The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 abolished slavery throughout the British Empire, with the exception of India, which was constitutionally complicated because the Indian States were nominally independent though under the thumb of the East India Company. Slavery had become rare in England itself by that time and took mostly the form of indentured servitude, but it still existed in the colonies, notably in the Caribbean. The 1833 Act was the great example of compensated emancipation, which was the road unfortunately not taken in the U.S. We found a much more expensive way to abolish slavery. In the U.S., compensated emancipation was done in the District of Columbia in 1862. Elsewhere it was done through a mix of wartime self-emancipation, the Emancipation Proclamation, and Union bayonets, all ratified and regularized eventually by the 13th Amendment. The last place in the U.S. where large scale chattel slavery existed legally was actually Kentucky, which did not secede and was therefore a Union state not covered by the Emancipation Proclamation. Kentucky newspapers were still running ads for slave auctions when Lee was surrendering at Appomattox. Slavery in Kentucky only ended with the 13th amendment.
I did not know that.
That certainly takes ALL the sparkle off the "Juneteenth" legend.
Thanks.