The 'Act for the Abolition of Slavery throughout the British Colonies' of August 1833 outlawed British trade in enslaved people. It stated that "all such persons should be manumitted [freed by their enslaver] and set free and that a reasonable Compensation should be made available to the Persons hitherto entitled to the Services of such Slaves". After a long struggle for emancipation, the Act "made apprentice labourers of those aged over six who had been enslaved. These apprentices were to work without compensation as a transition to freedom. They remained tied to estates, but could buy release from this even against the will of their employer. The Act also set out some rights. Formerly enslaved people could not be removed from a colony, families could not be separated, and employers were to supply food, clothing, lodging and medicine. The period of apprenticeship ended in 1838, after which full emancipation was granted to all throughout the British Colonies" (The National Archives online).