This webinar examines the era of ‘post-emancipation’ in the Caribbean from around the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. It interrogates the notion of ‘emancipation’ and asks what kind of ‘freedom’ did abolition bring to the formerly enslaved? How did colonial states and other authorities seek to regulate the lives of the newly emancipated, and how did the latter assert their autonomy within and beyond these structures? What did freedom mean to the formerly enslaved and their descendants? It ends with developments in the early twentieth century when the quest for freedom was channelled into political demands for self-determination and independence.

Are you a teacher interested in developing your understanding of Caribbean histories? Would you like to reframe your approach to the topics of empire and decolonisation and incorporate more Caribbean perspectives? Our Teacher Fellowship programme on the Caribbean, Monarchy and Legacies of Empire is open for applications until 9 June 2025.