Painting by Belynda Wilson Thomas
Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves. Abraham Lincoln
We might feel ashamed that slaves were ever owned in Canada and that is something to be ashamed of, but slaves were owned everywhere or almost everywhere in the world so why wouldn’t they be owned in Canada?
On August 1, 1834, “The Slavery Abolition Act” came into effect across the British Empire, (and from my research) this freed about fifty enslaved people in Canada. Why were only fifty slaves freed in Canada? Because forty years earlier John Graves Simcoe the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada brought in his “Act against Slavery” in July 1793.
This law did not abolish slavery, but it made it so no new slaves could be brought into Upper Canada (Ontario), or bought and sold. Children at the age of 25 were free. This meant forty years later when the “Slavery Abolition Act” took effect across the British Empire only around fifty people were still enslaved and had the “Slavery Abolition Act” not occurred, slavery would still have ended in Upper Canada (Ontario).
About 4000 people were owned as slaves in Upper and Lower Canada between 1629 and 1834 (from my research.) Between 1800 and 1865 it is estimated up to 100,000 people came to Canada on the Underground Railroad escaping slavery from the United States.
Even though slavery existed in Canada the amount of slaves that escaped to freedom in Canada is far more than were enslaved in Canada.
Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Martin Luther King
It may seem too little too late when so many people were suffering under slavery, but slavery wasn’t new, it didn’t start with the Atlantic slave trade bringing people to North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Slavery had been a scourge in society since recorded history and still is a scourge in some parts of the world.
The question I ask is; if slavery existed for so long almost everywhere in the world why was it able to be ended in the 1700s and 1800s? People took up the fight to end it, and even though it went on too long, it was ended. Was everything done ideally and everyone treated equally and are we all feeling good about our past history? No, we are not, but we are not fighting to end slavery because that hard fight has already been won.
Slavery is in the bible, and we can point to street names in some of our cities, named after people who once owned slaves. We need to own our history, the good, the bad, what we are proud of, and what we are not proud of. I for one am proud to be part of a country and a commonwealth on the right side of history. Even though it took longer to end slavery in America, it ended.
People of courage, fortitude, and perseverance ended slavery. It was not easy, it changed everything, and people on both sides of the Atlantic fought to have it continue.
We should all celebrate emancipation month because the hard fight was done, and slavery was ended. Perfection is the enemy of the good, we may look at how things were ended and think it should have been done better, and perhaps it could have been. Here we are with the remnants of our past to deal with. It may seem there should be no remnants left, but not even two hundred years have passed since the Slavery Abolition Act came into effect.
We may think where is the perfect society we were promised? What perfect society? Where in the world has a perfect society existed? Where does everyone have as much as they want, and not be able to look at others with envy because they have more power, prestige, or money?
Are we focusing on past injustices? Are we missing what we could have now by focusing on what we didn’t have in the past? I am grateful the fight to end slavery is over, there is always injustice to overcome, and I am not convinced history could not have taken a different turn, and the slavery question still be with us to fight. Two hundred years is a small drop in the ocean of history. Thank you to those with the fortitude, courage, and perseverance who fought the scourge of slavery and ended it, and made the world better for everyone.
We have issues we still need to fight, we need to work together to make society better. Will we fight the issues, and not each other?
Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. Nelson Mandela
How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and sheroes! Maya Angelou
Those who say it can’t be done are usually interrupted by others doing it. James A. Baldwin
Thank you for reading this post. Please come back and read some more. Have a blessed day filled with gratitude, joy, and love.
