Synopses & Reviews
Some works have examined the first and temporary abolition of French colonial slavery during the French Revolutionary era, but relatively little is known about the second French abolitionist movement that culminated in the freeing of a quarter of a million slaves in 1848. This book fills the huge gap in existing historiography by providing the first detailed study of French anti-slavery forces during this period, explaining why France abolished colonial slavery fifteen years later than Britain but fifteen years before emancipation in the United States.
Review
'\"Jennings\'s summaries at the end of each chapter enrich this valuable study, which fills an large gap.\" Choice\"Jennings has the ditinction of having produced the first fully research study of France\'s second slave emancipation\". ..Based on an exhaustive reading of archival sources, newspaper, and printed works, the book details the intricate twists and turns of French abolitionsim and its opponents between the Napoleonic restoration of slavery in 1802 and 1848.\" American Historical Review\"Nineteenth-century scholars who want to know more about colonial issues in the 1830s and 1840s will learn a great deal by reading this book.\" University of Nebraska Lincoln\"French Anti-Slavery proceeds chronologically, employs extensive research in French and English archives, and instructs general as well as specialized readers.\"Historian\"A work of remarkable craftsmanship and lucid style...This very learned work will pay rich dividends to anyone interested in exploring the anti-slavery reformers as the \'conscience of a nation\'...\" Canadian Journal of History'
Synopsis
This is a detailed study of French anti-slavery forces during the first half of the nineteenth century. The book explains why France abolished colonial slavery fifteen years later than Britain but fifteen years before emancipation in the United States.
Table of Contents
Preface; 1. Napoleonic and restoration anti-slavery; 2. The revolution of 1830 and the colonies; 3. Formation of the French Abolition Society; 4. Procrastinations, consultations, and interpellations; 5. Abolitionist proposals and parliamentary commissions; 6. Stalemate and regression; 7. Crisis and further setbacks; 8. Redefining abolitionism; 9. Toward immediatism; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index.