Slavery is abolished in the British Empire under the Slavery Abolition Act 1833

Background. Parliament had passed the Slave Trade Act 1807, which outlawed the international slave trade in the British Empire but not slavery itself. The Reform Act 1832 swept away rotten borough seats, clearing the way for a majority of members of the House of Commons to push through a law to abolish slavery itself throughout the British Empire. In March 1833, Edward Stanley took over as Secretary of State for the Colonies and introduced an abolition bill of his own, though it was rejected.

Transitional Apprenticeship. The Act did not grant immediate freedom to all enslaved people. Former slaves over the age of six were redesignated as "apprentices." Their servitude was abolished in stages: non-praedial slaves served four years, ending by 1 August 1838, while other apprenticeships ended in 1838 or 1840. A 1836 select committee found the system satisfactory, though it faced criticism.

Compensated Emancipation. The Act abolished slavery by way of compensated emancipation. Money was awarded to slave owners by the Commissioners of Slave Compensation. The majority of men and women paid under the Act are listed in a Parliamentary Return from 1837–8. In practical terms, taxpayer money serviced the debt originated from the Act.