Moret Law
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The Moret Law was a form of freedom of wombs, which was implemented by Spain in Cuba and Puerto Rico, and named after Segismundo Moret who was Spain's Minister of Overseas Territories at the time. This law implemented the abolition of slavery incrementally in Spain's Caribbean colonies.[1] It drew from older Later American manumission traditions such as the way favorite slaves have been previously liberated under certain conditions.[2]
History
Latin America was one of the last holdouts of slavery in the Americas but after the United States Civil War in 1865, international pressure forced Spain to end slavery.
The law granted freedom to children born to enslaved mothers after September 18, 1868, a date chosen to honor of the liberal revolution that swept Spain in 1869.[4] It also freed slaves who served in the Spanish army (particularly those who fought in the Ten Years' War in Cuba), slaves over 60 years old (along with slaves who turned 60 thereafter), and slaves who were owned by the Spanish government. The Spanish government compensated slave owners 125 pesetas for each slave emancipated under the Moret Law. Slavery was abolished for Puerto Rico (but not for Cuba) in 1873 and finally, without exceptions, in 1886.[5]
References
- ^ ISBN 9781442235724.
- ISBN 9780470759110.
- ^ Herzog, Tamar (September 4, 2012). "How Did Early-Modern Slaves in Spain Disappear? The Antecedents". Republics of Letters. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 9781611173260.
- ISBN 9781477301333.
External links