Colonial bank law is promulgated in French Guiana

Emancipation gives freedpeople the right to leave plantation labor and seek livelihoods

10 Augustus 1848

On 10 August 1848, abolition took legal effect in French Guiana. In the following years, many formerly enslaved people left plantations. Historical research records some establishing small...

The Constitution prohibits slavery on all French territory

4 November 1848

Article 6 of the Constitution of the Second Republic states that slavery cannot exist on any French territory. The constitutional guarantee followed emancipation in French Guiana and made abolition...

France legislates compensation for former enslavers

30 April 1849

A law provides indemnities to colonial owners after abolition. The state compensated former enslavers for the loss of people it had treated as property; formerly enslaved people received no equivalent...

Decree sets final rules for colonial indemnities

24 November 1849

A decree fixes the modalities for paying indemnities to owners in former slave colonies, including French Guiana. The compensation system directed state resources to property claimants rather than...

France legislates colonial banks after abolition

11 Juli 1851

A national law provides for colonial banks, including a bank in French Guiana. The scheme was tied to the post-emancipation economy and was discussed as a possible source of credit for freedpeople...

👉 Colonial bank law is promulgated in French Guiana Huidig

12 November 1851

The 1851 colonial-bank law is promulgated in French Guiana. Although proponents described colonial banks as a possible source of loans for new freedpeople to acquire land, the banking framework also...

Decree regulates labor and punishes “vagrancy”

13 Februari 1852

A decree governs immigration, work contracts, rural policing, and the punishment of “vagrancy” in the colonies. In the post-emancipation setting, rules tying legal status and mobility to work made...

Decree formalizes recruitment and transport of contracted workers

27 Maart 1852

A second decree organizes recruitment, transport, arrival, and repatriation for workers sent to French colonies. On paper it required informed consent and set rules for voyages and contracts. In...

Disciplinary workshops institutionalize coerced labor

3 Juli 1852

Local order no. 398 establishes prisons and disciplinary workshops for workers sanctioned under the 13 February decree. It allowed those sentenced to perform labor and, in specified circumstances,...

Worker booklet system begins in Cayenne

28 Juli 1852

Order no. 419 defines worker booklets and their delivery in French Guiana. The booklet recorded work engagements and enabled officials to monitor workers’ movements. It was a tool of post-emancipation...

Work obligation and booklet checks extend labor surveillance

4 Augustus 1852

Order no. 464 organizes work engagements and booklet inspections. It required people aged 14 to 60 without sufficient resources to show regular work, and imposed repeated administrative checks. For...

Colonial bank law is promulgated in French Guiana

Personen in deze gebeurtenis

French Guiana colonial administration

formerly enslaved people

plantation proprietors

Organisaties in dit Evenement

French colonial administration

colonial bank system

Gerelateerde evenementen

What happened on 12 November 1851 in French Guiana?

The colonial-bank law was promulgated in French Guiana on 12 November 1851.