“Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.” (Abraham Lincoln) In 1833 a bill was passed in the British parliament to end slavery, it was called the Emancipation Act. When the slaves were free it was a very monumental, no one should have to experience being a slave and when it was ended they all were real happy. The Emancipation Act gave the slaves some freedom but not total freedom, during the 19th century Jamaica was a gold mine, they produce large about of coffee, sugar and pimentos for export.
According to the (Jamaica information services) here are the terms of the Emancipation Act:
Commonly called the Emancipation
Act, the act passed in 1833 is called the Abolition of Slavery Act. It was very
strict in its provisions:
- On Aug. 1, 1834, all slaves 6 years old and younger were to be freed, as would be any new children born in British territories.
- On Aug. 1, 1834, all older slaves would begin a period of apprenticeship that would last for four or six years.
- Predials," field-laborers, would remain apprenticed until Aug. 1, 1840.
- Non-predials would remain apprenticed until Aug. 1, 1838.
- After these dates, the slaves would be completely free.
- During the period of apprenticeship, the slaves would work for their masters for three-fourths of each week, which amounted to 40.5 hours of work.
- During the remaining 13.5 hours of the week, they were free to work for wages or work on the provision grounds.
- With wages earned, a slave could buy his or her own freedom, with or without his master's consent.
- Special Magistrates, later called Stipendiary Magistrates, would be appointed to oversee this apprenticeship process.
- Parliament would divide out a sum of £20,000,000 among the slave owners as compensation for the loss of their property.
The Act gave the slaves some structure and it also gave them
an opportunity to see the fruits of their labor, many of the plantation owners
did not like this agreement at first but they adjusted to it because the slaves
where free but not totally free. The apprenticeship was viewed by many slaves
as free labor and some resisted it, others saw it as a way to become
independent and one day earn enough money to buy their freedom papers.
After the apprenticeship ended 1840 the island face some
hardship, plantation owners were losing their labor force to other plantation
owners who could offer the workers better working conditions, many struggle to
keep their land and was not very successful being a land owner. This along with
the great depression lead to a sharp decline in crops being produce, however,
renewed British administration after the 1865 rebellion, in the form of crown
colony status, resulted in some social and economic progress as well as
investment in the physical infrastructure. Agricultural development was the
centerpiece of restored British rule in Jamaica. In 1868 the first large-scale
irrigation project was launched. In 1895 the Jamaica Agricultural Society was
founded to promote more scientific and profitable methods of farming. Also in
the 1890s, the Crown Lands Settlement Scheme was introduced, a land reform
program of sorts, which allowed small farmers to purchase two hectares or more
of land on favorable terms.(Growth and Structure of the Economy) (U.S. Library
of Congress)
Post slavery is very important to the history of Jamaica and
I am very happy to place it on this list, the Emancipation Act and also the
creation of the Jamaica Agriculture Society gave my farmers the opportunity to
become owners of their produce and it open doors for the creation of new crops
that can be sold all the island and also exported. My great-grandfather and
grandfather benefited greatly from the change in the agriculture sector, my
great-grandfather worked and eventually owned three acres of crown land and
planted sugar cane on it. He also work at the Long pond sugar factory in
Trelawney, my grandfather grew up and do the same thing as his father and that
land still remains in my family. As Jamaicans our forth fathers did not want to
be here but their hard work, struggles
and pain made this wonderful island what
it is and I am extremely proud of it.
Post Slavery made the countdown because even though there
were struggles after the Emancipation Act of 1834 they persevered and help give
Jamaica its identity.
See you tomorrow.
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| Free at Last |
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| Emancipation Parade |
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| Emancipation Park, Jamaica. |
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