Tamil Nadu Timeline

LegislationEast India Company rule

Indian Slavery Act abolishes legal slavery

· Kolkata

Under Act V of 1843, slavery lost legal recognition in Company territories, agrestic slavery in the Tamil districts included.

Passed during East India Company rule, the Indian Slavery Act, 1843 (Act V of 1843) prohibited many of the economic dealings tied to slavery. Claims of ownership over slaves became unenforceable in the courts, and slaves could no longer be sold to recover revenue arrears. Agrestic bondage among the agricultural labouring castes had been common in the Tamil districts, particularly in the delta and the south. After the act, many who had been slaves remained in debt bondage or other kinds of servitude.

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