A Worthwhile Possession: A Reading of Women's Valuation of Slaveholding in the 1875 Gold Coast Ladies' Anti-abolition Petition

Extract

In late 1874, the Colonial Government of the Gold Coast passed an abolition measure which was designed to end slavery, all other forms of compulsory labour, and slave trading in the colony. The measure took the form of two laws: the Gold Coast Slave-Dealing Abolition Ordinance (1874) and the Gold Coast Emancipation Ordinance (1874). The Gold Coast Legislative Council passed the laws on 17 December 1874 and they received the assent of the Governor on 28 December. On 30 December 1874, the measure was proclaimed. The first of the ordinances absolutely and immediately outlawed the importation of slaves into the Gold Coast, and abolished slave dealing and pawning. The other ordinance provided for the emancipation of slaves by abolishing the legal status of slavery and empowering slaves to leave their owners at will.