Number of slaves and apprentices working on select Jamaican plantations 1828-1837

The Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 came into effect across the British Empire in August 1834, at which point approximately 800,000 slaves were emancipated. For the majority of these slaves (possibly 674,000 in the British Caribbean), their status changed from slave to "apprentice". In the apprentice system, all former-slaves above the age of six years were required to continue working for their master; domestic servants for four years, and field hands for six. Working hours for apprentices were set at a minimum of 45 hours per week, unpaid, and only overtime was compensated. Authorities included mandates for the education and religious conversion of former slaves, with the precedent that this would prepare them for freedom, and help slave societies gradually transition into organized, peaceful societies; however, abolitionists at the time argued that the apprenticeship system was merely a continuation of slavery, and there are several famous accounts of the abuse and injustice suffered by apprentices. Historians now largely agree that the slave-apprenticeship system was primarily implemented to prevent discontent among whites and drastic loss of earnings for slave owners, the Caribbean colonies, and the empire as a whole. In total, former slave owners in the British colonies were compensated approximately twenty million pounds sterling by the Slave Compensation Act 1837; former slaves received no financial compensation.

Apprentice system in Jamaica

Based on the Jamaican censuses in 1828 and 1837, the difference in the number of slaves and apprentices is fairly consistent across most estates, and it is clear that the majority of slaves on these plantations became apprentices in 1834. Due to the British abolition of the slave trade in 1807 and the oncoming abolition of slavery in general, a significant portion of the island's slaves would have been sold to non-British colonies in the Americas (particularly Cuba) between the given years; along with manumissions, this is likely the main reason for the population decline in these years, however this is not stated by the source.

Failure of the apprentice system

In its first two years, the apprentice system generally maintained the status quo in the British Caribbean, before former slaves became increasingly disillusioned at their continued oppression, the corrupt deals between authorities and former-masters, and the lack of economic opportunities. The additional aspect of remaining bound to their former master, who was often responsible for their mistreatment or abuse during slavery, created further tensions. Apprentices could purchase their freedom, however this was an unrealistic prospect for most. One positive influence at the time was the investment into children's education by British authorities and religious groups, however this was not enough to prevent the premature collapse of the apprenticeship system in 1838.