*On this date in 1794 France abolished slavery. As a nation they had a lukewarm commitment to abolition. Under Napoleon they reestablished slavery in 1802 along with the re-institution of the "Code noir", prohibiting blacks, Mulattoes and other non whites from entering French colonial territory or intermarrying with whites.
These orders carried out by General Antoine Richepance brutally re-instituted slavery in the French Antilles in 1802. Thousands of people of color were killed in Guadeloupe alone as they fought to retain their freedom. France as a country finally ended slavery in 1848.
Reference:
Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
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