What was the last nation to abolish slavery in the Western Hemisphere?

Answer 1

The last nations to effectively abolish slavery were - strangely enough - African nations. Slavery of Africans by Africans had been and still was everywhere since time immemorial and the colonization drive of the 1880's started because the British (who had actively battled against the slave trade since they abolished it themselves in 1806) saw it as the only way to abolish it within Africa. West African countries were the last to formally abolish it, around 1905. These are countries like Upper Volta, Senegal, Mali and Niger, amongst others.

However, slavery does still exist today. A fairly recent UN report estimates the number of slaves still held by countries on the Arab peninsula - despite formal abolishment in 1962 - at around a staggering 400,000.

Answer 2

Brazil was the last nation in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery. This happened in 1888. As an aside, it remains a mystery as to why US President US Grant invited the emperor of Brazil to open the American Centennial exhibition in 1876. At the time Emperor Dom Pedro II was the absolute dictator of Brazil.