1789–1792: French officials struggled in vain to prevent revolutionary slogans and “ideas of liberty” from crossing the Atlantic to inspire enslaved people i…

1789–1792: French officials struggled in vain to prevent revolutionary slogans and “ideas of liberty” from crossing the Atlantic to inspire enslaved people in the colonies. Despite extensive efforts to contain news of the French Revolution, accounts of metropolitan changes spread rapidly through both legal and illicit trade networks. By July 1792, the insurrection in Saint-Domingue had already lasted nearly a year, challenging the very basis of colonial property. This period demonstrated the explosive power of political rituals when introduced into societies built upon human enslavement.