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1793-Aug.-29

1793-Aug.-29: Commissioner Sonthonax issued a historic proclamation in the northern province of Saint-Domingue that affirmed the immediate freedom of all ens…

HT-TCWI-2018-000155

1793-Aug.-29: Commissioner Sonthonax issued a historic proclamation in the northern province of Saint-Domingue that affirmed the immediate freedom of all enslaved people. This document provided the first legal framework for the transition from a slave regime to a system of free labor under the French Republic. Black auxiliary troops stationed near the Spanish border were among the first to receive copies of this decree, bypassing colonial officials. The proclamation served as a powerful recruitment tool, urging black soldiers to align their interests with French antislavery rather than Spanish colonialism. This event proved that the pressure of the unfree had successfully forced a major imperial power to dismantle its own system of human property.

Source  ·  HT-TCWI-2018-000155 Scott, The Common Wind / Bates: HT-TCWI-2018-000155