Society of the Friends of the Blacks

The Society of the Friends of the Blacks was a group of French men and women, mostly white, who were abolitionists

Abolitionism

Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...

(opponents of Black slavery

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...

and the African slave trade

African slave trade

Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of Africa, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse...

). The Society was created in Paris in 1788, and remained in existence until 1793. It was led by Jacques-Pierre Brissot, with advice from Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...

, who headed the abolitionist movement in the Kingdom of Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

. At the beginning of 1789, it had 141 members.

During the five-year period of its existence, it published anti-slavery literature and addressed its concerns on a substantive political level in the National Assembly

National Assembly

National Assembly is either a legislature, or the lower house of a bicameral legislature in some countries. The best known National Assembly, and the first legislature to be known by this title, was that established during the French Revolution in 1789, known as the Assemblée nationale...

. Ironically, however, any real, practical legislative mitigation of the slaves' plight would emerge only after the demise of the Society in 1793. In February 1794, the National Assembly legislated the Universal Emancipation decree, which effectively freed all colonial slaves.

Several articles and monograph

Monograph

A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...

s have explored the question of how influential the Society was in bringing about the abolition of slavery with opinions covering the entire spectrum, from those that identify the Amis des Noirs as instrumental in the abolition of slavery, to others that say the Society was nothing more than a "société de pensée" (philosophical society).

History

The economy of France

Economy of France

France is the world's fifth largest economy by nominal figures and the ninth largest economy by PPP figures. It is the second largest economy in Europe in nominal figures and third largest economy in Europe in PPP figures...

was dependent upon revenues from the colonies

French Colonies

"French Colonies" is the name used by philatelists to refer to the postage stamps issued by France for use in the parts of the French colonial empire that did not have stamps of their own...

, where slavery

Slavery

existed on plantations and thrived due to the lucrative trade triangle. Figures indicate that slave-trade activity during the years leading up to the revolution resulted in some profit percentages exceeding 100 percent. In 1784, for example, the outfitter Chaurands realized a profit of 110 percent through the use of a single ship, the Brune. In 1789, one outfitter reached 120 per cent.

The initial formation of La Société des Amis des Noirs was undertaken by Jacques-Pierre Brissot, in February 1788. A follower of the Philosophes, Brissot's anti-slavery efforts were also due to his exposure to humanitarian activities on both sides of the Atlantic

Atlantic Ocean

The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...

. In the United States, where he visited Philadelphia's constitutional convention

Constitutional convention (political meeting)

A constitutional convention is now a gathering for the purpose of writing a new constitution or revising an existing constitution. A general constitutional convention is called to create the first constitution of a political unit or to entirely replace an existing constitution...

, he became absorbed with Jefferson's

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...

humanitarian nature. In England, Thomas Clarkson

Thomas Clarkson

invited Brissot to attend a meeting of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade

Society for effecting the abolition of the slave trade

The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade, , was a British abolitionist group, formed on 22 May 1787, when twelve men gathered together at a printing shop in London, England.-Origins:...

. So enthused was Brissot that shortly thereafter he would create his own abolitionist society in Paris. Its objectives would be to suppress the slave trade and, at a later date, to attain equal rights for free men of color.

The Amis advocated freedom in the French colonies

French colonial empires

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...

, arguing that the ideas of the French Revolution

French Revolution

The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

should extend to the colonies. The French concept of liberté, égalité, fraternité
Liberté, égalité, fraternité
Liberté, égalité, fraternité, French for "Liberty, equality, fraternity ", is the national motto of France, and is a typical example of a tripartite motto. Although it finds its origins in the French Revolution, it was then only one motto among others and was not institutionalized until the Third...

did not include the liberation of slaves, because the National Assembly

National Assembly (French Revolution)

During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...

argued that the abolition would be detrimental to the economy. The Amis des Noirs had, as was made clear by Marquis de Condorcet

Marquis de Condorcet

Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet , known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist whose Condorcet method in voting tally selects the candidate who would beat each of the other candidates in a run-off election...

's program, the abolition of slavery as its immediate goal – and campaigned for it despite calls Clarkson's call for reducing their demands to activism against the slave trade only.

Abolitionist literature

The Society's founder, Brissot, decided at the outset that the method of spreading the society's message would be through literature, and this he did in profusion. The Society emitted not only French translation of the English literature, but also works written by Brissot ("Mémoire sur les Noirs de l'Amerique septentrionale"), and other members of the Amis des Noirs, such as Claviere ("De la France et des Etats-Unis" – co-written with Brissot) and Condorcet ("Réflexions sur l'esclavage des negres"). Addresses were delivered to other societies as well, such as the Amis de l'humanité, and the Société des Amis de la Constitution. It was a reflection of not only the "Philosophe upbringing" of the Society members, but also of their efforts to be active participants in the moulding of the revolutionary government.

La Société des Amis des Noirs was most active dispersing its anti-slavery literature in and around Paris, due to the lack of a stable and reliable communications network. The Society, nevertheless, did make attempts to convey its message to those living outside Paris. Quinney reveals one instance, during 1791, when the organization had garnered assistance from its Jacobin friends: "The Friends of the Blacks had several meetings with their friends in Jacobin clubs in provincial cities and sent to every city government a lengthy pamphlet exposing the injustices done to people of colour."

Political activities

The political activities of the Friends of the Blacks also included addresses to the National Assembly. Addresses promoting the abolition of the slave trade were made in February and April 1790. Four months later, a discourse was presented concerning the violence in Saint Domingue. In July 1791, Claviere addressed the National Assembly's commercial interests, discussing trade relations between France and its colonies.

The Society also addressed government individuals such as Barnave, who was a member of the Committee on Colonies, and Jacques Necker, France's Controller-General Of Finance. Although Necker was a believer in the inhumaneness of slavery, he could not sanction emancipation unless the practice of slavery and the slave trade were halted simultaneously in every country. In this manner, the existing economic balance between nations would be maintained. Nevertheless, in a letter written in 1789 the Society urged Necker to form a committee similar to the one in England and expressed hopes that the conduct of the English parliament might have a positive effect on the Estates-General. Other Society addresses extended to denunciations of colonial individuals. One such incident occurred in 1791, when the Amis des Noirs responded to criticisms written by pro-slaver Arthur Dillon, Député de la Martinique, and owner of a large plantation.

In 1789, the royal government had requested petitions of grievances from all parts of the country. During the election of representatives to the Estates-General, Condorcet asked that there be inserted into the cahiers de doléances

Cahiers de doléances

The Cahiers de Doléances were the lists of grievances drawn up by each of the three Estates in France, between March and April 1789, the year in which the French Revolution began...

a demand for the abolition of the slave trade. Out of the six hundred cahiers assembled, less than fifty called for an end to the slave trade and slavery.

In the fall of 1789, Society member Abbé Gregoire's recommendation that two deputies chosen from the population of free coloured men be admitted was accepted by the Committee on Verification of Credentials in the National Assembly. He was unable to present the recommendation to the National Assembly because every time he rose to speak, he was shouted down by the colonists in the Assembly. In March 1790, Gregoire questioned the article on voting rights in the National Assembly, wishing to ensure that men of colour also received the right to vote. The colonial deputies persuaded the National Assembly to close discussion of the matter. During that same month Barnave, a pro-slavery advocate, delivered his report on maintaining the slave trade. When Mirabeau, another member of the Society, advanced to the rostrum to protest, he was drowned out by the cries of the opposition.

Focusing on the rights of free men of colour, Gregoire and Pétion (another member of the Society) essentially told the Assembly on 15 May 1791 that if these people were not given their rights, then violence would ensue. Because of the increasing conflict in the colonies, as well as the growing influence of free men of colour with some deputies, Barnave felt that the members of the Society could not be ignored: "We can't win against the influence of the Friends of the Blacks." The result was the 15 May decree that all men of colour would be granted equal rights if they were born of free parents. Further lesgislation passed on 4 April 1792 (with influence from La Société des Amis des Noirs), stating that every free man of colour now enjoyed equal rights.

The Committee on Colonies

The Committee on Colonies was formed in March 1790 to deal with escalating problems arising from slavery unrest in the colonies. Its resolution of the problem leaned heavily in favour of the colonists, and its membership was permeated by those who bore little sympathy for the plight of the slave. The members of the committee included colonial landowners, slave owners, lawyers and merchants, and all were advocates of French commercial interests. Not surprisingly, the final report of the Committee did not alleviate any of the problems relating to slavery. In fact, it stressed the point that it did not wish to interfere in the commercial interests of the colonies: "The National Assembly declares that it had not intended to innovate in any branch of commerce direct or indirect of France with its colonies..."

A group of National Assembly deputies who were either colonists or slave trade merchants actively campaigned the French chambers of commerce and city governments to maintain the slave trade and slavery, proclaiming that economic disaster would result from its abolition. The deputies argued their point so effectively that even La Société des Amis des Noirs feared abolition would cause chaos. One such pro-slavery group was composed of the lobbyists for the French chambers of commerce, who designated themselves as the "Deputies Extraordinary of Manufactures and Commerce." Their main efforts focused on influencing the Committee on Agriculture and Commerce to maintain slavery and the slave trade. Since revenue from the colonies was collected mainly from the sale of slaves and crops, the Committee was investigating the economic ramifications should this source of income cease to exist. The lobbyists were evidently successful in their efforts, for Quinney claims that Barnave's non-committal report to the National Assembly was a result of his knowledge that the Committee on Agriculture and Commerce "had already decided to advise the National Assembly to retain the trade and slavery."

The Massiac Club

A pro-slavery organization called the Massiac Club, headquartered in Paris, was composed of colonial planters living in Paris and throughout France. The club had its main headquarters in Paris, with chapters located in the provinces. Realizing that success related to political influence, the club proceeded to systematically contact government officials.

The Massiac members did not wish to risk the possibility of any type of abolition legislation being passed, and communicated with every colonial deputy to ensure that pro-slavery interests were maintained. Mirabeau stated that when he attempted to sway the deputies in favour of abolition, every official he spoke to had already been approached by a member of the Massiac club. Like the Amis des Noirs, the Massiac group published and distributed literature, responding in toto to practically every idea the Amis des Noirs had put forward.

As well, the Massiac Club delivered accusations in a leaflet distributed to the members of the Comité de Commerce de l'Assemblée Nationale that the Amis des Noirs were involved in subversive activity.

To discredit the Amis des Noirs, the Massiac Club published a handbill that said the abolitionists were not truly humanitarian philanthropists, but rather an organization attempting to subvert social order. They claimed the Amis des Noirs should be viewed as counter-revolutionaries, and pro-British. The pro-slavers also distributed leaflets denouncing individual members of the Société: Brissot, Grégoire and Pétion. They supported the slave trade in debates held in district assemblies within Paris, and attempted to influence voting in these districts when the question of the slave trade was introduced.

Organisational failings

Researchers conclude that the Society was virtually impotent due to its organization, strategy, and membership criteria. In terms of organization, Quinney refers to the group's ineffective operations, stating that the government, which contained pro-slavery elements, had a nation-wide propaganda network, while the Society was mainly Paris-based. Resnick concurs when he states: "Both leadership and membership at large were drawn heavily from the Paris area, with no established network of regional filiations."

Additional evidence of this deficiency was seen in the irregular holding of meetings, without full membership present. Even in 1789, Thomas Clarkson commented upon the poor attendance the meetings were receiving. The lack of organization and continuity among the Society's activities is further evidenced by the fact that Brissot, though inaugurating the Society's first meeting in February 1789, was to depart for America four months later, to meet that country's leading abolitionists. He was not active within the Society until the spring of 1790, when he again became the Society's president. Brissot was able to become eligible upon his return from America, due to a regulation of the Society that the organization must have rotating presidents every three months, a condition that would hinder the continuity of effort within the organization. Another structural hindrance was a regulation that an inner "General Assembly" would be elected within the Society. This body would not only represent the Society and make the rules, but would also hold exclusive voting rights in the election of the officials. Hence, from the organization's inception, any rank and file membership would be excluded from participating in the Society's operations.

Elitist membership policies

Examination of the membership list of the Society reveals that there are an overwhelming number of privileged names. Although possessing great influence, the effectiveness of these people would be muted and Paris-based, partially due to a lack of popular participation. The founding members of the Society included such notables as Brissot, Condorcet, Saint-Lambert, Lafayette, La Rochefoucauld, and Claviere. The Society began with a handful of abolitionists, increased to ninety-five by 1789, and would swell to a maximum of 141 associates in later years. An analysis of membership lists published seventy-five years ago shows that out of the 141 members, twenty-five percent were government employees, twenty-nine percent were nobility, and thirty-eight were professionals, thus bringing the cumulative sum of the elitist membership to ninety-two percent of the total. Cohen has observed this fact as well, stating: "It [the Society]... concentrated on having important, well-connected members, rather than large members...The members [were] drawn from the French social elite..."

The small member base of the agency was elitist-oriented, but another reason for the lack of a "grass-roots" following was the organization's insistence on having dues payable, and four reference signatures, to become a member. Moreover, there were different fee scales: two Louis per year for those who lived in Paris, and 24 livres per year for those living in the provinces. Undoubtedly, the membership practices of La Société des Amis des Noirs both hampered its attempt at increasing in size, and affected its ability to become a credible and effective entity. These prerequisites to membership, along with a weak structural foundation and somewhat ill-prepared organization, compromised La Société des Amis des Noirs' contribution to the fight against slavery.

Relationship to English abolitionists

Perroud states that Brissot's trip to London in November 1787 prompted him to form an identical chapter in France. The English society had only been formed a few months earlier, in May 1787. Just how much influence London really had is revealed in a discussion amongst a group of abolitionist friends in Paris. It states how the London society encouraged others to join its cause, as well as mentioning that France and England had a commonality with respect to abolishing slavery.

Adherence to the English abolitionist movement also included the translation and publication of English anti-slavery literature. This is evidenced in a letter written by Brissot, shortly after the creation of the Society, to Quaker James Philips, an original member of the English abolitionist society. In it he states that the Amis des Noirs would translate and publish English anti-slavery works for distribution to the French public. The intention of using English publications surfaced even before the formation of the Amis des Noirs.

Many French citizens believed that the Society was an offshoot of the English abolitionist society, to the point of being paid by its English counterpart. This resulted in a loss of credibility in the eyes of the French populace. Britain and France had been antagonistic towards each other for many years, in terms of colonial acquisitions and economic superiority. Therefore, any influences from England were seen as "dealing with the enemy." This view extended to encompass the activities of the Society. The perception that it was a vehicle for English infiltration into French matters overshadowed its real intentions.

Outcome

The Society was rendered inactive by the outbreak of the Haitian Revolution

Haitian Revolution

The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...

, begun as a slave rebellion

Slave rebellion

A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves. Slave rebellions have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery, and are amongst the most feared events for slaveholders...

, as well as by the major crisis of the First French Republic (with the start of the French Revolutionary Wars

French Revolutionary Wars

The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...

). It remained active until 1793, publishing its calls in papers such as Patriote français, L'Analyse des papiers anglais, Le Courrier de Provence, and La chronique de Paris.

On 4 February 1794 (16 Pluviôse an II), approximately a year after the demise of the Amis des Noirs, the National Convention passed the Emancipation Declaration:

La Convention Nationale déclare que l'Esclavage des Negres dans toutes les Colonies est aboli: en conséquence elle décrete que tous les hommes, sans distinction de couleur, domiciliés dans les colonies, sont Citoyens Français, et jouiront de tous les droits assurés par la Constitution. Elle renvoie au comité de salut public, pour lui faire incessamment un rapport sur les mesures a prendre pour assurer l'exécution du présent décret.

Notable members

Olympe de Gouges
Olympe de Gouges
Olympe de Gouges , born Marie Gouze, was a French playwright and political activist whose feminist and abolitionist writings reached a large audience....
Jacques Pierre Brissot
Jacques Pierre Brissot
Jacques Pierre Brissot , who assumed the name of de Warville, was a leading member of the Girondist movement during the French Revolution. Some sources give his name as Jean Pierre Brissot.-Biography:...
Jean-Louis Carra
Étienne Clavière
Étienne Clavière
Étienne Clavière was a Swiss-born French financier and politician of the French Revolution.-Geneva and London:...
Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne
Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne
Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne was a French churchman, politician and finance minister of Louis XVI.-Life:...
Marquis de Condorcet
Marquis de Condorcet
Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet , known as Nicolas de Condorcet, was a French philosopher, mathematician, and early political scientist whose Condorcet method in voting tally selects the candidate who would beat each of the other candidates in a run-off election...
Henri Grégoire
Henri Grégoire
Henri Grégoire , often referred to as Abbé Grégoire, was a French Roman Catholic priest, constitutional bishop of Blois and a revolutionary leader...
Samuel de Missy
Samuel de Missy
Samuel de Missy was a French trader and businessman, from the city of La Rochelle, were he was born...
Marquis de La Fayette
Gilbert du Motier, marquis de La Fayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette , often known as simply Lafayette, was a French aristocrat and military officer born in Chavaniac, in the province of Auvergne in south central France...
Dominique de La Rochefoucauld
Dominique de La Rochefoucauld
Dominique de La Rochefoucauld was a French abbot, bishop, archbishop, and Cardinal.- Before the French Revolution :...
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau
Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau was a French revolutionary, as well as a writer, diplomat, freemason, journalist and French politician at the same time. He was a popular orator and statesman. During the French Revolution, he was a moderate, favoring a constitutional monarchy built on...
J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was a French Girondist and abolitionist during the French Revolution who controlled 7,000 French troops in Saint-Domingue during part of the Haitian Revolution. His official title was Civil Commissioner. From September 1792 - December 1795 he was the de facto ruler of...
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve was a French writer and politician.Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve was the son of a at Chartres. Though it is known that he was trained as a lawyer, very few specifics are known about Petion’s early life, as he was virtually unknown prior to the French Revolution...
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien Robespierre
Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre is one of the best-known and most influential figures of the French Revolution. He largely dominated the Committee of Public Safety and was instrumental in the period of the Revolution commonly known as the Reign of Terror, which ended with his...

Primary Sources

The following list of letters, addresses, and minutes were obtained from a collection of pamphlets entitled La Révolution française et l'abolition de l'esclavage. 12 vols. Paris: Editions d'histoire sociale, 1968.

Brissot J.P. Mémoire sur les Noirs de l'Amérique Septentrionale, lu a l'Assemblée de La Société des Amis des Noirs, le 9 février 1789,Paris, au Bureau du Patriote, 20 décembre 1789
- Ibid Seconde Addresse a l'Assemblé Nationale, par la Société des Amis des Noirs, etablie a Paris -(Paris), Imprimerie du Patriote François, s.d. (1790)
- Ibid Discours sur la nécéssité de maintenir le décret rendu le 15 mai en faveur des hommes de couleur libres, prononcé le 12 septembre 1791, à la séance de la Société des Amis de la Constitution Imprimé par ordre de la Société. – S.I. (Paris), s.d. (1791).
Claviere, E. Addresse de la Société des Amis des Noirs, a l'Assemblée Nationale, a toutes les Manufactures, aux Colonies, a toutes les Sociétés des Amis de la Constitution; Addresse dans laquelle on approfondit les relations politiques et commerciales entre la Metropole et les Colonies Seconde édition, revue et corrigée. – Paris: Desenne et au Bureau du Patriote François, 10 juillet 1791.
Condorcet (J.A.N. de Caritat, marquis de): Réflexions sur l'esclavage des negres Par M. Swartz [Condorcet's pseudonym], Pasteur du Saint Evangile a Bienne, Membre de la Société économique Nouvelle édition revue & corrigée. – Neufchatel et Paris, Froullé, 1788.
Wadstrom (Charles-Bernard). Additions aux réglemens de la Société des Amis des Noirs et des Colonies Paris: 1796.
La Société des Amis des Noirs. Discours sur la nécessité d'établir a Paris une Société pour concourir, avec celle de Londres, a l'abolition de la traite & de l'esclavage des Negres Prononcé le 19 Février 1788, dans une Société de quelques amis, rassemblés a Paris, à la priere du Comité de Londres. – (Paris), s.d. (1788)
- Ibid Reglemens de la Société des Amis des Noirs. – S.I. (Paris) s.d. (1789)
- Ibid Tableau des Membres de la Société des Amis des Noirs. Année 1789 – S.I. (Paris), s.d. (1789)
- Ibid Lettre de la Société des Amis des Noirs, B M. Necker, avec le Résponse de ce Ministre S.I. (Paris) s.d. (1789)
- Ibid Addresse a l'Assemblée Nationale, pour l'abolition de la Traite des noirs Par le Société des Amis des Noirs de Paris. Février 1790. – Paris, Imprimerie de Potier de Lille, 1790.
- Ibid Addresse aux Amis de l'humanité, par la Société des amis des Noirs, sur le plan de ses travaux Lue au Comité, le 4 juin 1790, et imprimée par son ordre. – (Paris), Imprimerie du Patriote François, s.d. (1790)
- Ibid Reflexions sur le Code Noir, et Dénonciation d'un crime affreux, commis a Saint-Dominigue; addressés a l'Assemblée Nationale par la Société des Amis des Noirs – Paris, Imprimerie du Patriote François, aôut 1790.
- Ibid Decret de la Convention Nationale, du 16. jour de Pluviôse, an second de la République Française, une & indivisible, Qui abolit l'esclavage des Negres dans les Colonies (Paris: 1794)
Clarkson, T. History of the Rise, Progress and Abolition of the African Slave Trade by the British Parliament (London: 1808), pp. 381–404

Secondary Sources

Baker, K. Condorcet Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1975
Benot, Y. La révolution française et la fin des colonies Paris: Éditions La Découverte, 1988
Blackburn, R. The Overthrow of Colonial Slavery 1776–1848 London: Verso, 1988
Biondi, J.P. Zuccarelli, F. 16 Pluviose An II Paris: Éditions Denoel, 1989
Brown, G. The Origins of Abolition in Santo Domingo The Journal Negro History, 7 (1922): 365–376
Cahen, L. La Société des Amis des noirs et Condorcet La Révolution française, 50 (1906): 481–511
Cochin, A. L'Abolition de L'Esclavage. Fort-de-France Editions Emile Désormeaux, 1979. (reprint)
Cohen, W.B. The French Encounter with Africans Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1980
Cooper, A. Slavery and the French Revolutionists (1788–1805 Lewiston, New York: The Edwin Mellen Press, 1988
Davis, D. The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture
The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture
The Problem of Slavery in Western Culture written by David Brion Davis and published by Cornell University Press in 1966 won the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1967. It was republished in 1988 by Oxford University Press-References:...

Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1969
Despin, J. Montesquieu était-il esclavagiste? La Pensée, 193 (1977): 102–112
Ellery, E. Brissot de Warville New York: Burt Franklin, 1970
Foubert, B. Colons et esclaves du sud de Saint-Domingue au début de la Révolution Revue Française d'histoire d'outre-mer, 61, 223 (1974): 199–217
Gainot, Bernard and Marcel Dorigny , La Société des amis des noirs, 1788–1799. Contribution à l'histoire de l'abolition de l'esclavage, Collection Mémoire des peuples, Paris, Éditions UNESCO/EDICEF, 1998, 429 p. ISBN 92-3-203306-2; ISSN 284129553-2 (this book contains protocols of the society and can only ordered from UNESCO; content in french)
Garrett, M. The French Colonial Question 1789–1791 Ann Arbor, Michigan: George Wahr, 1916
Gaston-Martin Histoire de L'Esclavage dans les Colonies Françaises Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1948
Geggus, D. Racial Equality, Slavery, and Colonial Secession during the Constituent Assembly American Historical Review, 94 (1989): 1290–1308
Hazard, S. Santo Domingo, Past and Present: With a Glance at Hayti Harper and Brothers, 1873
Hunting, C. The Philosophes and the Question of Black Slavery 1748–1765 Journal of the History of Ideas, 39, 3 (1978): 405–418
Lafontant, J. Montesquieu et le Probleme de L'Esclavage dans L'Esprit des Lois Sherbrooke, Québec: Editions Naaman, 1979
Jameson, R. Montesquieu et L'Esclavage Paris: Librairie Hachette, 1911
Jennings, L. The Interaction of French and British Antislavery, 1789–1848 Unpublished article 1991
Krebs, A. La Fayette et le Probleme de L'Esclavage Annuaire-Bulletin de la Société de L'Histoire de France, (1956–57): 49–60
Lokke, C. France and the Colonial Question New York: AMS Press, 1968
McCloy,S. Negroes and Mulattoes in Eighteenth-Century France The Journal of Negro History, 30 (1945): 276–292
- Ibid Further Notes on Negroes and Mulattoes in Eighteenth-Century France The Journal of Negro History, 39 (1954): 284–297
- Ibid The Negro in France Kentucky: University of Kentucky, 1961
- Ibid The Humanitarian Movement in Eighteenth-Century France New York: Haskell House Publishers, 1972
Métral, A. Histoire de L'Expédition des Français a Saint-Domingue Paris, Editions Karthala, 1985
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- Ibid The Problem of Civil Rights for Free Men of Color in the Early French Revolution Journal of Negro History, 55, 2 (1970): 544–557
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- Ibid The French Slave Trade in the Eighteenth Century Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1979
- Ibid The Free Men of Colour and the Revolution in Saint Domingue, 1789–1792 Social History, 14 (1981): 7–28
- Ibid Léger Félicité Sonthanax London: Associated University Press, 1985
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