The Emancipation Proclamation was read on August 1, 1834. It was a day of celebration among the African population, with much singing, dancing and shouts of joy. Africans in Jamaica were no longer slaves, but the journey to freedom was still not completed. The cruelty of slave labour was to be replaced by a milder form of labour, called apprenticeship. The catch was that apprenticeship was still compulsory and was to last for a further four years.
Africans could now work four or five days a week and no longer had to work at nights. On their days off, instead of working for the planters, they chose to do their own small cultivations. With the end of slavery, owners were compensated for losing their slaves and were expected to supply medicine for the sick, clothing and better food. Often, the planters ignored the new laws and continued like nothing had changed. They refused to update equipment and working conditions. The apprenticeship was clearly not working and was abolished in 1837; after three years.
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