1794-Feb.-02: Joseph Antonio Vrizar, a Spanish official in Santo Domingo, authored a discourse entitled “Discurso sobre Modificación de la esclavitud.” This …

1794-Feb.-02: Joseph Antonio Vrizar, a Spanish official in Santo Domingo, authored a discourse entitled “Discurso sobre Modificación de la esclavitud.” This document outlined a plan to reform the slave system in order to maintain the loyalty of the enslaved population in the face of French abolitionist pressure. Vrizar argued that a “modification” of slavery, including improved conditions and legal protections, was a necessary defensive measure against the “contagion” of liberty. His plan was remarkably similar to one being discussed by British colonial agents in London at the same time. This cross-imperial dialogue on slave reform represented a desperate attempt by the old regimes to prevent a total revolution.