Sir Lionel Smith

Sir Lionel Smith was a British military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Jamaica from 1836 to 1838. He is notably remembered for reading the Emancipation Declaration in Jamaica on August 1, 1838, which marked the formal end of slavery in the British West Indies. His proclamation, however, has been criticized for its paternalistic tone and for reinforcing the economic inequalities that persisted after legal emancipation.