{"id":14166,"date":"2018-06-18T08:45:33","date_gmt":"2018-06-18T04:45:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/?p=14166"},"modified":"2018-06-18T08:45:33","modified_gmt":"2018-06-18T04:45:33","slug":"the-french-revolution-and-its-repercussions-in-ile-de-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mauritiustimes.com\/mt\/the-french-revolution-and-its-repercussions-in-ile-de-france\/","title":{"rendered":"The French Revolution and its Repercussions in Ile de France"},"content":{"rendered":"
MT 60 Yrs \u2013 Friday 13 July 1956<\/u><\/strong><\/h5>\n

<\/p>\n

An Anniversary<\/u><\/span><\/h5>\n

Les hommes de couleur libres, propri\u00e9taires comme les blancs, contribuables comme les blancs, sujets envers la patrie aux m\u00eames devoirs, doivent avoir les m\u00eames droits, avec d’autant plus de raison qu’ils sont fils des Francais.
\n<\/em><\/strong>— <\/em>L’abb\u00e9 Gr\u00e9goire: Assembl\u00e9e Nationale, S\u00e9ance du 7 mai 1791<\/em><\/p>\n

The 14th of July is a memorable date in world history. On that date the revolutionary forces which were brewing up for a long time in France found expression in the attack of the Parisian mob on the Bastille, the symbol of feudal tyranny. The fall of the Bastille was the first of a series of events which ended by wiping out the old order of things and establishing a republic in France. But these events concern us only in so far as they throw light on what happened in our island during that period.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the occasion of the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille we are reminded of the fact that the French National Assembly interested itself in the fate of the coloured men of the French colonies, of which Ile de France was one.<\/span><\/p>\n

As soon as news of the Revolution reached our island, a colonial assembly was set up on the model of the National Assembly. On the 1st of July, the assembly elected Charles Colin and Antoine Codere as colonial delegates to the National Assembly. Unfortunately the ship on which they sailed was wrecked with the loss of all lives on board. There were two other representatives, on whom then fell the task of speaking for the colony. These were Pierre Monneron, a merchant of Paris and De Missy, a merchant of La Rochelle.<\/span><\/p>\n

Meanwhile petitions in favour of and protests against coloured men were coming to the National Assembly from the different parts of the Empire. On the 7th of May 1791 the National Assembly appointed a Committee to study matters concerning these. Gr\u00e9goire, abbey of Loir-et-Cher, signalled himself as a warm advocate of the rights of coloured men. He was supported by Tracy, another deputy who exclaimed: “On vous a dit que tout \u00e9tait perdu si les gens de couleur avaient d’autre protecteur que les colons. Je dis que tout est perdu s’ils ont d’autre protecteur que la loi.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Another man who rose up in favour of the Coloured was Duval who argued that the colonies owed their prosperity to the coloured men as the French very often left the colony after having made their fortune. As for the coloured men, they were the owners of small estates, they were the soul of commerce, they served as a check against the insurrection of Blacks, they were the natural allies of the Whites and the colonies owed their prosperity to them more than to anybody else.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the 12th of May 1791 another meeting was held. This time it was Lanjunais who championed the cause of the Coloured. He reminded the Assembly that, by a decree of 1685, coloured men born of free parents, enjoyed the same rights as the Whites. How could they, he asked, be denied rights which they once enjoyed. He made an appeal to the feelings of humanity and justice of those who declared themselves their opponents. He asked: “Mais les colons blancs et les gens de couleur ne sont-ils donc pas enfants de la m\u00eame m\u00e8re? Ne sont-ils donc pas vos fr\u00e8res, vos cousins? Et vous ne voudriez pas leur laisser partager vos droits parce qu’ils n’ont pas le teint aussi blanc que vous? \u2026 regardez-vous dans le miroir et prononcez. Mais quels sont ceux qui surtout voudraient priver les citoyens de couleur de leur droits? Ce sont les petits blancs, gens qui ne sont pas m\u00eame propri\u00e9taires\u2026”<\/span><\/p>\n

He warned them that if they insisted on not recognising the rights of coloured men, there would come a day when they would say to the Whites: “Retirez-vous dans votre patrie si vous persistez \u00e0 nous contester les droits de l’homme; vous \u00eates des passagers sur notre sol, de v\u00e9ritables p\u00e8lerins dont les g\u00e9n\u00e9rations pr\u00e9sentent depuis nombre d’ann\u00e9es le m\u00eame r\u00e9sultat, tandis que nous multiplions dans ce climat suivant les commandements du Cr\u00e9ateur, dans un climat que la providence a cr\u00e9\u00e9 pour nous, et dans une telle progression qu’il vous am\u00e8nera n\u00e9cessairement dans notre d\u00e9pendance si vous voulez soutenir un privil\u00e8ge qui contraste avec les r\u00e8gles les plus saines de la morale et de l’\u00e9ternelle justice.”<\/span><\/p>\n

This meeting was important for the fact that Robespierre who was to become the undisputed leader of the Revolution, spoke in favour of the Coloured with almost religious fervour. He reminded his audience that the Coloured men once enjoyed rights which now the National Assembly could not deny them. “Je dis,” he said, “qu’ils jouissaient des droits que les blancs r\u00e9clament aujourd’hui pour eux exclusivement.” He put the committee on its guard against the colonists who made vain promises to them and legislated on matters concerning coloured people. He thundered against such an injustice: “Et de qui ce congr\u00e8s sera-t-il compos\u00e9? De colons blancs, c’est-\u00e0-dire que vous refuserez justice aux hommes de couleur, pour les renvoyer \u00e0 leurs adversaires.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The Abb\u00e9 Sieyes on his part threw light on the free population of the colonies at that time which he qualified as “grand blancs petits blancs, et les hommes de couleur libres”.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the 13th of May was held another meeting, which is of great interest to us as the last speaker then was Pierre Monneron, representative of Ile de France. He too spoke on the free population of the colony, saying: “L’\u00eele de France est peuple d’affranchis, de mul\u00e2tres, et surtout par un tr\u00e8s grand nombre de gens de couleur dont les uns ne port\u00e8rent jamais de chaines, et les autres comptent des anc\u00eatres libres au-del\u00e0 d’un si\u00e8cle.” He brought forward examples of what happened in English, Spanish and Portuguese colonies. He said that in Senegal in 1775 a mulatto was mayor and in Portuguese colonies Negroes and Whites officiated as priests in the same church. He hoped that France would follow in the footsteps of these enlightened peoples.<\/span><\/p>\n

The last meeting of the committee was\u00a0 held on the 15th of May when it was decreed: “L’Assembl\u00e9e nationale d\u00e9cr\u00e8te qu’elle ne d\u00e9lib\u00e8rera jamais sur l’\u00e9tat des gens de couleur qui ne sont pas n\u00e9s de p\u00e8res et m\u00e8res libres, sans le v\u0153u pr\u00e9alable, libre et spontan\u00e9 des colonies que les assembl\u00e9es coloniales actuellement existantes subsisteront; mais que le gens de couleur n\u00e9s de p\u00e8res et m\u00e8res libres seront admis dans toutes les assembl\u00e9es paroissiales et coloniales futures, s’ils ont d’ailleurs les qualit\u00e9s requises.”<\/span><\/p>\n

For that moment no interest was shown in the state of the slaves. But some time later attempts were made to liberate them. Those attempts met with headstrong opposition from the colonists as the fate of Baco and Burnel showed. But the decree of liberation was passed and remained in vigour until Napoleon repealed the statutes in favour of free coloured men, who continued to be denied civil and political rights until England restored it to them in 1829.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

* Published in print edition on 14 June 2018<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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