Slavery has existed throughout human history in many cultures and societies. However, the practice of owning another human being as property has also faced opposition and efforts to abolish it for just as long. Determining which country first freed slavery is complicated by the different definitions and forms slavery has taken across regions and eras. However, by examining the historical evidence, some clear early leaders in outlawing slavery emerge.
What constitutes freeing slavery?
Defining what constitutes the freeing of slavery is complex. Outlawing the slave trade, granting freedom to some classes of slave, or abolishing the institution of slavery altogether represent progressive steps. However, each of these actions may still leave aspects of forced servitude intact. There are also questions around enforcement and participation. A law formally abolishing slavery does not automatically grant freedom if it is not enforced. Additionally, the willingness and ability of a nation to impose abolition on colonies and other territories under its control affects how completely it freed itself from slavery.
With these caveats in mind, here are some key markers of countries moving towards freeing slavery:
- Banning the trade and transport of slaves
- Freeing certain classes of slaves (such as those owned by the state or in a specific territory)
- Placing restrictions on private ownership of slaves
- Abolishing the institution of slavery completely
Achieving each of these steps represents progress towards ending slavery. However, the institution was not fully dismantled until ownership of people was made illegal.
Early abolishers of the slave trade
The trans-Atlantic slave trade developed from the 16th century onwards, providing slave labor to European colonies in the Americas. However, opposition to this human trafficking also emerged in its early stages.
Denmark stands out for becoming the first country to attempt to ban the trade in slaves. In 1792, Denmark passed a law to gradually abolish the slave trade. However, this applied only to Danish colonies in the West Indies, while slavery remained legal in Denmark itself.
Great Britain made the next major move, passing a law in 1807 that abolished the slave trade in the British Empire. However, like Denmark’s ban, this did not grant freedom to slaves already held in British territories. It aimed to end the expansion of slavery, rather than abolish the institution itself.
After the British ban, the United States followed in 1808 by making it illegal to engage in the international slave trade. Again, this did not free the almost 1 million slaves held in the country at the time.
So while these nations led the way in banning the slave trade, this did not constitute fully freeing slavery in their empires and territories.
Early abolishers of the institution of slavery
To find the first country that abolished the actual institution of slavery, we must move forward to the 19th century. At this point, the anti-slavery movement was growing and pushing several nations to take more expansive action against slavery:
- 1804 – Independent Haiti – The Caribbean nation of Haiti, formed after a successful slave rebellion, inserted a ban on slavery in its declaration of independence. This ban was explicit, universal, and immediate, completely abolishing slavery from the start of the country’s existence.
- 1813 – Prussia – This German state abolished slavery, but only among the Prussian royal family. Slavery remained legal for the broader population.
- 1814 – Nepal – The Himalayan country banned the tradition of bonded labor, but forms of serfdom remained.
- 1819 – Upper Canada (Ontario) – The British colony that became modern Ontario abolished slavery, but it remained legal in the rest of British North America.
These early experiments with abolition faced limitations in scope or enforcement. But they set the stage for another nation to take the boldest step yet towards freeing slavery.
Britain abolishes slavery in its empire
In 1833, the British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act. This law abolished slavery throughout the British Empire. plantation owners were compensated for freeing their slaves, but the enslaved people received no repayment for their years of bondage.
The Act served to fully ban the institution of slavery in all British colonies, protectorates, and territories. This included Canada, areas in Africa and Asia, and islands in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. The Royal Navy was assigned to enforce the ban on the high seas.
Over 800,000 slaves were immediately emancipated in the Caribbean and South Africa. The government appropriated over £20 million in 1833 currency to compensate slave owners for lost “property”.
This mass freeing of slaves across such a large area represents perhaps the most extensive single act of emancipation in human history. While limitations remained, Britain’s action stands out as a pioneering move. For the first time, slavery was abolished by law across a vast empire.
Limits to Britain’s abolition
Despite Britain’s leading role in abolishing slavery, it remained reluctant to impose abolition on other sovereign nations. These included independent states in Latin America that still engaged in slavery.
Additionally, apprenticeship rules required freed slaves in some colonies to continue laboring for former masters for several years in exchange for provisions. Full freedom did not come until 1838.
Impressed labor and other forms of exploitation also persisted or even expanded in some areas after abolition, though no longer under the lawful institution of slavery.
So while Britain enacted the first wide-reaching abolition of slavery, limitations meant slavery continued in other jurisdictions and through other coercive means.
Other early abolishers in the Americas
In the early to mid 1800s, the newly independent nations of the Americas moved to abolish slavery:
- 1829 – Mexico – Slavery had existed on Mexican soil since the times of the Aztec Empire. Mexico abolished the institution after winning independence from Spain.
- 1831 – Bolivia – After gaining independence from Spain, the South American country of Bolivia banned slavery.
- 1848 – France – The French government abolished slavery in all French colonies, granting freedom to over 240,000 slaves.
- 1851 – Brazil – The Brazilian parliament passed the Eusebio de Queiroz Law, ending the slave trade from Africa and freeing slaves in Brazil.
- 1853 – Argentina – Following Bolivia’s lead, Argentina abolished slavery through its constitution.
- 1854 – Venezuela, Peru – These South American nations abolished slavery in the 1850s.
Many of these countries had slave populations in the hundreds of thousands. Abolition came following long campaigns by both slaves and free abolitionist movements.
Later abolishers
The mid 19th century saw most western nations abolish slavery. However, the institution persisted in some areas into the 20th century:
- 1890 – Brussels Conference Act – This treaty between European powers set strict rules to abolish slave trading in Africa.
- 1912 – China formally abolished slavery, though in limited practice.
- 1917 – Puerto Rico – Slavery was abolished on this Caribbean island, a territory of the United States.
- 1918 – Aboriginal slavery banned in Australia – Indigenous Australians had been used as forced laborers until the early 20th century.
- 1926 – Nepal formally abolishes slavery – The government reaffirmed abolition after system of bonded labor persisted.
In the United States, slavery was not fully outlawed until 1865 after the Union victory in the American Civil War. Full emancipation for freed slaves was delayed until reforms in the 1960s.
Conclusion
Reviewing the history makes clear that multiple countries took early steps to limit or abolish the slave trade and institution of slavery. However, examining the scope and impacts of these actions shows Britain’s 1833 Slavery Abolition Act stands out as the most expansive and pioneering effort of the time.
While the British abolition had its flaws and delays, it represented the first formal freeing of hundreds of thousands of slaves across a vast colonial empire unmatched in scale at the time. This bold step came following decades of campaigning by abolitionists including freed slaves themselves. It served as inspiration for many other nations grappling with abolition.
The long struggle for universal emancipation continued for decades after Britain’s act, showing the pernicious resilience of slavery. But the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 represents a historic milestone in the worldwide cause of freedom.
| Country | Year Slavery Abolished | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Denmark | 1792 | Banned slave trade in Danish West Indies |
| Britain | 1807 | Banned slave trade in British Empire |
| United States | 1808 | Banned international slave trade |
| Haiti | 1804 | Abolished slavery in declaration of independence |
| Prussia | 1813 | Abolished slavery among Prussian royals |
| Nepal | 1814 | Banned indentured “Kamaiya” labor |
| Canada | 1819 | Abolished in Upper Canada province |
| Britain | 1833 | Empire-wide abolition in Slavery Abolition Act |
| Mexico | 1829 | Newly independent Mexico frees slaves |
| Bolivia | 1831 | New republic bans slavery |
| France | 1848 | Freed slaves in all French colonies |