Amelioration Act 1798

The Amelioration Act 1798^[1] (sometimes referred to as the Melioration Act or the Slavery Amelioration Act) was a statute passed by the Leeward Islands in relation to slaves in the British Caribbean colonies.

The Act applied in all of the British Leeward Island colonies in the Caribbean up until its implied repeal by the Slavery Abolition Act 1833. The Act is most often noted for its provisions for financial penalties for inflicting cruel and unusual punishments on slaves. It also made provisions for basic entitlements of slaves to clothes, food and rudimentary education. However, the Act was somewhat eclectic in effect; it also prohibited marriages between slaves being sanctified by religious ceremony.

The Act is sometimes portrayed as an example of extending basic human rights to slaves. Whilst that may be correct, it is also probable that the Act had considerably less altruistic purposes. Agitation amongst slaves was increasing in the region in the time, and slave rebellions were becoming increasingly frequent. Trying to moderate the conduct of the worst slave owners was partly a measure to control these outbreaks of violence. It has also been suggested that the Act served an economic function; anticipating the abolition of the slave trade (which in fact subsequently happened pursuant to the Slave Trade Act 1807), it has been argued that the Act sought to preserve the well-being and encourage the breeding of existing slave populations to preserve the labour basis upon which the Caribbean's plantation economies were based.

It does not appear that the provisions prohibited cruel and unusual punishments were widely enforced. However, in at least one notable instance, the trial of Arthur Hodge for the murder of one of his slaves, the Act was cited obliquely. Hodge's counsel, at the bail hearing, had argued that "A Negro being property, it was no greater offense for his master to kill him than it would be to kill his dog," a submission that was ridiculed by the prosecution, but, being unable to cite authority to refute it, made reference to the Act and averred that it was completely inconsistent with being entitled to kill slaves.

Use of the term "cruel and unusual punishments", derived from the English Bill of Rights might have also been influenced by its inclusion in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution some ten years previously, whose text was well-known to English-speaking jurists.

See also

• Slavery in the British and French Caribbean

Footnotes

1. ^ Leeward Islands Act No. 36, vol. 1., The Laws of the Island of Antigua Consisting of the Acts of the Leeward Islands, 1690–1798, and Acts of Antigua, 1668–1845 (London: Samuel Bagster, 1805–46)

This legislation article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · Categories: History stubs Statute stubs 1798 in law Slavery legislation History of the Caribbean British West Indies History of sugar Wikimedia Foundation. 2010. Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР Katy Gardner Harry Sylvester Look at other dictionaries: Amelioration — may refer to one of the following: Amelioration (health) means to make better or to improve upon most often in context of or in reference to ill health of a person but could also be in reference to healing the land, plant, tree, etc. An… …   Wikipedia Slavery at common law — in former colonies of the British Empire, developed slowly over centuries, characterised by inconsistent decisions and varying rationales for the treatment of slavery, the slave trade, and the rights of slaves and slave owners. Until 1807 there… …   Wikipedia Law of the British Virgin Islands — The law of the British Virgin Islands is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law.Law in the British Virgin Islands tends to be a combination of the very old and the very new. As a leading offshore financial… …   Wikipedia List of law topics (A-E) — NOTOC Law [From Old English lagu something laid down or fixed ; legal comes from Latin legalis , from lex law , statute ( [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=law searchmode=none Law] , Online Etymology Dictionary; [http://www.m… …   Wikipedia Arthur William Hodge — (1763 1811) was a plantation farmer, member of the Council and Legislative Assembly, and slave owner in the British Virgin Islands, who was hanged on 8 May, 1811, for the murder of one of his slaves. He was the first West Indian slave owner to be …   Wikipedia Slavery in the British and French Caribbean — refers to slavery in the parts of the Caribbean dominated by France or the British Empire.The Lesser Antilles islands of Barbados, Antigua, Martinique and Guadeloupe were the first important slave societies of the Caribbean, switching to slavery… …   Wikipedia Cruel and unusual punishment — Criminal procedure Criminal trials and convictions …   Wikipedia Slavery in the British Virgin Islands — In common with most Caribbean countries, slavery in the British Virgin Islands forms a major part of the history of the Territory. One commentator has gone so far as to say: One of the most important aspects of the History of the British Virgin… …   Wikipedia Nullification Crisis — Events leading to the U.S. Civil War Northwest Ordinance Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions Missouri Compromise …   Wikipedia HISTORICAL SURVEY: THE STATE AND ITS ANTECEDENTS (1880–2006) — Introduction It took the new Jewish nation about 70 years to emerge as the State of Israel. The immediate stimulus that initiated the modern return to Zion was the disappointment, in the last quarter of the 19th century, of the expectation that… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism 18+ © Academic, 2000-2024 Contact us: Technical Support, Advertising Dictionaries export, created on PHP, Joomla, Drupal, WordPress, MODx. Mark and share Search through all dictionaries Translate… Search Internet Share the article and excerpts Direct link … Do a right-click on the link above and select “Copy Link”