1784: The free mulattoes of Saint-Domingue anticipated the actions of the colony’s white enslavers by sending Julien Raimond to France in 1784.

1784: The free mulattoes of Saint-Domingue anticipated the actions of the colony’s white enslavers by sending Julien Raimond to France in 1784. This mission was established to lobby for the equal rights of propertied free people of color who suffered from various legal disabilities. Every bit as determined as the enslavers to win representation, the gens de couleur nonetheless encountered greater obstacles in getting their voices heard. Their continued political struggle and growing disillusionment presaged the revolutionary upheavals that would soon ignite in the colonies. This effort highlighted the early emergence of organized political resistance among the free nonwhite population of Saint-Domingue.