Slave Compensation Act 1837
Encyclopedia
The Slave Compensation Act 1837 (1 & 2 Vict. c. 3) was an Act of Parliament
in the United Kingdom
, signed into law on December 23, 1837.
It empowered the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt
, under the direction of the Treasury, to either pay the compensation which was still owing to slave-owners out of the West India Compensation Account, or to transfer a proportionate amount of 3½% government annuities. The various acts of William IV which related to slave compensation were to be considered, as far as applicable, to apply to this act.
Slave Owners were paid approximately £20 million in compensation in over 40,000 awards for slaves freed in the colonies of the Caribbean
, Mauritius
and the Cape of Good Hope
according to a government census which named all owners as of 1 August 1834.
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, signed into law on December 23, 1837.
It empowered the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt
Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt
The Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt , is a non-ministerial department of the UK Government, established in 1786, which manages the investment portfolios of a number of government and public bodies including HM Revenue & Customs , National Savings and Investments , Her Majesty's...
, under the direction of the Treasury, to either pay the compensation which was still owing to slave-owners out of the West India Compensation Account, or to transfer a proportionate amount of 3½% government annuities. The various acts of William IV which related to slave compensation were to be considered, as far as applicable, to apply to this act.
Slave Owners were paid approximately £20 million in compensation in over 40,000 awards for slaves freed in the colonies of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
according to a government census which named all owners as of 1 August 1834.