VF 12 Upper Canadian Act Against Slavery 1793 Plaque



 


 


 


 

This plaque commemorating the landmark Upper Canadian Act Against Slavery (1793) is located on the former site of the Niagara Baptist Church, established in 1830, with a congregation comprised predominantly of Black members.

The plaque reads:



The Upper Canadian Act Against Slavery (1793)

Inspired by the abolitionist sentiment emerging in the late 18th century, Lieutenant-Governor J.G. Simcoe made Upper Canada the first British territory to legislate against slavery, which had defined the conditions of life for most people of African ancestry in Canada since the early 17th century. The Act of 1793 did not free a single slave, but prevented their importation and freed the future children of slaves at age twenty-five. Faced with growing opposition in the colonies, slavery declined. The Imperial Act of 1833 finally abolished slavery in the British territories in 1834.

Abolition of slavery in the United States did not take place until much later, with Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation in January 1863. This difference in the legal status of slavery between the United States and Canada caused thousands of refugee American slaves to make their way north to seek freedom in Canada via the Underground Railroad.


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