France sanctions equality in rights for all free people of color

Colonial authorities publicly executed free men of color Vincent Ogé and Jean-Baptiste Chavannes on 25 February 1791 after their armed challenge to white colonial rule. The mobilization had followed...

On 15 May 1791, the French National Assembly admitted free men of color born to two free parents to future colonial and parish assemblies, subject to other qualifications. The decree left out most...

Haitian historical tradition dates a Vodou gathering at Bwa Kayiman (Bois Caïman) to the night of 14 August 1791, shortly before the northern uprising. Memory associates the gathering with enslaved...

During the night of 22–23 August 1791, enslaved people launched a coordinated uprising across the northern plain of Saint-Domingue. They attacked plantations, destroyed property tied to plantation...

A peace agreement between white citizens and citizens of color in the western province was marked at Damiens on 23 October 1791. It reflected the pressure free people of color had exerted against...

On 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...

On 3 December 1792, civil commissioner Étienne Polverel issued an ordinance prohibiting designations of color in public acts. The rule challenged official racial categorization within colonial...

On 20 June 1793, sailors and white colonists aligned with Governor Galbaud attacked the civil commissioners at Cap-Français. The fighting set much of the city on fire. Facing defeat, commissioners...

A 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...

On 29 August 1793, civil commissioner Léger-Félicité Sonthonax proclaimed emancipation in the northern province of Saint-Domingue. The decree followed years of revolt and a military crisis in which...