John Graves Simcoe and the First Anti-Slavery Law in a British Territory

On July 9, 1793, Upper Canada (now Ontario) passed the first anti-slavery law in a British territory. The legislation was known as the Act Against Slavery, or by its full title, An Act to Prevent the Further Introduction of Slaves and to Limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude. The law was passed 14 years before Britain outlawed the Atlantic slave trade through the Slave Trade Act of 1807 and 40 years before the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 ended slavery throughout most of the British Empire.

The law stated that the importation of enslaved people into Upper Canada was illegal and that children born to enslaved mothers after the law's passage would be freed at the age of 25. Much of the legislation was drafted by John White, the first Attorney General of Upper Canada, who was later killed in a duel in 1800.

The population of enslaved people in British North America had grown significantly following the American Revolution. Many Loyalists, particularly those from the southern states, brought enslaved people with them as they resettled in Canada and received land grants to compensate them for property lost in the United States.

During this period of resettlement, rumours circulated that the colonial government intended to introduce legislation freeing enslaved people. Among the newcomers were Black Loyalists—formerly enslaved people who had escaped bondage and fought for the British after being promised their freedom in return for supporting the Crown. Many of these Black Loyalists settled in Nova Scotia and Upper Canada.

The legislation was first brought before the Executive Council of Upper Canada in March 1793 by Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe. Simcoe had become an abolitionist during his military service following the American Revolution. Before taking command of the Queen's Rangers, he had sought to establish a unit composed of free Black Loyalists, and he later served alongside several Black Loyalists in the Rangers.

To Simcoe, slavery was an offence against Christian principles. At a meeting of the Executive Council, he heard testimony concerning Chloe Cooley, an enslaved woman who was violently forced across the Niagara River by her enslaver, Adam Vrooman, so that she could be sold in the United States before any emancipation legislation could take effect. The incident outraged Simcoe and strengthened his determination to pursue abolition despite opposition from members of the Legislative Assembly, some of whom were slave owners.

Simcoe was forced to compromise. While enslaved people already living in Upper Canada remained enslaved unless manumitted by their owners, the children of enslaved mothers born after the law's passage would gain their freedom at age 25. Although the buying and selling of enslaved people continued within the province and across the border, the importation of new enslaved people into Upper Canada was prohibited.

Today, Chloe Cooley's story is commemorated through a plaque in Niagara-on-the-Lake and a Canada Post stamp issued in her honour. Her resistance played a crucial role in inspiring the passage of Upper Canada's landmark anti-slavery legislation