51 10 1079 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Due to the King's distress over the death of the Dauphin, the Parlement of Paris had not addressed the Brittany Affair. For the first time, the court had taken the upper hand in the affair when it was forced to break up the Breton Parlement whose members had refused to withdraw their resignations. This allowed the King to form a new, smaller parlement, which was more submissive to the court. At the end of February, the Parlement of Paris came to life again. Making common cause with the other parlements in accordance with their collective affiliation, it forcefully asked the King to reestablish the former Parlement of Brittany and to give them back jurisdiction over the case of Monsieur de la Chalotais. If the court were to back down, it would lose what was left of its authority. This was greatly embarrassing for the council. . . . With the decision taken the previous evening, orders were given that night for the two regiments of guards to form the usual honor guard, while the first president was ordered to inform parlement that the King was going to come. The king would not be holding a lit de justice [seat of justice], but rather was coming to personally hold his parlement. No one in Paris knew anything about it. At ten fifteen the King arrived. An incident occurred that had left a good impression: On the Pont-Neuf the King crossed paths with a procession carrying the Blessed Sacrament to a sick man. He immediately stopped, dismounted alone and, amongst the people, knelt in the mud. When the Blessed Sacrament had passed, the crowd, charmed by this gesture, shouted "Long live the King!" over and over. This was something that had not happened in a long time. Arriving in the Great Hall, the King took his seat with those princes and peers who had been able to be informed, and ordered the houses of parlement be summoned. They assembled, much astonished at the suddenness of this measure. With that majestic air he possesses beyond all description, the King was quite impressive. He said, "I have come in person to give you my answer and to explain my wishes. Here they are, written by my own hand!" He ordered it read, and no sooner had this been completed when he arose with the greatest majesty and said, "Yes, those are my wishes exactly, and I know how to make sure that they are carried out. Dufranc [the clerk of the court], bring me the register containing [the latest] decree!" Looking at it, he said, "I order you to strike it out!" When Dufranc seemed to hesitate, the King, with a commanding voice, said, "Dufranc, strike it out at once!" The clerk struck it out. "Bring it to me so that I may verify that it has indeed been stricken!" Then, having spoken a little more, firmly but gently, he arose and returned to Versailles. All who saw him in the parlement that day admitted that no one could have displayed more grandeur or majesty. The entire demonstration was well conceived, well-managed, and well-supported, and consequently impressed all of parlement, which remained disconcerted. Sortable Date 1766-03-03 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Duc de Croy, Journal inédit du duc de Croy, 1718Ð1784, vol. 2 (Paris: E. Flammarion, 1906Ð7), 220Ð28. Description An account of the resource The twelve highest royal courts, known as Parlements, not only heard civil and criminal suits; they also had the responsibility of discussing and registering royal edicts before enactment. Consequently, the Parlementary magistrates could, when they saw fit, prevent the King from ruling; by the same token, the King could exercise a sort of reverse veto by forcing the Parlements to register his edicts. He did this by convoking the judges of the Parlements to a special ceremony known as a "seat of justice" [lit de justice]. Ordinary appearances by the King before the Parlement of Paris were known as "sessions." Here the Duke de Croy, a peer of the realm, describes the "session of the scourging" (Séance de la Flagellation) during the "Brittany Affair" discussed in other documents. Louis XV verbally "lashed out" at the magistrates for asserting that they were linked to the Parlement of Rennes and all the other regional courts in a "union"; in the King’s view, the idea of such a "union" interfered with his ability to rule over the French people. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 349 Title A name given to the resource The Duke de Croy Describes the "Session of the Scourging" (3 March 1766) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/349/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 3, 1766 Laws Monarchy Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document 2 February 1766 Sire, The good of Your MajestyÕs service, the interests of your justice and your authority, and the salvation of the State, all make it imperative for your parlement to convey to Your Majesty the just protest of the magistracy crushed by continuous illegal acts, the last of which clearly reveals the use of absolute power, the subversion of the lawÕs authority, and the open infraction of the most sacred rights of the State. . . . New orders have formed a body of commissioners at Saint-Malo responsible for continuing the prosecution of this same case against the members of the parlement sitting at Rennes. If the criminal impulses of the enemies of the magistracy, secret enemies of the State and of Your Majesty, can prevail to such a point that magistrates can be tried before commissioners, then all rights of station and dignity are henceforth trampled underfoot, and are, from then on, extinguished in the kingdom. . . . Sire, if this law can be broken, all hierarchy by birth and distinction, all bodies, all ranks, all dignities must henceforth fear the imperious force of absolute power. They then must watch with terror each movement of a small number of persons who, at a word, are transported to the farthest extremities of the kingdom, transformed into a tribunal, placed into action, suspended and made to disappear, but who, in a new disguise, are placed immediately in possession of the sole power to which all the legitimately established powers in the state would be subordinated. Sire, your parlement has already shown Your Majesty the contradiction that the establishment of these commissions have with the laws of the state, the injuries they cause to the security of the citizens, the impressions of fear and terror which they arouse in the citizens' minds, and the slow but inevitable deterioration they would cause to even the authority of the sovereign, whose principal strength is closely bound to the love of his subjects and their confidence in his justice. . . . Sortable Date 1766-02-02 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jules Flammermont, Remonstrances du Parlement de Paris au XVIIIe siècle, vol. 2 (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1888Ð98), 534Ð38. Description An account of the resource In the spring of 1765, the regional conflict between the Breton Parlement and the King spilled over to a higher level when the Parlement of Paris took up the case of Breton parlementary ally La Chalotais and began issuing its own remonstrances defending the regional Parlement’s power (issued 3 March 1766), under the doctrine of the "union of classes"—which held that all the Parlements were allied in speaking for the "nation." Supporters of the crown strongly opposed this idea, which they saw as contrary to the principle that the King alone could speak for the kingdom. The animosities generated by this "affair" continued to cut across French politics in the 1770s, since the Duke d’Aguillon retained his hostility to the Parlementary magistrates when in 1771, Louis XV made him foreign minister in the Maupeou government. This excerpt from the Paris Parlement from 1766 raises fears and attacks monarchical government in an inflammatory way, though still avoiding direct blasts against the King. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 348 Title A name given to the resource "La Chalotais" Affair Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/348/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource February 2, 1766 Enlightenment Laws Monarchy Provinces Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document The close of the eighteenth century, a period marked by the grandest operations and the most gigantic projects, presented to the world a new and organized empire, where it was not only supposed to be impossible to exist, but, where even its existence was denied, although it was known by those connected with that quarter of the globe to have taken place, and under the most flourishing auspices. The beneficent and able black, Toussaint L'Ouverture, devoid of the extraneous policy of the governors of ancient states, no sooner found himself at ease from the complicated warfare with which, from the first moment of his government he had been surrounded, than he evinced equal talents for the arts of peace, with those which he had invariably displayed in the field; and that mercy which had ever accompanied him in victory, now transfused itself in a mild and humane policy in the legislature. His first care was to establish, on a firm foundation, the ordinances of religion, according to the existing constitutions of society, to watch over the morals, and excite the industry of those who had committed themselves to his charge. The effects of these exertions were quickly evident throughout his dominion. Such was the progress of agriculture from this period, that the succeeding crop produced (notwithstanding the various impediments, in addition to the ravages of near a ten years war) full one third of the quantity of sugar and coffee, which had ever been produced at its most prosperous period. The increase of population was such, as to astonish the planters resident in the mother country who could not conceive the possibility of preventing that falling off, in the numbers of the negroes, which formed their absolute necessity for supplying them by the by slave trade. Health, became prevalent throughout the country, with its attendant, cheerfulness, that exhilarator of labor. Having introduced in a prominent fashion the surprising character, to whose talents and energies, the inhabitants of this regenerated island were indebted for their then existing advantages, it becomes necessary to present the reader with a view of the circumstances which accompanied a life so important in the history of St. Domingo. TOUSSAINT L'OUVERTURE was born a slave in the year 1745, on the estate of the Count de Noe, at a small distance from Cape François, in the northern province of St. Domingo, a spot since remarkable as the very source of revolution, and site of a camp, (that Breda,) from whence its native general has issued mandates more powerful than those of any monarch on the earth. While tending his master's flocks, the genius of Toussaint began to expand itself, by an attention towards objects beyond the reach of his comprehension; and without any other opportunity than was equally possessed by those around him, who remained nearly in impenetrable ignorance, he learnt to read, write, and use figures. Encouraged by the progress he rapidly made in these arts, and fired with the prospect of higher attainments, he employed himself assiduously in the further cultivation of his talents. His acquirements, as is oftentimes the case, under such circumstances, excited the admiration of his fellow slaves, and fortunately attracted the attention of the attorney, or manager of the estate, M. Bayou de Libertas. This gentleman, with a discrimination honorable to his judgment, withdrew Toussaint from the labor of the fields, to his own house, and began the amelioration of his fortune, by appointing him his postilion, an enviable situation among slaves, for its profit, and comparative respectability. This instance of patronage by M. Bayou, impressed itself strongly on the susceptible mind of Toussaint. True genius and elevated sentiments are inseparable; the recollection of the most trivial action, kindly bestowed in obscurity, or under the pressure of adverse circumstances, warms the heart of sensibility, even in the hour of popular favor, more than the proudest honors. This truth was exemplified by the subsequent gratitude of Toussaint towards his master. He continued to deserve and receive promotion, progressively, to offices of considerable confidence. Among other traits fondly preserved in St. Domingo of the conduct of Toussaint during the early period of his life, are his remarkable benevolence towards the brute creation, and an unconquerable patience. Of the former, many instance related which evince a mind endowed with every good quality. He knew how to avail himself so well of the sagacity of the horse, as to perform wonders with that animal; without those cruel methods used to extort from them the docility exhibited in Europe; he was frequently seen musing amongst the different cattle, seemingly holding a species of dumb converse, which they evidently understood, and produced in them undoubted marks of attention. They knew and manifested their acquaintance, whenever he appeared; and he has been frequently seen attending with the anxiety of a nurse any accident which had befallen them; the only instance in which he could be roused to irritation, was when a slave had revenged the punishment he received from his owner upon his harmless and unoffending cattle. Proverbial became his patience, insomuch that it was a favorite amusement of the young and inconsiderate upon the same estate, to endeavor to provoke him by wanton tricks and affected malignity. But so perfectly he had regulated his temper, that he constantly answered with a meek smile, and accounted for their conduct by such means, as would render it strictly pardonable. To the law of self-preservation, or the misfortune of not knowing the delight of philanthropy, he would attribute an act of brutal selfishness; while he imputed to a momentary misapprehension an inclination to rude and malicious controversy. Thus was his passive disposition never in the smallest degree affected, being ready on all occasions to conciliate and to bear, in circumstances whether frivolous or of the, highest importance. At the age of twenty-five Toussaint attached himself to a female of similar character to his own, and their union cemented by marriage, which does not appear to have been violated, conferred respectability on their offspring. Still he continued a slave; nor did the goodness of M. Bayou, although it extended to render him as happy as the state of servitude would admit, ever contemplate the manumission of one who was to become a benefactor to him and his family. Such is the effect of ancient prejudice, in obscuring, the highest excellence of our nature; he who would perform godlike actions without hesitation, from any other cause, shrinks from a breach of etiquette, or a violation of custom! . . . Continuing on the estate on which he was born, when the deliberations preceding the actual rebellion of the slaves were taking place upon the plantation of Noe the opinion of him who was always regarded with esteem and admiration was solicited. His sanction was of importance, as he had a number of slaves under his command, and a general influence over his fellow negroes. Among the leaders of this terrible revolt were several of his friends, who he had deemed worthy to make his associates for mutual intelligence; yet, from whatever cause is not ascertained, he forbore in the first instance to join in the contest of liberty. It is probable that his manly heart revolted from cruelties attendant on the first burst of revenge in slaves about to retaliate their wrongs and sufferings on their owners. He saw that the innocent would suffer with the guilty; and that the effects of revolution regarded future, more than present justice. When the cloud charged with electric fluid becomes too ponderous, it selects not the brooding murderer on the barren heath, but bursts, perhaps, indiscriminately, in wasteful vengeance, o'er innocent flocks reposing in verdant fields. There were ties which connected Toussaint more strongly than the consideration of temporary circumstances. These were gratitude for the benefits received from his master, and, generosity to those who were about to fall,—not merely beneath the stroke of the assassin, for that relief from their sufferings was not to be allowed to all, but likewise the change of situations of luxury and splendor, to an exile of danger, contempt, and poverty, with all the miseries such a reverse can accumulate. Toussaint prepared for the emigration of M. Bayou de Libertas, as if he had only removed for his pleasure, to the American continent. He found means to embark produce that should form a useful provision for the future; procured his escape with his family, and contrived every plan for his convenience: nor did his care end here, for after M. Bayou's establishment in safety at Baltimore, in Maryland, he availed himself of every opportunity to supply any conceived deficiency, and, as he rose in circumstances, to render those of his protégés more qualified to his situation, and equal to that warm remembrance of the services he owed him, which would never expire. Having provided for the safety of his master in the first instance, Toussaint no longer resisted the temptations to join the army of his country, which had (at this period) assumed a regular form. He attached himself to the corps under the command of a courageous black chief, named Biassou, and was appointed next in command to him. Though possessed of striking abilities the disposition of this general rendered him unfit for the situation which he held; his cruelty caused him to be deprived of a power which he abused. No one was found equally calculated,to supply his place, with the new officer, Toussaint; therefore, quitting for ever a subordinate situation, he was appointed to the command of a division. If during this early period of his life, the black general had shone conspicuously, through every disadvantage, with the brightest talents and the milder virtues, he now rose superior to all around him, with the qualities and rank of an exalted chief. Every part of his conduct was marked by judgment and benevolence. By the blacks, who had raised him to the dignity he enjoyed, he was beloved with enthusiasm; and, by the public characters of other nations, with whom he had occasion to communicate, he was regarded with every mark of respect and esteem. General Laveaux called him "the negro, the Spartacus, foretold by Raynal, whose destiny it was to avenge the wrongs committed on his race": and the Spanish Marquis d'Hermona declared, in the hyperbole of admiration, that "if the Supreme had descended on earth, he could not inhabit a heart more apparently good, than that of Toussaint L'Ouverture." His powers of invention in the art of war, and domestic government, the wonder of those who surrounded, or opposed him, had not previously an opportunity for exhibition as at the period to which we have arrived in this history. Embarrassed by a variety of contending factions among the blacks, and by enemies of different nations and characters, he was too much occupied in evading the blows constantly meditated in different quarters, to find leisure for the display of that wisdom and magnanimity which he so eminently exercised. Nevertheless a variety of incidents are recorded in the fleeting memorials of the day to corroborate the excellence of his character, and still more are impressed on the memory of all who have visited the scene of his government. Notwithstanding the absoluteness of military jurisdiction, which existed with extra power, no punishment ever took place without the anxious endeavors of the General-in-Chief to avoid it, exerted in every way that could be devised. No object was too mean for his remonstrance, or advice; nor any crime too great to be subjected to the rules he had prescribed to himself. Sortable Date 1805-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Marcus Rainsford, An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti: Comprehending a View of the Principal Transactions in the Revolution of Saint-Domingo; with its Ancient and Modern State (London, 1805), 239–43, 245–248. Description An account of the resource Rainsford paints a glowing portrait of the abilities and accomplishments of L’Ouverture, the most noted leader of the rebellion and one of the key founders of the nation of Haiti. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 347 Title A name given to the resource Toussaint L’Ouverture in An Historical Account of the Black Empire of Hayti Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/347/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1805 Public Opinion Text War Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Your fears are of three kinds: the first, the revolt of the slaves; the second, that [white planters in Saint Domingue] not call upon foreigners and not wish to make [the colony] independent; the third, that it not protest against national power [the power of the assembly] in order to only recognize royal authority. In effect, the reasons for these different fears are well-founded, but how will you succeed in dissipating them? One sole means should suffice. There exists in Saint Domingue a numerous class of men who love France, who cherish the new laws, who are in general honest, enlightened, hardworking men who live in a state of few means from the fruits of their daily labor and who owe no debts [poor whites]. This class is reinforced by that of the free black property owning men; this is the party of the National Assembly in this island; this is the class that must be supported by all means combined. [He then goes on to attack the 24 September 1791 decree rescinding the political rights of free blacks.] . . . It cannot be denied that when the French nation proclaimed these sacred words, "Men are born and remain free and equal in rights," it did not break the chains of humankind. The action of this truth, which ought to level the world, had to first fall on us. The fears of our colonists are therefore well-founded in that they have everything to fear from the influence of our Revolution on their slaves. The rights of man overturn the system on which rests their fortunes. No one should be surprised therefore that [the colonists] have become the most ardent enemies of the rights of man; they are right to read in them their condemnation. . . . I do not belong to the Society of the Friends of Blacks. But, as a friend of all men, I am not indifferent to the goal of the work of this society. The improvement of the lot of the Africans, transported to the European colonies, always appeared to me to be the most worthy subject for exciting the zeal of any being born sensitive to the sufferings of his fellow man. . . . I lived for a long time in the colonies. I have owned black slaves; a part of my fortune is still in that country; and I cannot therefore wish for the destruction of it. Planters who read me, tell yourselves: He has the same interests as us and his opinions are different; let us see, let us examine; at issue here are the most cherished interests of life, and partiality and prejudice are capable of losing everything irrevocably. . . . The moment has arrived to change the social system of the colonies, to reintegrate into it humankind, and in this greater view will be found the salvation of all the interested parties, justice and utility, interest and glory. The free men of color demand justice: the rights of citizens in all their extension will be accorded to them. The colonists will no longer refuse them; they will remember that misfortune makes men sensitive, that those men whom they push away are their sons, their brothers, their nephews. They will honor finally the breast that nourished them, no matter what the color, and this first act of justice will guide them toward another, virtues following from each other as do vices. Among the slaves you will call to freedom pure and simple all the artisans whose names will be furnished by their former masters, on the sole condition of a tax by head, which you will convert into an indemnity for those whom they made rich in the past. The Negroes born in the colonies will then be called without distinction to the enjoyment of conditional liberty. It will have as its base the obligation to be reunited on the land of their former masters and to work there for them for a fixed time, after which they will enjoy liberty on the same conditions as the artisan Negroes. I think that this term can be fixed at ten years for those who are 30 years old or older, and at fifteen years for those who are less than 30 years old. But only the Negro fathers of families should be called to enjoy this advantage; the others should be held to 20 years of work. . . . Every Negro who has come from Africa, is married for at least 10 years, has a garden in good order and six children, will enjoy first freedom for three days work a week along with his wife. After 20 years of marriage and with four children still living, they will be considered freed...; their children will enjoy the same advantages at 25 years of age, and their grandchildren will be free without conditions. . . . But some will ask if I am keeping or destroying the slave trade? My pen refuses to trace those words: "You will buy men," but this trade can change character, and the effect of the law that I propose for the colonies would modify the most odious part. It would no longer be slaves that you would export from Africa but farmers, inhabitants that you would abduct from their tyrants to educate them one day by work and instruction to the dignity of free men. Sortable Date 1792-03-28 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The materials listed below appeared originally in The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston/New York), 1996, 112–15. Description An account of the resource This speech by a former noble who had served as a naval officer reveals the deep ambivalence of the deputies about moving too quickly to emancipate the slaves. Caught between the planters who threatened to rebel if emancipation was passed and the dangerous slave revolt that had already broken out, Kersaint hoped for a gradual process of emancipation that would help France hold onto its most valuable colony. He was later executed during the Terror. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 346 Title A name given to the resource Kersaint, "Discussion of Troubles in the Colonies" (28 March 1792) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/346/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 28, 1792 Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document The interest of the French nation in supporting its commerce, preserving its colonies, and favoring their prosperity by every means compatible with the interests of the metropole has appeared to us, from every angle of vision, to be an incontestable truth. . . . Abandon the colonies, and these sources of prosperity will disappear or diminish. Abandon the colonies, and you will import, at great price, from foreigners what they buy today from you. Abandon the colonies at the moment when your establishments there are based on possessing them, and listlessness will replace activity, misery abundance: the mass of workers, of useful and hardworking citizens, will pass quickly from a state of ease into the most deplorable situation; finally, agriculture and our finances will soon be struck by the same disaster experienced in commerce and manufactures. . . . You should only, you can only speak here one language, that of truth, which consists in disavowing the false extension that has been given [to some of your decrees]. You have not been able to change anything in all of what concerns the colonies, for the laws that you have decreed did not have them in mind; you have not been able to change anything because public security and humanity itself would offer insurmountable obstacles to what your hearts might have inspired in you [the abolition of the slave trade or slavery itself]. Let us say it then at this moment, since doubts have been raised: you have broken no new ground. This declaration will suffice; it can leave no alarm remaining. It is only just to accompany it with an arrangement suitable for reassuring the colonies against those who, with criminal plots, would seek to bring trouble there, to excite uprisings there. These men whom some have affected to confuse with peaceful citizens occupied with seeking through reflection means for softening the destiny of the most unfortunate portion of the human race [the slaves], these men, I say, only have perverse motives and can only be considered as enemies of France and of humanity. . . . Here then, Sirs, is the project for a decree that your committee has unanimously voted to propose to you: The National Assembly, deliberating on the addresses and petitions from the cities of commerce and manufacturing, on the items recently arrived from Saint Domingue and Martinique, addressed to it by the Minister of the Marine, and on the representations made by the deputies from the colonies, Declares that, considering the colonies as a part of the French empire, and desiring to enable them to enjoy the fruits of the happy regeneration that has been accomplished in the empire, it never intended to include them in the constitution that it has decreed for the kingdom or to subject them to laws which might be incompatible with their particular, local proprieties. . . . Moreover, the National Assembly declares that it never intended to introduce innovations into any of the branches of indirect or direct commerce between France and its colonies [thus it leaves the slave trade untouched] and hereby puts the colonists and their properties under the special protection of the nation and declares criminal, toward the nation, whoever works to excite uprisings against them. Judging favorably the motives that have inspired the citizens of the said colonies, it declares that there is no reason to pursue them for any charge [there had been widespread agitation among the planters to establish greater independence from Paris]; it expects from their patriotism the maintenance of public peace and an inviolable fidelity to the nation, the law, and the king. Sortable Date 1790-03-08 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The materials listed below appeared originally in The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston/New York), 1996, 109–11. Description An account of the resource Here Antoine–Pierre Barnave, a well–connected and influential lawyer from Grenoble, represented those interests that wanted to hold onto France’s rich colonial possessions. He wanted to treat the colonies separately from mainland France in order to exempt them from the Constitution as a means of maintaining the production of those colonial products that were such a large part of France’s commercial wealth. His proposals were adopted almost without debate. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 345 Title A name given to the resource Barnave, "Speech for the Colonial Committee of the National Assembly" (8 March 1790) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/345/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource March 8, 1790 Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document For several months now, we have seen a veil of error, deception and injustice fall on France, just as we have finally seen the walls of the Bastille fall. But we have not yet seen the fall of the despotism which I am attacking, so I have therefore restricted myself to trying to defeat it. It is like a tree in the middle of a dense labyrinth, bristling with burrs and thorns and to lop off these branches, one would need all of Medea's magic. The conquest of the golden fleece caused Jason far fewer worries and required less skill than I will need against the torments and traps involved in avoiding these poisonous branches that harm this famous tree as well as the spirit of mankind. To destroy them, twenty dangerous dragons must be slain, which are sometimes transformed into zealous citizens, sometimes into pliant serpents, slithering everywhere, spreading their venom over my work and my people. But sir, in turn am I not correct in suspecting that you have placed yourself honorably in the forefront of this growing faction that has risen up against [my play] The Slavery of Negroes. For what are you holding the work, or its author, accountable? Is it for having tried to have the throats slit of the colonists in America, and having been the agent of men whom I do not know as well as you, who perhaps don't think as highly of my works ever since I showed that the abuse of liberty had resulted in a great deal of evil? You do not know me well. I was the apostle of a temperate freedom under despotism. But being truly French, I idolize my homeland; I have sacrificed everything for it; I hold it as dear as I hold my king, and I would spill my blood to give back to it all that its virtue and its paternal tenderness deserve. I would sacrifice neither my king to my country, nor my country to my king, but I would sacrifice myself to save them as a single entity, fully convinced that one cannot exist without the other. It is said that a man is known by his writings. Read my work sir, from my Letter to the People to my Letter to the Nation, and you will see in them, at the risk of flattering myself, a heart and a soul that are truly French. Extremist parties have always feared and hated my works. These two parties, divided by opposing interests, are always unmasked in my writings. My unchanging maxims, my incorruptible feelings: these are my principles. A Royalist and true patriot, in life and in death, I show myself as I really am. I do not have the education that you felt inclined to give me credit for, and maybe one day that lack will lend a degree of celebrity to my memory. I know nothing sir, nothing I tell you, and no one has taught me anything. As a simple student of nature, given only to its basic needs, nature has, since you believe me to be well-educated, no doubt made me see things very clearly. Without knowing America's history, the odious treatment of the Negroes has always stirred my soul and aroused my indignation. The first dramatic thoughts that I put on paper were in support of this kind of man, tyrannized by cruelty for so many centuries. This feeble work possibly suffers a little too much from the newness of my drama career, but even our great men did not all begin as they ended. One attempt always deserves some indulgence. I can thus swear to you sir, that [the club] the Friends of the Blacks did not exist when I conceived of this subject. You might have been more correct in assuming, if prejudice had not blinded you, that it is possibly my drama that this society is based on, or that I have had the good fortune to nobly be a part of it. Would that a more global society be created where they could be lead to see the play more often! At the risk of flattering myself, I hope, sir, that after the clarifications that I give you about The Slavery of Negroes, you will no longer attack my play, but rather become its zealous defendant. By even performing it in America, it will always bring the black man back to his duty, while waiting for the abolition of the slave trade and a happier fate from the colonists and the French nation. These are the positions that I have shown in this work. In view of the circumstances, I have not claimed to light the flame of discord or to signal an insurrection. On the contrary, I have since softened the effect. Lest you doubt this assertion, read, I beg of you, The Happy Shipwreck published three years ago. If I have made several allusions to men who are dear to France, these allusions are not harmful to America. Of this you will be convinced when you see the play, if you would do me the honor of coming. It is in that meek hope that I beg you to believe me sir, despite our small literary discussion, I remain, your humble servant, DE GOUGES Paris, 18 January 1790. Sortable Date 1790-01-18 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Olympe de Gouges, Réponse au champion américain ou colon très-aisé à connaître (Paris, 1790), 3–8. Description An account of the resource Better known for her defense of the rights of women, Olympe de Gouges defended the rights of the downtrodden in general. Here she points out the cruelty of slavery and expresses the hope that the slave trade will be abandoned. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 344 Title A name given to the resource A Female Writer’s Response to the American Champion or a Well–Known Colonist Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/344/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource January 18, 1790 Public Opinion Text Women Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document But it is said that Negroes are a type of men born to slavery . . . they are narrow-minded, deceitful, and wicked. Even they admit to the superiority of Whites, and almost to the legality of their state. It is not true that Negroes are narrow-minded. Experience has proven that they have succeeded in the sciences, and if the mindlessness in which they are plunged makes them believe that Whites are a superior race, liberty will soon bring them up to the same level. As for what people say of their wickedness, it will never equal the cruelty of their masters. Sortable Date 1790-10-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The Revolutions of Paris, no. 66 (9Ð16 October 1790), 13Ð17. Description An account of the resource In this article, the influential newspaper The Revolutions of Paris asks if Africans and their descendants are "Born to Slavery?" as part of a general consideration of the situation in the French colonies. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 343 Title A name given to the resource A Left–Wing Newspaper Continues the Attack on Slavery (October 1790) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/343/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource October 1790 Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document However, it is not that we thought that the patriots of the colonies are yet up to the level of the principles of the French Revolution. Everybody wants them to have liberty, but they refuse the right of citizenship to colored people, and they want to perpetuate slavery and the slave trade. It is true that the aristocrats have included colored people in their party; but they do so only in order to oppress the friends of the constitution, firmly resolved to leave them in contempt, and to add to their chains when they think they can do without them. As for the slave trade and the slavery of Negroes, the European governments will find it useless to oppose the cries of philosophy and the principles of universal liberty that germinate and spread throughout the nations. Let them learn that it is never in vain for people to be shown the truth, and that once the impetus is given, they must totally give way to the flood that will wash away the old abuses. The new order of things will rise up despite all the precautions that have been taken to prevent it. Yes! We dare to predict with confidence that the time will come, and that day is not far off, when you will see a frizzy-haired African, with no other recommendation than his good sense and his virtues, come and participate in the legislative process at the heart of our national assemblies. Sortable Date 1790-09-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Les Révolutions de Paris, no. 63 (5 September 1790), 523Ð24. Description An account of the resource During the explosion of newspaper publishing after 1789, the Revolutions of Paris consistently supported radical positions, including the abolition of slavery in articles like this one entitled "No Color Bar." Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 342 Title A name given to the resource A Left–Wing Newspaper Links the Revolution to the Abolition of Slavery (September 1790) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/342/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource September 1790 Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document The whites, having might on their side, have pronounced unjustly that a darkened skin excludes one from the advantages of society. Priding themselves on their complexion, they have raised a wall separating them from a class of free men that are improperly called people of color or mixed-race. They have vowed the degradation of several thousand estimable individuals, as if all were not children of a common father. . . . Four questions present themselves relative to free people of color. 1) Will they be assimilated in every way to the whites? 2) Will they have representatives at the National Assembly? 3) What will be the number of representatives? 4) Do those who ask to fill this post have a legal commission? A preliminary examination of what they do in our colonies will resolve these questions by informing us what they should become. Bearing all the burdens of society more than whites, only partially sharing the advantages, being prey to contempt, often to flagrant insult, to anguish, this is the lot of the people of color, especially in St. Domingue. . . . One rigorous consequence of what precedes is that the rejection of the people of color threatens the state with an unsettling shock; if on the contrary you fill in the gap that separates them from whites, if by bringing minds closer together you cement the mutual attachment of these two classes, their reunion will create a mass of forces that is more effective for containing the slaves, whose afflictions will no doubt be alleviated and about whose lot it will be permitted to be touched, until that opportune moment when they can be freed. . . . The people of color being equal in everything to the whites, one will surely not ask if they should be active in legislation and send deputies to the National Assembly. Subjected to the laws and to taxation, citizens must consent to the one and the other, without which they can refuse obedience and payment. If someone could claim to possess to a higher degree this right that is equal for everyone, it would be without doubt those who, having been more afflicted by long and multiple vexations, have more complaints to lodge. Sortable Date 1789-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived The materials listed below appeared originally in The French Revolution and Human Rights: A Brief Documentary History, translated, edited, and with an introduction by Lynn Hunt (Bedford/St. Martin's: Boston/New York), 1996, 105–6. Description An account of the resource Baptiste–Henri Grégoire was a parish priest who was elected to the National Assembly by the clergy of Lorraine. He championed the rights of minorities both before the Revolution and in the legislature. The most noted beneficiaries of his attention were Jews and free blacks. He thought giving rights to Jews would encourage assimilation, while giving free blacks a greater stake in society would actually help maintain the institution of slavery because these blacks served in the militias that enforced the slave system. Nonetheless, on other occasions, Grégoire argued for the complete abolition of the institution of slavery. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 341 Title A name given to the resource Abbé Grégoire, "Memoir in Favor of the People of Color or Mixed–Race of Saint Domingue" (1789) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/341/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1789 Enlightenment Public Opinion Text Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Freedom is the first right that man receives from nature. It is a sacred and inalienable right, and nothing should take it from him. Slavery is therefore nothing more than an abuse of power. France has had the good fortune of seeing [slavery] disappear from its continent. But unjustly, it had the cruelty to establish it in its colonies. It is a violation of all the laws of society and of humanity. If ever there is an opportunity to banish this barbarous abuse from French soil, if ever an opportunity presents itself to break the chains of slavery, it is no doubt now at a moment when man is more imbued than ever with the truth that all men are equal in the eyes of their Creator and before the eternal law that an invisible hand has inscribed in their hearts. It is at this moment that all their efforts to abolish and erase to the last trace of their former enslavement come together. Gentlemen, it seems to me that the time has come to present to you possibly the largest, the most noble, and most dignified of projects for posterity which alone could immortalize this august body—the abolition of slavery. Raise up the nature of man degraded and demeaned, return man to his dignity, restore to him his basic rights . . . this is an action worthy of French generosity. Atone for so many centuries of this affront to humanity, and, if possible, erase all crimes of cupidity. It is an act worthy of our sense of justice. Already a rival nation, which has so many claims to our esteem, has taken care of this matter. Let us take heed of its generous scope. The task of setting this important example is up to France, it is up to you Sirs, and it will earn you the homage and veneration of the whole world. I admit it . . . the heart is seduced and drawn to such a beautiful and noble enterprise. It is so very pleasant to exercise charity by placing alms into the hands of the poor and spread happiness there. It is impossible not to feel, I would not say pity and compassion, but rather tenderness, and a powerful interest in those poor unfortunate people, those unhappy victims of our excesses and of our insatiable and cruel avarice. There is no kind of cruelty or barbarity to which they [the slaves] have not been exposed, nor is there any hideous crime which we have not committed towards them. The most horrendous of means are used to make the slave trade profitable. We incite war and carnage in their country, and by the lure of a few trivial items, we purchase the awful right to enchain them and treat them like a vile herd of cattle . . . . [He then traces the horrors of slave ships and chattel auctions. Then Essars begins enumerating the reasons for abolishing the slave trade and concludes with a draft of the law abolishing the trade:] Article I. Slavery shall be and shall remain abolished in every country under French rule in the manner described in the following articles. Men, arriving there, shall be free and shall there enjoy all of their rights. II. The slave trade is and shall remain abolished upon publication of this decree. All Blacks who arrive or who are brought to French colonies or to any other part of the realm, by any means or by any person, shall be free six months after said publication. III. All of the slaves currently residing in the French colonies shall be successively freed and placed at liberty over a sixteen year period, one-sixteenth each year, the first being freed upon publication of this decree. IV. Slaves above the age of seventy shall be the first to be freed. However they shall remain the charges of their masters who shall be required to feed and care for them, or to provide an annual stipend for their feeding and care in a charity home that shall be built for that purpose. V. Married slaves who have the most children shall be the next to be freed, and freedom shall be granted to all members of the family at the same time. As freed fathers and mothers, their children can not be slaves. VI. Children on a property below the age of fifteen having neither father nor mother shall continue to be raised and fed until the time established for the complete end of slavery. Then, steps shall be taken to provide for their subsistence and any payments that may be due to the masters that have fed them, without their making a profit from it. VII. All Blacks who have worked for twenty years on the same property or who are forty years of age and not able to earn a living and who prefer to remain shall be fed. This shall also apply to the disabled and ill on a property. If they do not like their masters, their subsistence shall be paid for in the charity home to be built. VIII. The slaves who shall be freed shall enjoy, from that moment on, all of the benefits of the law to contract, sell, purchase and make commerce as well as all of the other rights of a citizen. IX. From this day, the Black Code is and shall remain abolished and repealed as inhuman and barbarous. It is forbidden for property foremen, masters, and slave drivers to punish [Blacks] or have them punished, or to arbitrarily strike them or have them struck by reason of their authority for any motive or pretext. And it is forbidden for any person to claim the right to inflict any sort of punishment on [the Blacks], and from this moment on they are placed under the protection of the law. X. A legal system shall be established in each quarter that shall be made up of eight notables who, without remuneration, will deal exclusively with the problems concerning the Blacks in conformance with the law which shall be passed. The notables must be a majority of five in order to pass judgment. XI. The master who has reason to complain about his slave may not dispense his own justice as stated in Article IX at the risk of punishment in accordance with the requirements of the case. He shall be required to refer to the system of justice previously mentioned. XII. Blacks shall be allowed to marry amongst themselves regardless of their master's opposition. That is to say those who profess the Catholic religion in accordance with the conventions prescribed by the Church and the laws of the realm, the others following the conventions established for non-Catholics. The master to whom the man belongs shall be obliged to purchase the woman should she belong to another master, or, if he prefers, may sell the other master his Black at a set price, in order that [the couple] may live together. They shall be given a separate cabana. XIII. It is expressly forbidden to require the wife to work during the last six weeks of her pregnancy and during the first six weeks after delivery. XIV. The master who best treats those living on his property shall receive a reward that shall be decided by factoring in how many children where born there and the number and gender of his slaves. XV. Property belonging to all persons of color who die without children and without having disposed of their property shall be given to the black family having the most children who have neither property nor means of subsistence. If the property is large, it shall be divided in as many portions as deemed necessary for each family. The poorest, and those with the most children, shall receive preference. XVI. If there are infertile or abandoned grounds that are applicable, they shall be divided and distributed as those identified in the previous Article and it shall be passed to new colonists if deemed necessary for the first year of ground clearing. XVII. The commissioners chosen and appointed to oversee the execution of this decree, shall see to the means of ensuring the subsistence of the newly-freed slaves, in order to attach them to the soil through ownership, and to [seal] the principles of humanity and justice, with all that those ideas can bring to the safety and prosperity of the colonies. Sortable Date 1790-00-00 Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived Jean-Louis Viefville des Essars, Discours et projet de loi pour l'affranchissement des negrès ou l'adoucissement de leur régime, et réponse aux objections des colons (Paris, n.d.). Description An account of the resource This project to free the slaves in the French colonies was presented to the National Assembly. The defensive tone and rhetorical structure that emerge in the course of this document demonstrate the power of the interests opposed to even cautious steps toward emancipation. Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context 340 Title A name given to the resource Viefville des Essars, On the Emancipation of the Negroes (1790) Relation A related resource https://chnm.gmu.edu/revolution/d/340/ Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource 1790 Enlightenment Public Opinion Text