Historical Organization
French Crown
French Crown
Details
Organization Timeline
France promulgates the Code Noir
📅 March 1685The ordinance regulated slavery and racial hierarchy in French colonies, including the Caribbean. It mandated Catholicism and set rules governing enslaved people while affirming slaveholders’...
French slave code is registered in Saint-Domingue
đź“… 6 May 1687The 1685 French royal ordinance governing enslaved people in French Caribbean colonies was registered by the Sovereign Council of Saint-Domingue on 6 May 1687. The code regulated enslaved people as...
Treaty of Ryswick confirms France’s claim to western Hispaniola
đź“… 20 September 1697The Treaty of Ryswick, signed by France and Spain among other powers, formalized a European settlement that recognized French possession of the western part of Hispaniola. The agreement treated the...
Madrid asiento authorizes a French company to supply enslaved Africans to Spanish colonies
📅 27 August 1701A treaty signed at Madrid on 27 August 1701 authorized the French Royal Company of Guinea to supply enslaved Africans to Spain’s colonies. NALIS identifies this arrangement in its account of...
Cayenne registers the royal slave code for French Guiana
📅 5 May 1704On 5 May 1704, Cayenne’s governing council registered the royal regulation of March 1685, later commonly called the Code Noir. Its application made colonial law explicitly organize enslaved people’s...
Treaty of Paris transfers Grenada to Britain
đź“… 10 February 1763The Treaty of Paris ceded Grenada and the Grenadines to Great Britain. The change in imperial rule did not end slavery: Britain inherited and expanded a plantation society in which enslaved Africans...
Treaty restores Grenada to British rule
đź“… 3 September 1783The peace settlement ending the American War of Independence restored Grenada to Britain. For enslaved Grenadians, the transfer changed the colonial power but preserved the legal and economic system...
An ordinance announces the pardon granted to Pompée
📅 9 April 1823An ordinance of 9 April 1823 announced the royal pardon for Pompée. Although his life was spared, the pardon was not emancipation: colonial officials retained power over his fate and that of the other...
France recognizes Haitian independence while imposing an indemnity
📅 17 April 1825Charles X issued an ordinance recognizing Haiti’s independence on the condition that Haiti compensate former colonists, including for the loss of enslaved people claimed as property. The imposed...
France recognizes Haiti under a coercive indemnity ordinance
📅 17 April 1825Charles X’s ordinance recognized Haiti’s independence while requiring Haiti to pay 150 million francs in five annual installments to compensate former colonists for property losses. The ordinance...
Haitian Senate registers the 1825 agreement under naval pressure
đź“… 11 July 1825On 8 July, President Boyer accepted the French terms while requesting revisions; the Senate registered the commitment on 11 July. A French squadron carrying hundreds of cannon had threatened a...
Royal ordinance orders civil registration of enslaved people
đź“… 4 September 1833A royal ordinance dated 4 September 1833 required colonial authorities to register births, marriages, and deaths among enslaved people in French Guiana. The measure generated records that now help...