Abolition

Definition

The movement and legal process of ending the slave trade and slavery. It happened at different times in different places: Britain passed the Slave Trade Act in 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, which took effect in 1834, while Brazil ended slavery in 1888. Laws against the trade and laws against slavery were different, and neither guaranteed real freedom, so abolition often left injustices unaddressed. See also: abolitionist, emancipation, and the guide Abolition Movements and the End of the Trade.