The Brussels Conference Act of 1890 (full title: Convention Relative to the Slave Trade and Importation into Africa of Firearms, Ammunition, and Spiritous Liquors) was a collection of
anti-slavery
Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people.
The Britis ...
measures signed in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 2 July 1890 (and which entered into force on 31 August 1891) to, as the act itself puts it, "put an end to Negro Slave Trade by land as well as by sea, and to improve the moral and material conditions of existence of the native races".
The negotiations for this act arose out of the
Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference 1889–90
The Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference 1889–90 was held between 18 November 1889 and 2 July 1890 in Brussels.
The British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society submitted a report to this conference.
The Brussels Conference led to the negotiation of t ...
. The act was specifically applicable to those countries "who have possessions or Protectorates in the conventional basin of the
Congo", to the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
and other powers or parts who were involved in slave trade in East African coast, Indian Ocean and other areas.
For example, Article 21 describes the zone in which measures should be taken, referring to ''"the coasts of Indian Ocean (including the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea), the Belouchistan up to Tangalane (Quilimane)... "'' and Madagascar. The Act provided for the establishment of a relevant International Bureau in Zanzibar.
In Art. 68:
:"the Powers recognize the high value of the Law on the prohibition of Slave Trafficing of blacks, issued by His Majesty The Emperor of the Ottomans on 4–16 Dec. 1889, and are assured that a surveillance action will be taken by the Ottoman authorities, especially in the western part of Arabia and on the routes that keep that coast in communication with other possessions of His Imperial Majesty in Asia."
Similar actions were called on to be taken by the Shah of Persia and the Sultan of Zanzibar (Art. 69, 70). The participants also agreed to stop sales of guns and other weapons to Africans.
Participants
The parties to the agreement were:
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Sublime State of Persia
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Aftermath
The Brussels Act was supplemented and revised by the
Convention of Saint-Germain-en-Laye signed by the Allied Powers of the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on 10 September 1919.
Because of its provisions on alcohol, the Act is considered the first
treaties on the control of psychoactive substances (preceding the first
opium treaty from 1909).
See also
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1926 Slavery Convention
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Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery
The Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the full title of which is the Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, is a 1956 United Nations treaty wh ...
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Slave Trade Acts
Slave Trade Act is a stock short title used for legislation in the United Kingdom and the United States that relates to the slave trade.
The "See also" section lists other Slave Acts, laws, and international conventions which developed the conce ...
References
External links
Jean Allain, "Fydor Martens and the Question of Slavery at the Brussels Conference""Brussels Conference Act, 1890"General Act of the Brussels Conference relative to the African Slave TradeSlave trade and importation into Africa of firearms, ammunition and spiritous liquor
{{Drug use
1890 in Belgium
Treaties concluded in 1890
19th century in Brussels
Anti-slavery treaties
History of Africa
Treaties entered into force in 1891
Treaties of the United Kingdom (1801–1922)
Treaties of the French Third Republic
Treaties of the German Empire
Treaties of the Kingdom of Portugal
Treaties of the Congo Free State
Treaties of the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
Treaties of Spain under the Restoration
Treaties of the Netherlands
Treaties of Belgium
Treaties of the Russian Empire
Treaties of Austria-Hungary
Treaties of the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway
Treaties of Denmark
Treaties of the United States
Treaties of the Ottoman Empire
Treaties of the Sultanate of Zanzibar
Treaties of the Qajar dynasty
July 1890 events
Slavery in the Ottoman Empire
Drug control treaties