Draft:Decree of 29 March 1815

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  • Comment: Also, too long of a name. Decree of 29 March 1815 seems like a better name. Also, the lead needs a significant rewrite. thetechie@enwiki (she/they | talk) 02:39, 24 July 2025 (UTC)
Decree of 29 March 1815
  • Imperial Decree Abolishing the Slave Trade
Territorial extentFrance

The Decree of 29 March 1815, issued by Emperor Napoleon I, who had previously re-established slavery [fr] in Guadeloupe and Guyana and maintained it in Martinique, abolished the "slave trade". This action followed the commitment of European nations at the Congress of Vienna in February 1815 [fr], prompted by pressure from Britain, which controlled the seas and had prohibited the slave trade since 1807.[1] The decree prohibited the introduction of "any Black person resulting from the slave trade, whether French or foreign" for sale in French colonies.[2] However, this decree did not abolish slavery, which continued until 1848.

Content

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The decree comprises five articles:

Article 1. Upon publication of this decree, the slave trade is abolished. No expedition for this trade will be permitted in the ports of France or its colonies.

Article 2. No Black person resulting from the slave trade, whether French or foreign, may be introduced for sale in French colonies.

Article 3. Violations of this decree will result in the confiscation of the vessel and its cargo, as determined by French courts and tribunals.

Article 4. Shipowners who dispatched expeditions for the slave trade before the decree’s publication may sell their cargo in French colonies.

Article 5. Ministers are tasked with enforcing this decree.

Context

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Re-establishment of slavery

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Bonaparte, First Consul, by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres.

Slavery in French colonies was initially abolished during the French Revolution by the Montagnard Convention through the law of 4 February 1794. However, under the Consulate, with Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul holding full authority, the Law on the slave trade and the regime of the colonies of 20 May 1802 maintained slavery in colonies where the 1794 abolition had not been implemented due to British occupation or resistance from colonists (Martinique, Tobago, Saint Lucia, Bourbon, and Isle de France).[3]

In a letter dated 14 June 1802, Napoleon’s Minister of the Navy, Denis Decrès, instructed General Leclerc, commander of the Saint-Domingue expedition, to re-establish slavery in the colony.[4]

Subsequently, the consular decree of 16 July 1802 re-established slavery in Guadeloupe and repealed both the 1794 abolition decree and the law of 1792 granting equal rights to Free People of Color [fr].[5]

For Guyana, a consular decree of 7 December 1802 re-established slavery.[6]

Napoleon’s policies

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Political considerations

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Some historians attribute Bonaparte’s policy shift in 1801 to the influence of the slaveholding lobby, driven by political and economic considerations.[7]

According to Jean-Joël Brégeon, Napoleon was initially opposed to re-establishing slavery.[8] He considered a transitional status tailored to each colony. However, the insurrection in Saint-Domingue necessitated restoring order, and a significant “Creole faction” advocated for the return of slaves to plantations.[8]

Historian Jean-François Niort notes: “Influenced by the slaveholding lobby, Bonaparte believed that Guadeloupe was in chaos – which was untrue – and that restoring order required re-establishing slavery.”[9]

In practice, the abolition law had limited impact due to the near-total loss of colonies following the war with England and the Haitian Revolution. From 1804 to 1814, during his reign as emperor, Napoleon shifted focus away from the issue of slavery.[10]

Segregationist policies

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In 1799, following his coup d'état, First Consul Bonaparte stated to the Council of State, referencing the 1794 abolition and the British occupation of Martinique at the colonists’ request: “If I had been in Martinique, I would have supported the British, as one’s life must come first. I support the Whites because I am white; that reason suffices. How could freedom have been granted to Africans, to people without civilization, who did not even understand what a colony or France was? If the majority of the Convention had understood its actions and the colonies, would it have granted freedom to the Blacks? Certainly not.”[11]

After maintaining or re-establishing slavery in 1802, Bonaparte suppressed colonial revolts in Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue. He also implemented a policy of segregation and discrimination against free people of color, which was stricter than under the Ancien Régime.[12] In mainland France, the consular decree of 2 July 1802 (13 Messidor Year X) reinstated a prohibition on free people of color and slaves entering French territory, as previously enacted in 1763 and 1777.[5]

The Civil Code was amended to establish a racial hierarchy, categorizing Whites, free people of color from before 1789, and slaves. Additionally, mixed-race marriages were prohibited, fulfilling a longstanding demand from the colonial lobby that the Ancien Régime had rejected.[5]

Treaty of Paris and Congress of Vienna

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Several historically slaveholding powers began to reconsider their positions. Notably, Britain abolished the slave trade in 1807, though full abolition of slavery was deferred.[13]

In 1814, the Allies invaded France, forcing Napoleon’s abdication. At Britain’s initiative, an article in the Treaty of Paris of 30 May 1814 stipulated that France prohibit the slave trade within five years, by 1819.[14][15]

On 15 June 1814, King Louis XVIII affirmed that the French delegation would support Britain’s stance at the Congress of Vienna, commencing on 18 September 1814.[14]

However, this commitment had limited impact. French diplomats Talleyrand and Jaucourt delayed action, prioritizing the recovery of French colonies. Other nations, such as Spain and Portugal, also resisted abolishing the slave trade.[14]

Consequently, the Congress of Vienna issued a declaration on 8 February 1815 condemning the “slave trade of African Blacks” without mandating its immediate cessation.[14][16]

Promulgation

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Upon returning from exile on the Island of Elba during the Hundred Days, Napoleon issued the decree of 29 March 1815, prohibiting the slave trade and the sale of slaves.[8]

According to Thierry Lentz, director of the Fondation Napoléon, which promotes Napoleonic heritage: “Napoleon was aware of the discussions at the Congress of Vienna, including a commission preparing the abolition of the slave trade. He sought to preempt these efforts and demonstrate a more progressive stance.”[17]

Johanne Vernier notes that Napoleon’s decree responded to British pressure, as Britain had prohibited the slave trade since 1807, controlled maritime routes, and enforced rights of search of foreign ships [fr].[1]

Scope and limitations

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On 18 June 1815, Napoleon’s defeat at the Battle of Waterloo led to his second abdication on 22 June, with Louis XVIII restored to the throne on 8 July.

Despite the limited impact of Napoleon’s decree, Bonapartist scholar Thierry Choffat argues that “Napoleon’s decree set France on a path toward reform, marking a step toward the abolition of slavery in 1848.”[18] However, during the Second Restoration, all acts of the “usurper” were deemed null.[19]

The royal ordinance of 8 January 1817 [fr] by Louis XVIII prohibited the introduction of slaves into French colonies, and the Law of 15 April 1818 [fr] formally abolished the slave trade, though enforcement was weak. The illegal slave trade was often framed as resistance to British efforts to undermine the French economy.

Historians Bruno Marnot and Thierry Sauzeau note that the French prohibition faced challenges due to the demand for slaves in remaining colonial plantations, despite the loss of Saint-Domingue. They highlight a “deliberate oversight of strategies used by slave traders to evade ship confiscation.”[20] Enforcement strengthened after 1822 with the appointment of the Marquis de Clermont-Tonnerre as Minister of the Navy.[20] In 1825, the Court of Cassation ordered the prosecution of slave traders, followed by the law of 1827 [fr] classifying slave traders as criminals.[20] Serge Daget documents 729 confirmed, suspected, or questionable French slave trade expeditions between 1814 and 1850.[20]

References

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  1. ^ a b Vernier, Johanne (2012-11-01). "Traite des êtres humains et traite des migrants". Cahiers de la recherche sur les droits fondamentaux (in French) (10): 49–57. doi:10.4000/crdf.5256. ISSN 1634-8842. Retrieved 2023-10-24.
  2. ^ "Décret impérial abolissant la traite des Noirs (29 mars 1815)" [Imperial Decree Abolishing the Slave Trade (29 March 1815)]. Archives nationales. Retrieved 2016-08-11.
  3. ^ "Napoléon, l'esclavagiste : la face sombre de l'Empereur" [Napoleon, the Slaver: The Dark Side of the Emperor]. Le Dauphiné libéré. 2021-03-13.
  4. ^ Gainot, Bernard (2011-01-08). "« Sur fond de cruelle inhumanité » ; les politiques du massacre dans la Révolution de Haïti". La Révolution française. Cahiers de l'Institut d'histoire de la Révolution française (in French). doi:10.4000/lrf.239. ISSN 2105-2557. Archived from the original on 2024-01-31. Retrieved 2024-01-31.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  5. ^ a b c Niort, Jean-François (2002). La condition des libres de couleur aux îles du vent (XVIIe-XIXe s) [The Condition of Free People of Color in the Windward Islands (17th-19th Centuries): Resources and Limits of a Segregationist System] (PDF) (in French). Université des Antilles et de la Guyane: ressources et limites d’un système ségrégationniste.
  6. ^ Pouliquen, Monique (2009). "L'esclavage subi, aboli, rétabli en Guyane de 1789 à 1809" [Slavery Endured, Abolished, Re-established in Guyana from 1789 to 1809]. L'esclave et les plantations : de l'établissement de la servitude à son abolition. Hommage à Pierre Pluchon [The Slave and the Plantations: From the Establishment of Slavery to Its Abolition. Homage to Pierre Pluchon] (in French). Presses universitaires de Rennes. pp. 241–263. ISBN 978-2-7535-6637-8. Retrieved 2024-01-28.
  7. ^ Girard, Philippe (2011-05-01). "Napoléon voulait-il rétablir l'esclavage en Haïti?" [Did Napoleon Want to Re-establish Slavery in Haiti?]. Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire de la Guadeloupe (in French) (159): 3–28. doi:10.7202/1036821ar.
  8. ^ a b c Brégeon, Jean-Joël (2021-04-01). "Napoléon, l'ombre et la lumière - Le retour de l'esclavage" [Napoleon, Shadow and Light - The Return of Slavery]. Histoire & Civilisations (En partenariat avec le Monde) (April 2021): 47.
  9. ^ Flandrin, Antoine (2021-03-10). "L'exposition « Napoléon » à Paris écorne le mythe Bonaparte en présentant deux actes officiels sur l'esclavage" [The “Napoleon” Exhibition in Paris Tarnishes the Bonaparte Myth by Presenting Two Official Acts on Slavery]. Le Monde.
  10. ^ Lentz, Thierry (2021-03-22). "Les 5 procès de Napoléon" [The 5 Trials of Napoleon]. Le Figaro.
  11. ^ "Raciste, Napoléon ?" [Was Napoleon Racist?]. L'Obs (in French). 2021-04-14. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  12. ^ "Désintox. Il est faux de dire que le régime de Napoléon Bonaparte n'était pas raciste" [Désintox. It Is False to Say That Napoleon Bonaparte’s Regime Was Not Racist]. Franceinfo (in French). 2021-05-11. Retrieved 2023-11-26.
  13. ^ Pétré-Grenouilleau, Olivier (2006). Traites négrières. Essai d'histoire globale [Slave Trades. Essay on Global History] (in French). Seuil. p. 307.
  14. ^ a b c d "Congrès de Vienne : l'abolition de la traite des noirs, déclaration du 8 février 1815" [Congress of Vienna: The Abolition of the Slave Trade, Declaration of 8 February 1815]. Napoleon.org (in French). Retrieved 2021-04-24.
  15. ^ Marteau, Timothée (2021-05-03). "L'invalide abolition napoléonienne de la traite négrière" [The Invalid Napoleonic Abolition of the Slave Trade]. Actu-Juridique (in French). Retrieved 2023-11-27.
  16. ^ Nicolson, H. « Déclaration des plénipotentiaires des Puissances qui ont signé le traité de Paris du 30 mai 1814, relative à l'abolition de la traite des nègres d'Afrique ou du commerce des esclaves », 8 February 1815, dans Le congrès de Vienne et les traités de 1815 [Declaration of the Plenipotentiaries of the Powers that Signed the Treaty of Paris of 30 May 1814, Regarding the Abolition of the African Slave Trade or Slave Commerce] (in French). p. 726-727.
  17. ^ "La Grande Librairie - Mais qui était vraiment Napoléon ?" [La Grande Librairie - But Who Was Napoleon Really?]. France Télévisions. 2021-03-24.
  18. ^ Barbier, Grégory (2021-04-23). "Napoléon (3/6) : comment et pourquoi a-t-il rétabli l'esclavage ?" [Napoleon (3/6): How and Why Did He Re-establish Slavery?]. Le Républicain lorrain.
  19. ^ Lentz, Thierry (2015). Le congrès de Vienne [The Congress of Vienna] (in French). Perrin. ISBN 978-2-262-06414-3.
  20. ^ a b c d Marnot, Bruno; Sauzeau, Thierry (2021-05-10). "Le faux redémarrage de la traite sous la Restauration" [The False Restart of the Slave Trade under the Restoration]. Sud Ouest.fr. Retrieved 2024-02-01.

Bibliography

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