Historical Organization
French civil commission in Saint-Domingue
French civil commission in Saint-Domingue
Details
Organization Timeline
Civil commissioners declare their authority while slavery remains in force
📅 24 September 1792On 24 September 1792, civil commissioners Polverel, Sonthonax, and Ailhaud issued a proclamation defining their authority in Saint-Domingue. Their mandate was to enforce the 4 April equality law and...
Sonthonax offers freedom to enslaved people who fight for the Republic
📅 21 June 1793As French republican forces faced revolt and foreign intervention, commissioner Sonthonax issued a measure promising freedom to enslaved people who joined the republican army. The offer was limited...
Sonthonax issues a proclamation addressing marriage between free men and enslaved women
📅 21 August 1793A proclamation issued by civil commissioner Sonthonax on 21 August 1793 addressed marriage between a free man and an enslaved woman and provided for the Republic to compensate the enslaver. The...
Sonthonax proclaims emancipation in northern Saint-Domingue
📅 29 August 1793Under pressure from the uprising and the struggle to retain the colony, Sonthonax proclaimed freedom for enslaved people in the northern province. The decree was a decisive local abolition, won in a...
Polverel extends emancipation to western and southern Saint-Domingue
📅 31 October 1793Commissioner Étienne Polverel issued emancipation measures covering the colony’s western and southern provinces, completing the local abolition begun in the north. Proclamations differed in timing and...