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- Level 1B
About
The ROM celebrates Black History Month 2008 with two new exhibits, The Ontario Bicentenary Exhibition: The Act to Abolish the British Slave Trade and Enslaved Africans in Upper Canada.
Highlights
The ROM is proud to present eight panels of photographs and stories that commemorate the 200th anniversary of the act to abolish the British Slave Trade. Discover the events, history and people that reveal this important period in Canadian history.
Canada’s early settlers first brought African slaves to Upper Canada, and the practice of using slaves expanded rapidly after 1783. In 1793, under Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, Upper Canada became the first jurisdiction in the British Empire to limit slavery. The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed by the British parliament in 1807. It outlawed the slave trade throughout the British Empire and made it illegal for British ships to be involved in the trade and transportation of slaves.
Produced by the Archives of Ontario as a travelling exhibit, Enslaved Africans delves into the history and people who were connected to the practice of slavery in Upper Canada. Historical photographs and documents of slaves and their owners paint a clear picture of the personal experiences of five Ontario slaves.