Emancipation Day is a federally recognized day to celebrate the end of slavery in Canada and parts of the Caribbean. It is held on Aug. 1st as that was the day the Slavery Abolition Act was passed in the UK, ending slavery in the British Empire. The parallel day in the U.S. is Juneteenth, on June 19th, the anniversary of the announcement of freedom for slaves reaching Texas after the civil war.
The Emancipation Day Picnic here in Owen Sound is the oldest continuously running such event in Canada, but the Caribbean Festival in Toronto, formerly Caribana, is undoubtedly the largest. All such events are a celebration of freedom.
The Slavery Abolition Act opened the doors to American slaves, where freedom only came after the Civil War in 1865. The potential freedom here led to the Underground Railway, a network of safe houses that assisted black slaves as they sought their freedom in the north, so for 30 years blacks escaped to Canada and took up a new life here. The black settlement in Priceville is one evidence of this.
Even though slavery ended in Canada before it did in the U.S., that doesn't mean there was no slavery here. Before 1833 there were about 4000 slaves in Canada, of whom more than half were indigenous peoples. In fact more black slaves arrived in Nova Scotia than in southern Ontario during these years. But those years did leave a legacy of racial discrimination that is still with us today.
You can learn more about slavery and freedom for slaves in Canada by googling the Canadian Government's website on 'Emancipation Day - August 1st',
It is shameful, a horrible part of history.
ReplyDeleteCanada was far ahead of the U.S. in emancipating slaves and recognizing the terrible treatment of indigenous people as well. The U.S. is still playing catch-up and there are a lot of people here who are far from recognizing even a few of the many wrongs that were done. We in the U.S. should be ashamed, but unfortunately all too many people are not.
ReplyDeleteI read a book a long time ago, where the quilts were hung on the line in a special way, the blocks signifying where the travellers were to go to safety.So hard now to imagine what happened back then.Cruelty still happening across the world right now, I truly cannot imagine how the Russian/Ukraine war has been allowed to continue, or even start.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good to[pic to remind us about on heritage day.
ReplyDeleteCuriously there's little remembrance of the abolition of slavery in the UK, certainly no day to celebrate it. William Wilberforce has a statue in his parliamentary constituency of Hull and at his college in Cambridge. Thomas Clarkson has a statue in the Fenland town of Wisbech and also has monuments in an out-of-the-way Sussex village and beside the A10 road. Meanwhile the founder of the abolitionist movement, Granville Sharp, is remembered only through a battered bas-relief on the pedestal of Clarkson's statue, and seems largely forgotten to history, as are the names of the many churchmen and women who also fought for the cause. Needless to say, perhaps, two black men who also helped with the campaign are also largely forgotten.
ReplyDeleteI heard about it or read about it. I guess i is new as an official proclamation.
ReplyDeleteI was never taught about slavery or residential schools. That has finally changed for children today!
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me our school curriculum missed a lot of important material. I think I recall reading something about slavery in Canada but it was a passing mention. But I did read about Harriet Tubman as a child and it made a huge impression on me.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the links. I wish we had something similar here in the US.
ReplyDeleteThe history of the Underground Railroad is a fascinating one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the blog so well and I hope you have something new for me to study.
ReplyDeleteហ្គេមស្លត់អនឡាញ