MEP Caribbean Publishers: Happy Emancipation Day!

Many of the English-speaking countries in the Caribbean celebrate Emancipation Day today, to commemorate the emancipation of African slaves and their descendants from British colonists in 1838. The abolition of slavery came four years earlier, and in the interim there was a period of "apprenticeship". The abolition of the slave trade in the British West Indies was formalised in 1807, with its bicentennial celebrated in much of the Commonwealth in 2007.

At our base in Trinidad and Tobago, Emancipation Day is marked with street processions (including towering moko jumbies and a flambeaux-lit Canboulay procession in the evening); church services; cultural shows; and countless events and activities at the Lidj Yasu Omowale Emancipation Village at the Jean Pierre Complex in Port of Spain that hosts craft and clothing stalls and shows featuring local and international acts. The 1st of August also marks the culmination of the Tobago Heritage Festival.

In addition to Emancipation celebrations, the Caribbean is abuzz with activity at this time of year. For more on T&T, visit the Discover T&T events calendar. And for all that's happening in the Caribbean for July and August, visit the Happenings section of the current Caribbean Beat magazine.

Here are some images from Discover Trinidad & Tobago from Emancipation celebrations in Trinidad: