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Abolition of the slave trade
An annual national day of commemoration
We continue to mark this important part of history beyond the bicentenary with 23 August as the focal date for annual national commemorations. A number of events around the country are planned for this month.
Slavery and abolition
The transatlantic slave trade, abolition movement, time line of key events
Bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade
25 March 2007 marked 200 years to the day that a Parliamentary Bill was passed to abolish the slave trade in the then British Empire
Commemoration in 2007
For over four hundred years, from the mid-fifteenth century, Europeans enslaved millions of Africans through the transatlantic slave trade. It is thought that over 12 million Africans were loaded onto slave ships and that over three million died. During 2007 the government worked with stakeholders to develop plans to mark the 200th anniversary of the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade Act
Commemoration in 2008 and beyond
On the 13th of December 2007 the Government announced that from 2008, it will adopt the 23rd of August - the UNESCO day for the International Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition – as the focal date for future national commemorations. Find out more on the planned events for 2008
Addressing today's issues
In addition to commemorating the past, Government was keen to address issues of the present related to slavery, such as discrimination and inequality in modern Britain, poverty in Africa and modern forms of slavery and is undertaking a range of work in these areas
Commemorative magazine
The Government has published a commemorative magazine to mark the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade
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