Emancipation Day is observed in many former European colonies in the West Indies and parts of the United States on various dates to commemorate the emancipation of slaves of African descent.
In much of the former British West Indies, Emancipation Day is usually marked on 1 August, commemorating the anniversary of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 coming into force on 1 August 1834. However, in some countries, it is marked instead on the first Monday in August. The observance of a holiday in the British West Indies also became a key mobilisation tool and holiday for the antislavery movement in the United States.
Emancipation Day is also observed in other areas in regard to the abolition of other forms of involuntary servitude.
1 August or the first Monday in August
The Slavery Abolition Act 1833 abolished slavery throughout most of the British Empire. Exceptions to the act included the territories administered by the East India Company, the islands of Ceylon and Saint Helena. The act came into force for these exceptions in 1843.
The legislation only freed slaves below the age of six. Enslaved people older than six years of age were re-designated as "apprentices" and required to work 40 hours per week without pay, as part of compensation payment to their former owners. Full emancipation was finally achieved at midnight on 31 July 1838.
The holiday is known as August Monday in Guyana, Dominica, the Bahamas, and the British Virgin Islands, among other territories, as it is usually commemorated on the first Monday in August. Saint Lucia celebrates the holiday on 1 August.
Antigua and Barbuda celebrates carnival on and around the first Monday of August. Since 1834 Antigua and Barbuda have observed the end of slavery. The first Monday and Tuesday in August was observed as a bank holiday so the populace can celebrate Emancipation Day. Monday is J'ouvert, a street party that mimics the early morning emancipation.
Anguilla: In addition to commemorating emancipation, it is the first day of "August Week", the Anguillian Carnival celebrations. J'ouvert is celebrated the Monday after 1 August, as Carnival commences.
In the Bahamas, while Emancipation was historically observed on 1 August, the public holiday is observed on the first Monday in August and is, therefore, also colloquially referred to by the public as "August Monday". The public holiday has been observed in the Bahamas from as early as 1973, a month and a half after the country's independence.
Celebrations for Emancipation Day are traditionally centred in Fox Hill, Nassau, a former slave village. According to local folklore, the residents of Fox Hill learned of emancipation about a week after the rest of New Providence, giving rise to the community's distinctive Fox Hill Day celebrations.
Celebrations for the day are traditionally concentrated in, a former slave village whose inhabitants, according to folklore, heard about their freedom a week after everyone else on the island.
The day was also a day on which friendly societies marched to Government House and presented a list of grievances for the previous year. In 1938, seven to 800 people marched and demonstrated on 1 August for labour reforms a secret ballot at elections. Today, the Labour Day public holiday would more likely be chosen to express similar sentiments.
On the island as Eleuthera, the celebration known as the Bay Fest, close to Emancipation Day and lasting several days, is held in the settlement of Hatchet Bay on the island of Eleuthera, and "Back to the Bay" is held in the settlement of Tarpum Bay, also on Eleuthera.
Emancipation Day in Barbados is part of the annual "Season of Emancipation", which began in 2005. The Season runs from 14 April to 23 August. Commemorations include:
the anniversary of Bussa's rebellion, a major slave rebellion in 1816, 14 April
National Heroes Day, 28 April;
Crop Over festival, which includes May, June and the first week of August