What was the Slave Trade Act 1843 (UK)?

Slave Trade Act 1843

Houses of Parliament, Palace of Westminster, London.

Section 1 of the Slave Act 1843 extended the provisions of s 10 of the Slave Trade Act 1824.

Section 10 made the slave trade a criminal offence, to all British subjects. However, the Slave Trade Acts only applied where a person was detained and carried off to be a slave.

The Slave Trade Act 1843 increased the penalties for those involved in the slave trade.

Section 2 of the Slave Trade Act 1843 enacted by the British Parliament declared "persons holden in servitude as pledges for debt", ie, bonded laborers, to "be slaves or persons intended to be dealt with as slaves" for the purpose of the Slave Trade Act 1824 and the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. It provided:

And be it declared and enacted, That all Persons holden in Servitude as Pledges for Debt, and commonly called “Pawns”, or by whatever other Name they may be called or known, shall, for the Purposes of the said consolidated Slave Trade Act [sc (4 Geo IV c 113)] and of [sc the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will IV c 73)], and of this present Act, be deemed and construed to be Slaves or Persons intended to be dealt with as Slaves.

The combined effect of s 10 of the Slave Trade Act (4 Geo IV c 113) (Imp) and ss 1 and 2 of the Slave Act 1843 (6 & 7 Vict c 98) (Imp) was to create offences in relation to bonded labourers as if they were slaves, ie, the offences created under s 10 of the Slave Trade Act (4 Geo IV c 113) (Imp) in relation to the trade or traffic in slaves were extended to apply to transactions in relation to bonded labourers.

The Slave Act 1843 struck at insurance and mortgages of enterprises engaged in the slave trade.

Section 2 of the Slave Act 1843 was repealed by the Statute Law Revision Act 1891.