Sweet Liberty: The Final Days of Slavery in Martinique

311 Pages·2009·2.959 MB·English

by  Rebecca Hartkopf Schloss

Sweet Liberty
EARLYAMERICAN STUDIES
series editors
Daniel K. Richter, Kathleen M. Brown, and David
Waldstreicher
Exploring neglected aspects of our colonial,
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EarlyAmerican Studies reinterprets familiar themes
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Sweet Liberty
The Final Days of Slavery
in Martinique
Rebecca Hartkopf Schloss
university of pennsylvania press
philadelphia
Copyright © 2009University of Pennsylvania Press
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations used for purposes of review or scholarly citation, none
of this book may be reproduced in any form by any means without written permission from the
publisher.
Published by
University of Pennsylvania Press
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-4112
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Schloss,Rebecca Hartkopf, 1970–
Sweet liberty : the final days of slavery in Martinique / Rebecca Hartkopf Schloss.
p. cm.—(Early American studies)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-8122-4172-3 (alk. paper)
1. Slavery—Martinique—History. 2. Slaves—Martinique—History. 3.Martinique—History.
I.Title.
HT1108.M3S352009
306.3'620972982 —dc22 2008051923
c o n t e n t s
introduction
Sweet Liberty: The Final Days of Slavery in Martinique 1
one
“ThatYour Hearts Will Blossom and Again Become French”:
The Early Napoleonic Period 17
two
“Happy to ConsiderItself an Ancient British Possession”:
The British Occupation of Martinique 46
three
“Your French and Loyal Hearts”: The First Decade of the Restoration 72
four
“In the Colonies,ItIsImpossibleThat a White Would
Align Himself With Slaves”: Shifts in Colonial Policy 113
five
“To Ensure Equality Before Those Laws to Free Men,
Whatever TheirColor”: ChangingIdeas of French Citizenship 152
six
“Amelioration of the White Race” and “The Sacred Rights of Property”:
The End of Slavery in the French Atlantic 184
vi contents
conclusion 227
list of abbreviations 235
notes 237
index 293
acknowledgments 299
Illustrations follow page 108
Table 1. Population Statistics for Martinique, 1802–1847
Whites Gens de couleur Slaves Total
1802(a) 7,000 12,000 90,000 109,000
1803 (b) 10,078 6,254 89,864 106,196
1805 (c) 9,826 6,578 79,754 96,158
1806 (d) 9,877 6,555 80,473 96,905
1807 (e) 9,953 8,616 81,746 100,315
1810 (f) 8,985 7,100 78,528 94,613
1811(f) 9,206 8,630 78,577 96,413
1816(g) 9,298 9,364 80,800 99,462
1821/2(d) 9,867 11,073 77,412 98,279
1826 (g) 9,937 10,786 81,142 101,865
1831 (g) 9,362 14,055 86,499 109,916
1835 (g) 9,000 29,995 78,076 116,031
1839(h) 10,105 30,718 74,333 115,066
1840(h) 9,904 31,742 76,503 118,149
m=5,104 m=14,373
w=4,890 w=17,369
1841(h) 10,362 32,319 75,225 117,906
m=5,296 m=13,664
w=5,066 w=18,665
1843(h) 8,887 35,706 75,736 120,329
m=4,278 m=15,570
w=4,609 w=20,136
1844(h) 9139 36,626 76,117 121,882
m=4,476 m=16,050
w=4,663 w=20,576
1845(h) 9,219 37,213 76,042 122,474
m=4,488 m=16,249
w=4,731 w=20,964
1846(h) 9,606 37,746 75,339 122,691
m=4,674 m=16,787
w=4,932 w=20,959
1847(h) 9,542 38,729 72,859 121,130
m=4,451 m=17,071
w=5,091 w=21,658
Sources: (a) ADM,CG,C8A105,1802, Grand Judge Lefessier-Grandpré, November 21,1802 cor-
respondence; (b) CAOM,C8B25,Decisions et Rapports, 1804, Aperçu général de la situation de la
Martinique pendant l’administration de M. Bertin; (c) Liliane Chauleau,Dans les îles du vent: La
Martinique (XVII–XIX siècle) (Paris: L’Harmattan, 1993),213; (d) Abbé Bernard David, “La Pop-
ulation d’un quartier de la Martinique au début du XIXe siècle d’après les registres paroissiaux:
Rivière-Pilote, 1802-1829,”Revue française d’histoire d’outre-mer 60,220 (3rd trimester 1973):337,
340,347; (e) CAOM,C8B25,1807Census; (f) PRO WO 1:42,1811, part 2,December19,1811,
“Report upon the State of the Island of Martinique”; (g) Léo Elisabeth, “The French Antilles,”
inNeither Slave Nor Free:: TThhee FFrreeeeddmmaann ooff AAffrriiccaann DDeesscceenntt iinn tthhee SSllaavvee SSoocciieettiieess ooff tthhee NNeeww WWoorrlldd,
ed.David W. Cohen and Jack P. Greene (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1972),151;
(h)Tableaux et relevés de population, de cultures, de commerce, de navigation, etc. formant la suite
des tableaux et relevés insérés dans les notices statistiques sur les colonies françaises (Paris: Imprimerie
Royale,1840,1841,1842,1843,1844,1845,1846,1847,1848).
French Atlantic World,
1750
French possessions
UPPER COUNTRY Le Havre
MonQtruéeablec Nantes FRANCE
Bordeaux
UPPER
LOUISIANA
LOWER ATLANTIC
LOUISIANA
New Orleans OCEAN
See map below
SAINT-
DOMINGUE
CARSIBEBAEAN Isle deS Gaionrté eLouis SenegalR. Niger
R.
0 500 1000 1500 miles
FRENCH
GUYANA 0 500 1000 1500 kilometers
Gulf
French Caribbean Sea,
of
1750
Mexico ATLANTIC
French possessions
OCEAN
CUBA
ST.THOMAS
Le Cap
SAINT-DOMINGUE DOSAMNITNOGO PUREICROTO STS. TM. ABRATRITNHÉLEMY
JAMAICA Port-au-Prince ST. CHRISTOPHER MARIE-
GUADELOUPE GALANTE
DOMINICA
MARTINIQUE
CARIBBEAN SEA ST. LUCIA
BARBADOS
ST.VINCENT
CURAÇAO
GRENADA
TOBAGO
0 150 300 miles
TRINIDAD
0 150 300 kilometers VENEZUELA
French Atlantic World,
1805
French possessions
Le Havre
MonQtruéeablec Nantes FRANCE
Bordeaux
ATLANTIC
New Orleans OCEAN
See map below
SAINT-
DOMINGUE
CARSIBEBAEAN Isle deS Gaionrté eLouis SenegalR. Niger
R.
0 500 1000 1500 miles
FRENCH
GUYANA 0 500 1000 1500 kilometers
Gulf
French Caribbean Sea,
of
1805
Mexico ATLANTIC
French possessions
OCEAN
CUBA
ST.THOMAS
Le Cap
SAINT-DOMINGUE DOSAMNITNOGO PUREICROTO STS. TM. ABRATRITNHÉLEMY
JAMAICA Port-au-Prince ST. CHRISTOPHER MARIE-
GUADELOUPE GALANTE
DOMINICA
MARTINIQUE
CARIBBEAN SEA ST. LUCIA
BARBADOS
ST.VINCENT
CURAÇAO
GRENADA
TOBAGO
0 150 300 miles
TRINIDAD
0 150 300 kilometers VENEZUELA