Emancipation in French Territories PDF

[EMANCIPATION IN THE FRENCH TERRITORIES] The slave abolition society in France was called Les Amis Noirs formed in 1788. 1790: Slavery was abolished by the Revolutionary Government. In fact only Haiti kept its independence. 1794: The French Assembly abolished slavery within France. 1802: Napoleo...

[EMANCIPATION IN THE FRENCH TERRITORIES] The slave abolition society in France was called Les Amis Noirs formed in 1788. 1790: Slavery was abolished by the Revolutionary Government. In fact only Haiti kept its independence. 1794: The French Assembly abolished slavery within France. 1802: Napoleon restored slavery. 1814: Napoleon defeated and exiled. 1814: British anti-slavery movement sent 800 petitions with 750, 000 signatures calling on the British government to persuade the French monarchy to end the slave trade. Separate calls came from pro-slavery groups such as the merchants of Nantes and the Chamber of Commerce in Guadeloupe calling for slave trade to be restored. May 1814: The French government agreed to abolish the slave trade in the first Treaty of Paris however, the French received a five year grace period and even after they did not strongly enforce it. November 1815: The Second Treaty of Paris was signed by Britain, France, Austria, Russia who pledged to end the slave with no grace period being granted. This treaty however did not prevent slaves being brought to France and then transported to non-French territories such as Cuba in the Caribbean. 1823: Amelioration proposals was adopted and was strongly resisted by the French plantocracy 1838: The first Emancipation Bill was defeated by the West India interest. 1847: The Society petitioned the government of the Second Republic in which Victor Schoelcher was Under-Secretary for the colonies, for immediate emancipation. 1848: All slaves liberated by Schoelcher's emancipation proposals-slave owners were compensated 126 million francs. There was no apprenticeship system. [EMANCIPATION IN SPANISH TERRITORIES] Pre 1791: Prior to the French Revolutionary Wars the Cuban economy was dominated by thousands of small farmers each cultivating tobacco on a small holding. Spain's involvement in wars cut Cuba off from its tobacco markets and forced a change to sugar production using slave labour. Spain allowed an open trade in slaves in 1791, expertise was provided by French refugee planters from Haiti and the flat plains of Cuba allowed for the first large plantations. Slave imports rose steadily to a peak of 12, 000 in 1837 despite the treaties of 1817 and 1835 with Britain by which Spain agreed to curtail this trade. 1814: Congress of Vienna; Spain undertook to stop the slave trade bu this was not enforced until 1865. By that time several factors which favoured emancipation had emerged, including: a strong abolition movement in Spain, Britain's agitation for emancipation of the slaves: the danger of slave revolts, a series of which ravaged Mantazas province in 1843: the Cuban independence movement produced liberals who demanded emancipation; the emancipation of American slaves as a result of the American Civil War (1861-5) 1868-1878: Ten Years War terminated by the Treaty of Zanjon: Spain agreed to gradually emancipate Cuban slaves; there would be no compensation for slave owners. White immigrants from Spain helped to increase the white population. 1886: Liberation of all slaves completed. [DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FRENCH, SPANISH AND ENGLISH EMANCIPATION.] 1. Spanish slave owners were NOT compensated while the British and French slave owners were compensated. 2. The French and Spanish emancipated their slaves immediately after the Emancipation Act was passed, however, the British had different times for different categories of workers to illustrate, the children under six were immediately emancipated while the non-field slaves were to be freed 4 years after the bill 3. The Spanish and French did not have a system of apprenticeship [SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE FRENCH, SPANISH AND ENGLISH EMANCIPATION] 1. Emancipation in the British and Spanish territories were influenced by slave revolts 2. In both the English and French territories humanitarians contributed to the abolitionist movement, in both metropolitan countries there was a Society formed to abolish slavery. 3. In both the French and British territories amelioration proposals. 4. In all three territories the slave trade ended before the emancipation of slaves. [French and British Comparison] +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Component | British | French | +=======================+=======================+=======================+ | Slavery in the | By Lord Mansfield's | Whereas in France it | | Metropole | judgement slavery was | was declared several | | | made illegal in | | | | England in 1772. | decades later in 1836 | | | | that any slave | | | | setting foot | | | | | | | | in France must be set | | | | free. Likewise | | | | deeming | | | | | | | | slavery in the | | | | metropole to be | | | | illegal similar to | | | | | | | | Britain | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Slave trade | Slave trade abolished | France initially | | | in 1807 by an act of | declined to end the | | | parliament | slave trade | | | | | | | | because she wanted to | | | | restock her colonies. | | | | | | | | However, Britain used | | | | diplomacy to | | | | influence | | | | | | | | France to end the | | | | slave trade. | | | | According to | | | | | | | | Baldeosighn Britiain | | | | offered France 3 | | | | million to | | | | | | | | end the slave trade. | | | | Later in 1818 France | | | | ended | | | | | | | | the slave trade, | | | | however unlike the | | | | British who | | | | | | | | utilised their navy | | | | as well as the death | | | | penalty | | | | | | | | to stop the trade the | | | | French and the | | | | Spanish did | | | | | | | | little or nothing to | | | | stop it. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Interest Groups-Anti | Abolition movement | On the contrary the | | Slavery Groups | was a concerted | abolition movement | | | effort led by | | | | religious groups such | was led a secular | | | as the Quakers, | group La Société pour | | | Clapham sect that | | | | formed the Society | L'Abolition de | | | for the Gradual | L'Esclavage was not | | | Aboition of Slavery | connected to any | | | worked together with | religious group. | | | secular groups such | Later similar to | | | as the industrialists | Britain, French | | | and the East India | industrialist joined | | | Company. | the anti-slavery | | | | movement. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Pro-Slavery Groups | The British had a | Similarly the West | | | strong West India | India Interest in | | | Interests in | France had strong | | | parliament that | political power and | | | represented the | influence in | | | planters and delayed | parliament to defeat | | | the ending of slavery | bills | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Anti-slavery | The Abolitionist | While La Société pour | | Strategies | Society utilised, | L'Abolition de | | | pamphlets, handbills, | | | | petitions, | L'Esclavage | | | | introduced bills and | | | public speeches as | motions in | | | well as | | | | | parliament as well as | | | introducing motions | national petition in | | | and bills | 1847 | | | inparliament | | | | | calling for the | | | | immediate end of | | | | slavery, they | | | | | | | | did not have a broad | | | | support base to | | | | mobilise | | | | | | | | the distribution of | | | | handbills and | | | | pamphlets as | | | | | | | | much as the British | | | | Abolition Society. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Policy of | The British, led by | Similarly the | | Amelioration | the West India Lobby | Amelioration policies | | | introduced a policy | were issued | | | of Amelioration that | | | | was legally imposed | by France applied to | | | on Trinidad and | all French Caribbean | | | St.Lucia because they | | | | are Crown Colonies. | territories, however | | | However the | unlike the case of | | | representative | the | | | assemblies in | | | | Jamaica, Barbados and | British where it was | | | others with | technically only | | | representatives | legally | | | assemblies did not | | | | accept it. | adopted in Trinidad | | | | and St. Lucia. | | | | However, | | | | | | | | similar to the | | | | British territories | | | | the laws were | | | | | | | | resisted by planters | | | | and were not | | | | practiced in | | | | | | | | reality. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Registration Bill | This was passed in | This was passed in | | | Britain in | Britain in | | | | | | | 1815 and rejected by | 1815 and rejected by | | | planters. It was only | planters. It was only | | | enforced in Crown | enforced in Crown | | | | | | | Colonies such as | Colonies such as | | | Trinidad and St. | Trinidad and St. | | | Lucia. Registration | Lucia. Registration | | | Bill was considered a | Bill was considered a | | | failure | failure However, in | | | | the French Caribbean | | | | territories. | | | | | | | | the registration of | | | | slaves made | | | | compulsory in | | | | | | | | 1832 and coincided | | | | with amelioration. | | | | This was enforced in | | | | ALL French Caribbean | | | | territories. | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+ | Payment to Planters | British planters | Similarly, French | | | received | planters received 126 | | | | million francs as | | | compensation of £20 | compensation for | | | million as | slaves | | | compensation for | | | | slaves | | +-----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+