Past vs. Present: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
Past vs. Present: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition
Established by UNESCO in 1998, August 23 annually commemorates the tragic history of the slave trade, its causes, and its consequences, urging a collective reflection.
The day originated from the 1791 slave insurrection in Saint-Domingue (modern-day Haiti), which led to independence and the abolition of slavery in 1804. This pivotal event played a crucial role in ending the slave trade.
The Slave Trade:
Beginning in the 1440s with Portuguese capture of Equatorial African coastal inhabitants, the trade expanded significantly in the 17th century.
Enslaved Africans were exploited on plantations in the New World for crops like cotton, tobacco, and sugar.
The triangular trade, connecting three continents, saw the first slave ship arrive in America in 1619.
Between the 17th and 19th centuries, an estimated 15 to 18 million Africans were forcibly deported, with a third perishing during the perilous Middle Passage.
Abolition:
The abolition of slavery progressed at different times globally: the United Kingdom (1807), northern United States (1808), southern United States (1865), and Brazil (1888).
Other nations followed, including Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, and Portugal, with Morocco and Mauritania abolishing it later in 1981.
The Brussels General Act of 1890, signed by major powers including the Russian Empire, aimed to block the trade by establishing military posts to control trade routes and imposing penalties for forced detention.
Subsequent international instruments, such as the 1926 and 1956 Conventions against Slavery, further addressed the issue.
The Present Day:
While the slave trade is a dark chapter in human history, slavery itself has not disappeared and has evolved into new forms.
According to a 2021 report involving the International Labour Organization, an estimated 50 million people worldwide were living as "modern slaves" – 28 million in forced labor and 22 million in forced marriages.
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