Emancipation Act

Rationale

The researcher chose this topic to learn about apprenticeship, what the clauses of the Emancipation Act were, and to state whether he thinks the apprenticeship system was the last stage of slavery rather than the first stage of freedom.

The reader will be enlightened about apprenticeship, the Emancipation Act, and the things that happened during the period of Apprenticeship.

Introduction

“On the 1st of August, next, you become free from absolute slavery, and at the same time you become apprentices, under regular laws, to your present owners.”-Proclamation of Governor of Barbados, 22 January 1834(Sources of West Indian History, page 143)

The quote above was said by Sir Lionel Smith, the then Governor of Barbados, who was speaking about apprenticeship, which was the transition between the Abolition of Slavery and Emancipation. Apprenticeship was a term of the Emancipation Act, which stated that all slaves under the age of 6 would be freed, while all the other slaves would become apprentices under their current owners. The aim of apprenticeship was to let both masters and ex-slaves get accustomed to living and working in a free community, but were the apprentices treated as slaves or free men? In this essay, the researcher will be stating why apprenticeship was the last stage of slavery rather than the first stage of freedom.

To explain this, the researcher will be speaking about the some of the clauses of the Abolition Act, which are:

1. Slave children under six years old to be freed immediately
2. Apprentices should work for not more than forty-five hours per week without pay, and any additional hours with pay
3. Apprentices should be provided with food and clothing by the master;
4. Compensation in the form of a free gift of £20,000,000 should be paid to slave owners throughout the British empire on condition that the local legislatures passed laws to bring Emancipation
5. Slaves over six would have to serve an apprenticeship of six years in the case of praedial slaves, and four years in the case of all others

“Slave Children under six years old to be freed immediately”

This was not only stated in the Emancipation Act, but it was also stated in the Amelioration Act of 1823. However, Amelioration was a failed system, so why would a pass clause be re-introduced?

“By the terms of the Abolition Act, children six years old and under and persons over seventy were freed immediately on 1 August 1834”-Thomas C. Holt

As the quote above stated, not only were young children six and under freed, but persons over the age of 70 as well. But why was such a specific age range chosen?

With the passing of the Emancipation Act, it was clear that slavery was soon going to end, and something needed to be done to appease the abolitionists and humanitarians, while also having a way of still making a profit. And this was done by creating the above conditions.

Children under six years old are too young and slaves 70 and above are too old to any serious or substantial work on the plantations, so freeing them would come at no loss to the planters, while also appeasing the abolitionists, humanitarians, and others who were against slavery.