Lei Áurea facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lei Áurea Golden Law
Manuscript of the Lei Áurea Brazilian National Archives
Law No. 3,353 of 13 May 1888
Territorial extent	Empire of Brazil
Enacted by	General Assembly of the Empire of Brazil
Date passed	12 May 1888
Date enacted	13 May 1888
Signed by	Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil
Introduced by	Rodrigo Augusto da Silva
Summary
Declares slavery extinct in Brazil.

The Lei Áurea (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈlej ˈawɾiɐ]; English: Golden Law), officially Law No. 3,353 of 13 May 1888, is the law that abolished slavery in Brazil. It was signed by Isabel, Princess Imperial of Brazil (1846–1921), an opponent of slavery, who acted as regent to Emperor Pedro II, who was in Europe.

The Lei Áurea was preceded by the Rio Branco Law of 28 September 1871 ("the Law of Free Birth"), which freed all children born to slave parents, and by the Saraiva-Cotegipe Law (also known as "the Law of Sexagenarians"), of 28 September 1885, that freed slaves when they reached the age of 60. Brazil was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery.

Background

Aside from the activities of abolitionists, there were a number of reasons for the signing of the law: slavery was no longer profitable, as the wages of European immigrants, whose working conditions were poor, cost less than the upkeep of slaves, and the decline in the arrival of new slaves.

Text

The text of the Lei Áurea was brief:

Art. 1.º: É declarada extinta desde a data desta lei a escravidão no Brasil.
Art. 2.º: Revogam-se as disposições em contrário.
(Article 1: From the date of this law, slavery is declared extinct in Brazil.
Article 2: All dispositions to the contrary are revoked.)

See also

• Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
• Emancipation Proclamation
• Post-abolition in Brazil