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Mathieu Da Costa is believed to have been the first African to come to Canada in
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when the slavery started
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just slavery here
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After 1628, slavery was expanded and institutionalized under the French and British regimes.
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John Graves Simcoe, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada, passed the Anti-Slavery Act, making it illegal to bring people into Upper Canada to be enslaved.
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enslaved people,understandably,were not always obedient. In her personal correspondence, Elizabeth Russell complained about the behaviour of her slave Peggy and Peggy's son Jupiter. In February of 1806 Russell ran an ad in the Upper Canadian press, advertising Peggy for $150 and Jupiter for $200.
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The United Kingdom passed the Slave Trade Act, which outlawed the slave trade in the British Empire, though not slavery itself.
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Runaway Blacks were used to help defend Detroit, and served in a Black military unit. In 1807, Upper Canadian slave-holder John Askin sent George, a Black 15-year-old, to Detroit on an errand. Black soldiers offered George a weapon and freedom. George considered staying, but returned to Upper Canada and his master.
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In the summer of 1812, Black Loyalist Richard Pierpoint petitioned the government of Upper Canada to raise a company of Black troops to help protect the Niagara frontier. After some debate, the government agreed. A company of Blacks was formed under the command of a White officer, Captain Robert Runchey Sr.
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Slavery in the British colonies was finally ended via the Emancipation Act, though it took several years for many slaves to be fully released from bondage.
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The Civil War came to an end when the Confederates surrendered in April. With the passing of the Thirteenth Amendment, slavery was finally abolished in United States.