Free to follow every thread. No paywall, no dead ends.
Abolitionism: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Medieval Decrees And Early Laws —
Abolitionism.
~5 min read · Ch. 1 of 6
In 1315, Louis X, king of France, published a decree proclaiming that "France signifies freedom" and that any slave setting foot on French soil should be freed. This legal declaration prompted subsequent governments to circumscribe slavery in the overseas colonies. Earlier, Balthild of Chelles, herself a former slave who became queen consort of Neustria and Burgundy, abolished the trade of slaves during her regency starting in 657. Her favorite charity involved buying and freeing slaves, especially children. The first country to fully outlaw slavery was France in 1315, though it was later used in its colonies. Spain passed the New Laws in 1542, becoming the first country to abolish and punish slavery for Indigenous people. Under the actions of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, chattel slavery has been abolished across Japan since 1590, though other forms of forced labour were used during World War II.
British Parliamentary Campaigns
The Somersett case in 1772 established that slavery did not exist under English common law when Lord Mansfield ruled that James Somersett's abduction was unlawful. This decision helped launch the British movement to abolish slavery. In 1787, the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade formed in London with William Wilberforce leading the parliamentary campaign. Thomas Clarkson gathered vast amounts of data on the trade as the group's most prominent researcher. The Slave Trade Act 1807 made the slave trade illegal throughout the British Empire on the 25th of March 1807. Britain used its influence to coerce other countries to agree to treaties to end their slave trade and allow the Royal Navy to seize their slave ships. The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 purchased slaves from their masters and paved the way for the abolition of slavery throughout the British Empire by 1838. The world's oldest international human rights organization, Anti-Slavery International, continues today from the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society formed in 1839.
American Civil War And Emancipation
Vermont abolished adult slavery in 1777, followed by Pennsylvania's gradual emancipation act in 1780. By 1804, all Northern states had abolished slavery, though this did not mean that already enslaved people were freed immediately. The American Civil War broke out in April 1861 when the Confederacy fired on Fort Sumter, a Union fort in South Carolina. On the 1st of January 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which changed the legal status of 3 million slaves in the Confederacy from "slave" to "henceforward ... free." By Juneteenth (the 19th of June 1865, in Texas), the Union Army controlled all of the Confederacy and liberated all its slaves. The 13th Amendment took effect in December 1865, seven months after the end of the war, and finally ended slavery for non-criminals throughout the United States. It also abolished slavery among Indian tribes, including Alaska tribes that became part of the U.S. in 1867.
Global Abolition In The Twentieth Century
The League of Nations founded commissions to investigate and eradicate the institution of slavery worldwide between 1924 and 1939. The Temporary Slavery Commission conducted a global investigation and filed a report in 1924-1926. The Advisory Committee of Experts on Slavery inspected all colonial empires and territories under their control between 1934 and 1939. Article 4 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted in 1948 explicitly banned slavery. Chattel slavery was still legal in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Dubai, and Oman until the mid-20th century. Faisal of Saudi Arabia prohibited owning slaves in November 1962, followed by abolition in Yemen in 1962, slavery in Dubai in 1963, and slavery in Oman in 1970. Mauritania is the latest country to officially abolish slavery with a presidential decree in 1981. Today, child and adult slavery and forced labour are illegal in almost all countries, as well as being against international law, but human trafficking for labour and for sexual bondage continues to affect tens of millions of adults and children.
Women And Minority Leadership
Black activists included former slaves such as Frederick Douglass and free blacks such as Charles Henry Langston and John Mercer Langston, who helped found the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Enslaved women like Phillis Wheatley and Harriet Tubman took matters into their own hands by challenging the institution through writing and actions. Women such as the Grimké Sisters, Abigail Adams, Elizabeth Cady Stanton used connections to political movements to advocate for abolition. Authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe and Gertrudis Gómez de Avellaneda used novels to question the humanity of slavery. In Cuba and Brazil, enslaved women like Adelina Charuteira used mobility as street vendors and literacy to spread information about abolition between freedom-seeking people and local networks. The suffering of women in slavery was a common trope in abolitionist rhetoric, especially regarding images of suffering mothers and their children. Speeches focused on comparing enslaved mothers to "all other mothers" using motherhood to level subjects and objects of speech.
Modern Slavery And Legal Frameworks
The United Nations 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery was convened to outlaw and ban slavery worldwide, including child slavery. Article 4 of this international treaty bans slavery and came into force in March 1976 after being ratified by 35 nations. As of November 2003, 104 nations had ratified the treaty. Illegal forced labour involves millions of people in the 21st century, with 43% for sexual exploitation and 32% for economic exploitation. In Mauritania alone, estimates suggest up to 600,000 men, women and children, or 20% of the population, are enslaved. Many are used as bonded labour. Since 1997, the U.S. Department of Justice has prosecuted individuals in Florida on charges of slavery in agriculture, leading to freedom for over 1000 enslaved workers in tomato and orange fields. The International Labour Organization estimates there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking globally, including 5.5 million children, of which 55% are women and girls. Modern-day abolitionists have emerged working to rid the world of slavery through groups like Anti-Slavery International and Free the Slaves.
When did Louis X of France first declare that slavery was illegal on French soil?
Louis X, king of France, published a decree in 1315 proclaiming that any slave setting foot on French soil should be freed. This legal declaration prompted subsequent governments to circumscribe slavery in the overseas colonies.
Which country became the first to fully outlaw slavery and when did this happen?
France was the first country to fully outlaw slavery in 1315 through a royal decree issued by King Louis X. Although later used in its colonies, this initial act established the legal principle that France signifies freedom for those who set foot on its soil.
What date did Abraham Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation during the American Civil War?
Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on the 1st of January 1863 which changed the legal status of 3 million slaves in the Confederacy from slave to free. The Union Army liberated all slaves in the Confederacy by Juneteenth on the 19th of June 1865.
Who were the key figures behind the British movement to abolish the slave trade in the late 1700s?
William Wilberforce led the parliamentary campaign while Thomas Clarkson gathered vast amounts of data as the group's most prominent researcher. They formed the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade in London in 1787 to push for legislative change.
When did Mauritania officially become the latest country to abolish slavery with a presidential decree?
Mauritania is the latest country to officially abolish slavery with a presidential decree in 1981. This action followed earlier abolition dates in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Dubai, and Oman during the mid-20th century.