Great Britain: King William IV: Slavery Abolished
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Form:
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Circular
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By:
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T. Halliday, Birmingham (?) |
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Date:
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1834 |
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Ref:
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AM2: 8; BHM: 1673; Eimer: 1276; Laidlaw: 0249b;
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Variations:
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| Size | Metal | Mass | Value |
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| 41 mm | Silver | | $750 | | 41.2 mm | Bronze | 38.4 gm | $430 | | 41 mm | While Metal | 23 gm | $210 |
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Edge:
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Plain.
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Obverse:
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King William IV sitting beneath a canopy, front, his right foot on a footstool. Standing to the left, the Prime Minister and the Colonial Secretary and to the right, the Lord Chancellor and the Archbishop of Canterbury(?). In the exergue: “I ADVOCATE THIS BILL AS A / MEASURE OF HUMANITY / (line)”.
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Reverse:
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With hands joined in a circle, four African males and three females dancing round a central palm tree. In the exergue: “SLAVERY ABOLISHED BY / GREAT BRITAIN / 1834”
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Notes:
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The terms of Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 became law on 1st August 1834 throughout most of the British Empire. In South Africa this was delayed until 1st December 1834. Under the Act slave ownership was abolish and replace by a transitional period of paid apprenticeships whereby freed slaves were to continue working for their past masters who were compensated by the Government for the imposed financial losses. A sum of 20,000 pounds sterling was allocated for this purpose.
The social and financial adjustments in a country like South Africa where slavery was commonplace were substantial. The Act exacerbated the existing resentment against British rule by the people of Dutch descent and was a major factor contributing to the decision by thousands of these people to leave the Cape Colony for the north in an exodus later known as the Great Trek. The 'voortrekkers' settled in territories which became the Boer Republics of the Orange Free State and the Transvaal.
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