WI: British Declare An Emancipation Proclamation During Revolution?

As the tin says, what if at some point the British declare the Emancipation of the slaves belonging to any Revolutionaries? What would the impact be on the Revolution? What about among the slave colonies and the free colonies?
 
As the tin says, what if at some point the British declare the Emancipation of the slaves belonging to any Revolutionaries? What would the impact be on the Revolution? What about among the slave colonies and the free colonies?

The Caribbean colonies do a spit-take and then leave. Then every slave power DoWs Britain to keep that idea in Pandora's box. Hell, if they include Natives the Quebecois will defect.
 

Saphroneth

Banned
I know the British OTL used emancipation as a weapon (both in the AWI and the War of 1812), so it's not unfeasible. Besides, the Emancipation Proclamation ("all slaves of our enemies are free") isn't actually general emancipation - it's explicitly and obviously a war measure, though certainly a far reaching one.

What it basically says is "you cannot rebel against Britain and keep slaves". While it does start the path to general emancipation, it is not something that would cause everyone to declare war on Britain and nor is it something that would cause colonies to leave wholesale.
The Caribbean colonies do a spit-take and then leave. Then every slave power DoWs Britain to keep that idea in Pandora's box. Hell, if they include Natives the Quebecois will defect.
...how would "we will free slaves belonging to rebels" lead the Quebecois to defect? Unless they had slavery of natives as a major cultural underpinning.

Emancipation is not equal rights.
 

Jasen777

Donor
Matters greatly when they do it, who it applies to, the conditions on the to be freed slaves, the POD in Britain that allowed this, how they go about supporting or enforcing it, etc.
 
I know the British OTL used emancipation as a weapon (both in the AWI and the War of 1812), so it's not unfeasible. Besides, the Emancipation Proclamation ("all slaves of our enemies are free") isn't actually general emancipation - it's explicitly and obviously a war measure, though certainly a far reaching one.

What it basically says is "you cannot rebel against Britain and keep slaves". While it does start the path to general emancipation, it is not something that would cause everyone to declare war on Britain and nor is it something that would cause colonies to leave wholesale.

...how would "we will free slaves belonging to rebels" lead the Quebecois to defect? Unless they had slavery of natives as a major cultural underpinning.

Emancipation is not equal rights.

They did have them, as major (if rare) status symbols.
 

Saphroneth

Banned
They did have them, as major (if rare) status symbols.
Still sounds, at most, like something that would lead to protest. By definition with an Emancipation Proclamation of this type, only slaves of rebels are freed. (OTL in the ACW, the Union enforced the Fugitive Slave Law in D.C. so long as the owner was pro-Union, for example.)
Still, I wasn't aware native slavery happened at all, so thanks for informing me.


Matters greatly when they do it, who it applies to, the conditions on the to be freed slaves, the POD in Britain that allowed this, how they go about supporting or enforcing it, etc.

The PoD required wouldn't be too extreme - British abolitionism was pretty much first in the world and gathering momentum at this time, and more importantly OTL they did do something sort of like this informally. As for who it applies to, I assume it's presented like the OTL Union one - it applies to slaves of those the British reach who are in rebellion. Stay loyal (and sign an affidavit of loyalty) and you keep your slaves.


If anything this PoD is more about advertising and framing already-extant policy for the British than a radical shift in policy.
 
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