On 4 February 1794 (16 Pluviôse Year II), the French National Convention abolished slavery in all French colonies and granted citizenship to formerly enslaved people. This national decree came after mass resistance in Saint-Domingue and the regional emancipation decrees of 1793; it formalized a change that enslaved people had fought to make unavoidable. Implementation remained dependent on revolutionary forces on the ground, and the decree did not by itself resolve conflicts over land, labor, or political power.
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What did the French Convention decree on 4 February 1794?
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Explanation
The decree formalized emancipation across French colonies after resistance and earlier local abolition in Saint-Domingue.
The French Convention abolished slavery in the colonies on 4 February 1794.
🎉😄
😢
Explanation
The decree of 16 Pluviôse Year II applied to the French colonies.