Sonthonax Proclamation 1793: Abolition of Slavery

Extract

[...] The context of the war is recalled The proclamation is placed in the context where in Saint Domingue, as in Europe, the republicans are fighting both against an external enemy (England, Spain . ) and against an internal enemy (the royalists who have joined them). The emphasis on this context and the importance for the Blacks to defend the Republic completes the reminder that this declaration is very opportune. Perhaps it would not have existed if the Republic were not threatened . [...]

[...] Above all, recall that in 1793 the Republic is threatened from both sides of the Atlantic. Recall the unique character of this proclamation: slavery is still considered normal and abolishing it was not on the agenda, even in 1789. Problématique: In what way does Sonthonax's proclamation, if it inscribes itself in the continuity of the revolutionary ideals of 1789 and surpasses them in the sense that the abolition of slavery is then a global innovation, leave in fact perceiving the limited character of these achievements by republicans who are then anxious for the very survival of the Revolution? [...]

[...] III- Relativize the humanism of then: a declaration that remains circumstantial From the beginning of the text, Sonthonax does not deny that the initial objective was not emancipation Sonthonax, whose arrival in Haiti is recalled in the header as being to restore order, revises the order that prevailed at his arrival, which was not yet to put an end to the system of slavery. He turns it to his advantage but does not deny it. The obvious search for sympathy from the population Several aspects and terms mark a certain republican propaganda: it is a matter of winning the sympathy of the Blacks, that they do not content themselves with acquiring freedom but support the Republic. [...]

[...] It is, as in 1789, a matter of putting new guarantees in writing. The diffusion in the wake of the Declaration in the island, propagation of the revolutionary ideal Practical recommendations are also developed as to the means of disseminating both this proclamation and the Declaration of 1789; it is now up to Saint Domingue to follow the metropolis in its transformation, which on a practical level requires a certain logistics . II- The creation of an innovative system but which already presents its limits The apparent equality between Whites and Blacks is (with some subtleties) reflected in the articles The advances are real: in theory, Blacks will have the same rights and the same treatment by the justice. [...]