Slavery in The Spanish New World Colonies - Ending of Slavery

Ending of Slavery

Support for abolitionism rose in Great Britain. Slavery was abolished under the French Revolution were increasingly in evidence in slave unrest. Later slave revolts were arguably part of the upsurge of liberal and democratic values centered on individual rights and liberties which accompanied the transition to capitalism in Europe. As emancipation became more of a concrete reality, the slaves' concept of freedom changed. No longer did they seek to overthrow the whites and re-establish carbon-copy African societies as they had done during the earlier rebellions; the vast majority of slaves were now creole and envisaged their freedom within the established framework of the existing society.²

The Spanish American wars of independence emancipated most of the overseas territories of Spain, and divided it in many different countries. Although slavery did not influence the war, the war was influenced by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment and economic affairs, which also led to the reduction and ending of feudalism. It was not an unified process, and some countries like Peru and Ecuador reintroduced slavery for some time after the independence.

In the treaty of 1814, the king of Spain promised to consider means for abolishing the trade; so, referring to this promise the king states in the treaty of September 23, 1817, with Great Britain that "having never lost sight of a matter so interesting to him and being desirous of hastening the moment of its attainment, he has determined to co-operate with His Britannic Majesty in adopting the cause of humanity." The king bound himself "that the slave trade will be abolished in all the dominions of Spain, May 30, 1820, and that after that date it shall not be lawful for any subject of the crown of Spain to buy slaves or carry on the slave trade upon any part of the coast of Africa." The date of final suppression was October 30. The subjects of the king of Spain were forbidden to carry slaves for any one outside of the Spanish dominions, or to use the flag to cover such dealings.³

The Assembly of Year XIII of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata declared the freedom of wombs. It did not end slavery completely, but emancipated the sons of slaves. Many slaves gained emancipation by joining the armies, either against royalists during the War of Independence, or during the later Civil Wars. For example, the Argentine Confederation ended slavery definitely with the sanction of the Argentine Constitution of 1853.