Law of 20 May 1802
Encyclopedia
The Law of 20 May 1802 was a French law passed on 20 May 1802 (30 floréal year X), revoking the law of 4 February 1794 (16 pluviôse) which had abolished slavery
in all the French colonies
. That law had not taken effect in practice in many of the colonies, with La Réunion
hindering its implementation and Martinique
refusing to ratify it due to a royalist insurrection there, similar to that in the Vendée – the latter had been in its revolt since 16 September 1793 and, represented by planter Jean Baptiste Dubuc, signed the Whitehall accord of submission to England. On 6 February 1794 the English began their military conquest of Martinique, completed on 21 March 1794, and thus the island avoided the abolition of slavery.
The Law of 20 May 1802 explicitly concerned the territories that had not been applied the 1794 law and was linked to the 1802 Treaty of Amiens
which restored Martinique to France. The 1802 law thus did not apply to Guadeloupe
and Guyana
and so the frequent assertion gradually imposed by these colonies' colonists that it was a universal restoration of slavery in the French colonies is incorrect. It was these colonists and the absence of sanctions by the Republic which led to the effective re-establishment of slavery. Napoleon's position was more characterised by pragmatism than by any 'ideological' inclination. It also did not apply in Saint-Domingue
and had little effect there except to re-inflame rebellion and accelerate its march towards independence, achieved in 1804 – on 24 July 1802 general Leclerc
(commander of the Saint-Domingue expedition
) wrote to admiral Denis Decrès
inviting him to renounce all attempts to restore slavery to Saint Domingue.
Joséphine de Beauharnais
's intervention in favour of re-establishing slavery is probably a myth, since there is no evidence for it, she had little political influence over Napoleon and her pro-slavery bias has not been clearly demonstrated. The maintenance and re-imposition of slavery was far more influenced by Britain and her allies.
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
in all the French colonies
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
. That law had not taken effect in practice in many of the colonies, with La Réunion
La Reunion
La Reunion may refer to:* La Reunion , a communal settlement near present-day Dallas, Texas*La Réunion, Lot-et-Garonne, a town in the Lot-et-Garonne department of France*Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar...
hindering its implementation and Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
refusing to ratify it due to a royalist insurrection there, similar to that in the Vendée – the latter had been in its revolt since 16 September 1793 and, represented by planter Jean Baptiste Dubuc, signed the Whitehall accord of submission to England. On 6 February 1794 the English began their military conquest of Martinique, completed on 21 March 1794, and thus the island avoided the abolition of slavery.
The Law of 20 May 1802 explicitly concerned the territories that had not been applied the 1794 law and was linked to the 1802 Treaty of Amiens
Treaty of Amiens
The Treaty of Amiens temporarily ended hostilities between the French Republic and the United Kingdom during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was signed in the city of Amiens on 25 March 1802 , by Joseph Bonaparte and the Marquess Cornwallis as a "Definitive Treaty of Peace"...
which restored Martinique to France. The 1802 law thus did not apply to Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe
Guadeloupe is an archipelago located in the Leeward Islands, in the Lesser Antilles, with a land area of 1,628 square kilometres and a population of 400,000. It is the first overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. As with the other overseas departments, Guadeloupe...
and Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
and so the frequent assertion gradually imposed by these colonies' colonists that it was a universal restoration of slavery in the French colonies is incorrect. It was these colonists and the absence of sanctions by the Republic which led to the effective re-establishment of slavery. Napoleon's position was more characterised by pragmatism than by any 'ideological' inclination. It also did not apply in Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
and had little effect there except to re-inflame rebellion and accelerate its march towards independence, achieved in 1804 – on 24 July 1802 general Leclerc
Charles Leclerc
Charles Victoire Emmanuel Leclerc was a French Army general and husband to Pauline Bonaparte, sister to Napoleon Bonaparte.-To 1801:...
(commander of the Saint-Domingue expedition
Saint-Domingue expedition
The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc in an attempt to regain French control of the island of Saint-Domingue and curtail the measures of independence taken by the former...
) wrote to admiral Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès
Denis Decrès, , was an officer of the French Navy and count, later duke of the First Empire.-Early career:...
inviting him to renounce all attempts to restore slavery to Saint Domingue.
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais
Joséphine de Beauharnais was the first wife of Napoléon Bonaparte, and thus the first Empress of the French. Her first husband Alexandre de Beauharnais had been guillotined during the Reign of Terror, and she had been imprisoned in the Carmes prison until her release five days after Alexandre's...
's intervention in favour of re-establishing slavery is probably a myth, since there is no evidence for it, she had little political influence over Napoleon and her pro-slavery bias has not been clearly demonstrated. The maintenance and re-imposition of slavery was far more influenced by Britain and her allies.