Today is Emancipation Day – a day when St Lucians, in particular, African St Lucians, observe the ending of chattel slavery and the dawn of freedom from servitude. Rayneau Group of Companies Ltd takes the opportunity to salute our African St Lucian brothers and sisters as they celebrate with the rest of St Lucia what is easily the most important day on their calendar and by extension the St Lucian calendar.
August 1, 2034, marks 185 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 them of the struggle for freedom.
It was not until 1834 that slavery was actually abolished in 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 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
passage of this bill in the British Parliament in England led to the
emancipation of slavery in all British colonies, including St Lucia, on August
1, 1834.
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 in 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 recognized 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, Rayneau 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.
THE MANAGEMENT AND STAFF OF RAYNEAU GROUP OF COMPANIES LTD WOULD LIKE TO TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY ON THIS AUGUST 1, 2023, TO WISH ALL ST LUCIANS, BOTH HERE AND IN THE DIASPORA A HAPPY EMANCIPATION DAY.
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