Abolition of slavery

Denmark was the first European country to abolish the slave trade in 1792, followed by France (decree of the Agreement in 1794, but never applied), by Great Britain in 1807 and by the United States in 1808. At the congress of Vienna in 1814, Great Britain used of its influence to incite the other foreign powers to imitate this politic and almost all the European countries voted for laws or signed treaties abolishing the slave trade, which became partially secret. In the British colonies, the slavery was abolished in 1833. The treaty of Ashburton of 1842, spent between Great Britain and the United States, foresaw the deployment by each of both countries of squadrons on the African coast to make respect the prohibition on the draft and, in 1845, a cooperation between the naval forces of France and England was replaced by a mutual right of access.

The French slaves saw granting the freedom in 1848, and the Dutch slaves in 1863. At the time of their creation, most of the new republics of South America ordered the postage of the slaves. In Brazil, however, the slavery was abolished only in 1888.