On 31 October 1793, Polverel issued rules concerning the policing and discipline of emancipated plantation workshops. The ordinance demonstrates that official emancipation did not end attempts to control the work, movement, and production of formerly enslaved people. Plantation discipline remained a point of conflict, while freedom acquired meaning through workers’ ability to resist coerced labor and claim control over their lives. The distinction between abolition and full social freedom is central to understanding the revolution.
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What does Polverel’s 31 October 1793 ordinance on workshop discipline reveal?
The regulation of emancipated workshops shows the limits of legal abolition.
Polverel issued rules on discipline in emancipated workshops on 31 October 1793.
The archival inventory describes a proclamation on police and discipline of emancipated workshops.