Emancipation Day commemorates the significant date of 01-August. It is on this date in 1834 that slavery and slave trade was formally abolished in most of the British Empire. Slaves over 6 years old were 'redesignated' as 'apprentices' and legally achieved full emancipation on 01-August 1838.
Ghana was the first African country to celebrate Emancipation Day, beginning in 1998. This year, 2020, is the 181st anniversary of full legal emancipation in the British Empire.
Note that Emancipation Day in other countries may differ. The United States, for example, celebrates Emancipation Day on 16 April, the date that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Compensated Emancipation Act in 1862.
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