<P> Both the Dutch and the British imported African slaves as laborers to the city and colony ; New York had the second - highest population of slaves after Charleston , South Carolina . Slavery was extensive in New York City and some agricultural areas . The state passed a law for the gradual abolition of slavery soon after the Revolutionary War , but the last slave in New York was not freed until 1827 . </P>
<P> Both the Dutch and the British imported African slaves as laborers to the city and colony ; New York had the second - highest population of slaves after Charleston , South Carolina . Slavery was extensive in New York City and some agricultural areas . The state passed a law for the gradual abolition of slavery soon after the Revolutionary War , but the last slave in New York was not freed until 1827 . </P>
when did new york become a free state
when did new york become a free state
1827
1827