- “If you know your history, then you would know where you coming from.” - Bob Marley
August 1, 1834, marked the end of slavery in the
Caribbean and in some countries August 1 is observed as a national holiday. All
across the Caribbean— in St Lucia Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana,
Dominica, Grenada, all the islands — there will be tributes to our ancestors,
church services, and street processions to observe the end of this very dark
period in our history.
August 1, 2019 marks 181 years since the
proclamation of full freedom for Africans in the British colonies. Emancipation Day is a
way for people of African descent in the Caribbean to remind themselves of the
struggle for freedom.
It was not until 1834 that slavery was
actually abolished on Saint Lucia. Even after slavery was officially abolished,
all former slaves had to serve a four-year ‘apprenticeship’ which forced them
to work for free for their former slave masters for at least three-quarters of
the work week, meaning final freedom did not come until 1838. Full freedom
for enslaved Africans in St Lucia was not achieved until August 1, 1838.
Emancipation Day was first
"established," after the British Parliament passed the Slave
Emancipation Act in 1833 banning its policy of enslaving and transporting
Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean islands.
ON August 28, 1833, the bill for the abolition of
slavery in the British dominions received the royal assent. It stated:
- Be
it enacted, that all and every one of the persons who on the first day of
August one thousand eight hundred and thirty four, shall be holden in slavery
within such British colony as aforesaid, shall, upon and from and after the
said first day of August, one thousand eight hundred and thirty-four, become
and be to all intents and purposes free and discharged from all manner of
slavery, and shall be absolutely and forever manumitted.
The bill's passage immediately transformed
thousands of enslaved Africans who were six years and older into apprentices
with the intention of manumission in 1838 for former household enslaved
Africans and 1840 for those who worked in the field. All children six years and
under were to be made free immediately.
In 1997, the then government introduced
Emancipation Day as a public holiday - It had been recognised on the first Monday
in August. The introduction of Emancipation Day as a holiday provides the
opportunity for us to reflect on the journey of our ancestors in their struggle
for freedom. As Bob Marley sings, "If you know
your history, then you would know where you coming from". An
understanding of our past and the experiences of our ancestors is important as
we continue to build our country.
Not much has changed in the lives of the children
of the slaves since Emancipation from our 300-year-long nightmare. We keep the
hope that we can completely free ourselves of the shackles that were once on
our feet.
Today, RG Group of Companies Ltd joins our brothers
and sisters in the Caribbean in remembering the pain of slavery, vowing that no
one will ever put us in chains again. We keep the hope for a better future for
our children.
As we celebrate another Emancipation anniversary,
let us as a nation redouble our efforts to wipe away the blood and tears of
slavery and make Emancipation a reality of Freedom, Equality and Justice for
the sons and daughters of the enslaved and for all St Lucians regardless of
race, ethnicity and culture.
Happy Emancipation Day to all St Lucians, and to all of our customers, clients and readers!
Happy Emancipation Day to all St Lucians, and to all of our customers, clients and readers!
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