed the further practice of slavery. The legislation was facilitated by the Reform Act 1832, which removed rotten borough seats and cleared the way for a majority in the House of Commons to push through abolition, largely removing West Indian interests from the chamber.

Legislative Process. In March 1833, Edward Stanley introduced an abolition bill as Secretary of State for the Colonies. The bill passed its second reading in the House of Commons unopposed on 22 July 1833. The third reading and passage occurred on 7 August, after which the bill was sent to the House of Lords. Royal assent was required for the bill to become law, a process involving the assent of all three components of Parliament.

Compensation Fund. The Act established a £20 million compensation fund for slaveowners, amounting to 40% of the Treasury's annual income or approximately 5% of British GDP at the time. To finance the payments, the British government took on a £15 million loan, finalised on 3 August 1835, with banker Nathan Mayer Rothschild and his brother-in-law Moses Montefiore. The remaining £5 million was paid out directly in government stock.

Scope and Exceptions. The Act explicitly delineated 19 separate pots of compensation covering the Caribbean, South Africa, and Mauritius. However, it did not end slavery throughout the entire British sphere of influence. The Act explicitly excluded territories like British India, where slavery was addressed separately by the Indian Slavery Act, 1843. Despite the act being repealed, slavery remains illegal in Britain due to prior court cases.