The Abolition of Slavery in French Colonies

Introduction

The French Revolution of 1789 resulted in many social reforms during the eighteenth century. One such remarkable reform of that period was the abolition of slavery in French colonies. Slavery was very much prevalent in the ‘Ancient Regime’ with Feudalism in France. As a part of imperialism, France established overseas colonies in the Caribbean and started the slave trade for these colonies as the inhabitants of Europe were reluctant to work as plantation workers. But with the end of absolute monarchy and the coming of the National Assembly, slavery became an issue of debate, and it continued to prevail. But with the rise of Jacobins into power, this issue again started getting important, and ultimately, slavery was abolished in 1794. But after coming to power, Napoleon Bonaparte reintroduced slavery in 1802. And it was again abolished in 1848.

Slavery

Slavery was the phenomenon in which human beings were objectified and treated as property owned by a master. These slaves were bereft of basic human rights and used to live according to the command of their masters. In France, slavery was prevalent from the sixteenth century.

The slave trade was started in the seventeenth century when more than thousands of slaves were traded from Africa. The French plantation owners in Caribbean colonies like; Saint Domingue, Martinique, and Guadeloupe had suitable climatic conditions for the plantation of cash crops like tobacco, sugar, coffee, and indigo. All these plantations required more manpower, but Europeans themselves were not willing to move to these unfamiliar lands to work in these plantations.

This led to a shortage of labour and paved the way for the triangular slave trade between Europe, Africa, and America (including north and south America). In this trading system, the French merchants used to start sailing from the French port cities like Bordeaux and Nantes to Africa. In coastal areas of Africa, these slave merchants or traders used to buy slaves from local chieftains; then, after three months of long sea journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean, in inhumane conditions (with shackles and stamps), these slaves were marketed to plantation owners in the Caribbean island.

The growing demands for sugar, coffee, and indigo were met by the excessive utilization or exploitation of these slaves. In fact, the French port cities of Bordeaux and Nantes became more economically prosperous due to their involvement in the growing slave trade. And this is how slavery deep-rooted in France and its overseas colonies.

Movements Against Slavery

The issue of slavery became a matter of criticism during the eighteenth century, but it continued to exist during the ‘Ancient Regime’. Meanwhile, the slave uprising was taking place in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, ultimately leading to the independence of Haitian from France and becoming the first country to be established by slaves.

During the course of political turmoil, with the destruction of the despotic monarchy, slavery became a debatable issue in National Assembly with the new constitution in which the Rights of Man and Citizen was adopted. Now the question arose whether the rights of man were to be given to all French subjects which are even in French colonies or not. But none of the laws was passed because the National Assembly was apprehensive of the opposition of the wealthier middle class, who were actively involved in the overseas slave trade.

With the coming of Jacobins into power, the National Convention abolished slavery in 1794, in which a law was enacted to free all slaves in French colonies. This law was continued for ten years till the rule of the Directory, but it was not followed up properly and led to the repealing of the law by Napoleon Bonaparte, who reinstituted slavery in 1804.

Due to the continuous efforts of England, a country that constantly opposed slavery by the late eighteenth and the early nineteenth century, the pressure was put on European countries to discontinue the slave trade or trading of human beings in inhumane conditions. However, some of the European countries, including France, secretly continued slave trading. Moreover, in 1831 a law with the abolition of slavery was passed in which all European countries were warned to ban the slave trade, and it was insisted that coercive measures would be taken against the ones who would be caught involved in this trade. As a result, with the decline of the monarchy, the provincial government of the Second Republic of France made a commitment to ban slavery and ultimately declared the abolition of slavery in 1848 with the signing of a decree on 27 April 1848.

Conclusion

The period between the eighteenth the nineteenth century saw many revolutionary changes in European history. One such event of these revolutionary changes was the French Revolution in 1789, which brought many changes in the social and political arena of France as well as other countries of the world. One of the remarkable results of this Revolution was the abolition of slavery in France or the slave trade in the French colonies. Slavery was abolished twice in France, once in 1794 and then in 1848.

With the rise of colonization, the shortage of labourers in colonies for plantation work made colonial powers like France indulge in the slave trade. This led to the shipping of human beings as slaves from Africa to America in an exploitative manner. Gradually, slave rebellion began to take place in the French colonies. As a result of which, it was abolished in 1794 with the declaration of France as a republic, but with the end of the First Republic in France, during Napolean’s reign, slavery was again introduced in 1804. But again, due to England's pressure on other European countries to ban slavery, it was again abolished in 1848 with the commencement of the Second Republic of France.

FAQs

Q1. What was the ‘Ancient Regime’ in France?

Ans. The ‘Ancient Regime’ in France refers to the socio-political structure of France before the French Revolution. In this structure, society was divided into Three Estates, and the power was centralized with the despotic monarch of the country.

Q2. What do you understand by imperialism?

Ans. Imperialism is a policy of extending power and domination by conquering the territories and political control of other countries through military expeditions.

Q3. Why was the National Assembly apprehensive about the middle class passing any law against slavery in the 1790s?

Ans. The National Assembly itself comprised the members of the Third Estate, which included the wealthier middle class, who themselves were dependent on the slave trade for their economic prosperity. Therefore, the National Assembly could not pass any law against the slave trade even though some members criticized it.

Q4. What does the French Second Republic mean?

Ans. The Second French Republic refers to the republican government of France, which was made second time in France with the provisional government in 1848 after the decline of the Orleans monarchy. This Second Republic came to an end in 1852.

Q5. Why did Napoleon reintroduce slavery in 1804?

Ans. Napoleon intended to expand colonial control of France in the Caribbean. For colonizing the land Of Louisiana in North America, he required workers in large numbers. For that matter, he reintroduced slavery by indulging in trade in 1804. In a way, it was his colonial strategy to expand the French empire.