History

Key Events in Slavery's Abolition

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Updated:4/9/2026
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Event
Year
Country
Key Figure
Type
Significance
Somerset v Stewart ruling
1772EnglandLord MansfieldCourt rulingHeld slavery unsupported by English common law
Pennsylvania Gradual Abolition Act
1780United StatesGeorge BryanLegislationFirst state law phasing out slavery
French First Republic abolishes slavery
1794FranceNational ConventionLegislationAbolished in all colonies, later reversed by Napoleon
Haitian Revolution victory
1804HaitiJean-Jacques DessalinesRevolutionFirst successful slave revolt, independent black republic
British Slave Trade Act
1807United KingdomWilliam WilberforceLegislationAbolished transatlantic slave trade in British Empire
US bans slave importation
1808United StatesThomas JeffersonLegislationImport of enslaved people banned by Congress
Spain abolishes slave trade
1820SpainFerdinand VIITreaty / LegislationTreaty with Britain, weakly enforced in Cuba
Slavery Abolition Act
1833United KingdomThomas Fowell BuxtonLegislationFreed 800,000 enslaved people across British Empire
French Second Republic abolition
1848FranceVictor SchoelcherLegislationPermanent abolition throughout French colonies
Emancipation Proclamation
1863United StatesAbraham LincolnExecutive orderFreed enslaved people in Confederate states
Thirteenth Amendment ratified
1865United StatesAbraham LincolnConstitutional amendmentAbolished slavery throughout the United States
Cuban abolition (Moret Law completion)
1886Cuba / SpainSpanish governmentLegislationEnded slavery in Cuba after gradual process
Brazilian Golden Law (Lei Aurea)
1888BrazilPrincess IsabelLegislationLast country in Americas to abolish slavery
League of Nations Slavery Convention
1926InternationalLeague of NationsTreatyFirst international treaty against slavery
Saudi Arabia abolishes slavery
1962Saudi ArabiaKing FaisalDecreeFreed an estimated 10,000 enslaved people
Mauritania criminalizes slavery
2007MauritaniaNational AssemblyLegislationLast country to criminalize slavery

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