News In Brief

Former Caribbean colonies celebrate abolition of slavery

Former British colonies throughout the Caribbean are celebrating the abolition of slavery 150 years ago. The government of Trinidad and Tobago has declared that Aug. 1 will in future be celebrated every year as Emancipation Day. A law passed by Parliament in London to abolish slavery throughout the British Empire went into effect on that day, immediately freeing all children up to the age of 6. Their elders were forced to serve an apprenticeship of up to six years to prepare them for the ''responsibility'' of freedom.