Every year on 23 August, the world observes the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition. We remember the victims of the slave trade and commemorate its abolition.
History
The colonial empires of Western Europe were the main benefiters from the transatlantic slave trade. The trade transported people, mainly from Africa, in inhumane conditions to work as slaves in the colonial settlements.
The night of 22-23 August 1791 saw the beginning of an uprising in Santo Domingo, in modern-day Haiti and Dominican Republic. The uprising in the French colony inspired the Haitian Revolution. It also played a major role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade.
Therefore, the United Nations (UN) decided to commemorate this day as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
Significance
The day is marked to remember and honour the victims of the slave trade and the systemic racism they endured.
