The origins of

slavery in France Slavery in France, and, by extension, the French Empire, covers a wide range of disparate topics. Some of the most notable ones include: Slavery in Merovingian France In 486, Clovis I, the son of Childeric, defeated Syagrius, a Roman militar ...

can be traced back to the

Merovingian dynasty The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

in the 4th century. At least five Frankish queens during that period were former slaves:

Ingund Ingonde, Ingund, Ingunda, or (in Latin) Ingundis (born c. 499, Thuringia d. 546) was a queen of the Franks by marriage to Clotaire I, son of Clovis. She was the daughter of King Baderic of Thuringia (c. 480 - c. 529). She became concubine to C ...

Fredegund Fredegund or Fredegunda (Latin: ''Fredegundis''; French: ''Frédégonde''; died 8 December 597) was the Queen consort of Chilperic I, the Merovingian Frankish king of Soissons. Fredegund served as regent during the minority of her son Chlo ...

Bilichild Bilichild (also Bilichildis, Bilichilde, or Blithilde) was the wife of the Frankish king of Neustria and Burgundy Childeric II. The two were married in 668 despite the opposition of the Bishop Leodegar. Family Bilichild was a daughter of King ...

Nanthild Nanthild (c. 610 – 642), also known as ''Nantéchilde'', ''Nanthechilde'', ''Nanthildis'', ''Nanthilde'', or ''Nantechildis'', was a Frankish queen consort and regent, the third of many consorts of Dagobert I, king of the Franks (629–639). She ...

, and

Balthild Balthild (; ang, Bealdhild, 'bold sword' or 'bold spear; around 626 – 30 January 680), also spelled Bathilda, Bauthieult or Baudour, was queen consort of Neustria and Burgundy by marriage to Clovis II, the King of Neustria and Burgundy (639 ...

. Slavery continued under the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

Background

In 1198, the

Trinitarians , logo = Trynitarze.svg , logo_size = 150px , logo_caption = Flag of the Trinitarians , image = Signumordinis.gif , image_size = 200px , caption = Mosaic of Jesus Christ us ...

were founded, with the purpose of redeeming war captives. This was one of the earliest steps towards eliminating slavery in France. In 1315,

Louis X Louis X may refer to: * Louis X of France, "the Quarreller" (1289–1316). * Louis X, Duke of Bavaria (1495–1545) * Louis I, Grand Duke of Hesse (1753–1830). * Louis Farrakhan (formerly Louis X), head of the Nation of Islam {{hndis ...

published a decree abolishing

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

and proclaiming that "France signifies freedom", with the effect that any slave setting foot on French soil should be freed. However, limited cases of slavery continued until the 17th century in some of France's Mediterranean harbours in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, as well as until the 18th century in some of France's overseas territories. Most aspects of serfdom were also ''de facto'' abolished between 1315 and 1318. Louis X died two years after this event. In 1318, King

Philip V Philip V may refer to: * Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) * Philip V of France (1293–1322) * Philip II of Spain, also Philip V, Duke of Burgundy (1526–1598) * Philip V of Spain Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was ...

abolished serfdom on his domain.

Society of the Friends of the Blacks

The

Society of the Friends of the Blacks The Society of the Friends of the Blacks (''Société des amis des Noirs'' or ''Amis des noirs'') was a French abolitionist society founded during the late 18th century. The society's aim was to abolish both the institution of slavery in the F ...

was founded in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

in 1788, and remained active until 1793, during the midst of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. It was led by

Jacques Pierre Brissot Jacques Pierre Brissot (, 15 January 1754 – 31 October 1793), who assumed the name of de Warville (an English version of "d'Ouarville", a hamlet in the village of Lèves where his father owned property), was a leading member of the Girondins du ...

, who frequently received advice from British abolitionist

Thomas Clarkson Thomas Clarkson (28 March 1760 – 26 September 1846) was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade (also known ...

, who led the

abolitionist movement Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

. At the beginning of 1789, the Society had 141 members.

Period from 1794 to 1845

A series of events took place from 1791 which led to the abolition of institutionalized slavery in France, including the establishment of the

national convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...

and the election of the first Assembly of the First Republic (1792–1804), on 4 February 1794, under the leadership of

Maximilien Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

, culminating in the passing of the

Law of 4 February 1794 The Law of 4 February 1794 was a decree of the French National Convention which abolished slavery in all French colonies. Background In 1789, the abolitionist '' Amis des noirs'' society was established in France. It was more radical than simi ...

, which abolished slavery in all French colonies. The

Abbé Grégoire ''Abbé'' (from Latin ''abbas'', in turn from Greek , ''abbas'', from Aramaic ''abba'', a title of honour, literally meaning "the father, my father", emphatic state of ''abh'', "father") is the French word for an abbot. It is the title for lowe ...

and the Society of the Friends of the Blacks were part of the abolitionist movement, which had laid important groundwork in building anti-slavery sentiment in

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

. The first article of the law stated that "slavery was abolished" in the French colonies, while the second article stated that "slave-owners would be indemnified" with financial compensation for the value of their slaves. The French constitution promulgated in 1795 declared in its ''Declaration of the Rights of Man'' that slavery was abolished. * In 1802,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

re-introduced slavery in sugarcane-growing colonies. In 1815, Napoleon abolished the slave trade. * In 1815, the

Congress of Vienna The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

declared its opposition to the slave trade. * In 1818, three years after the fall of Napoleon,

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. He spent twenty-three years in ...

abolished the slave trade once again. * On 18 and 19 July 1845, a set of laws known as the Mackau Law was passed, which paved the way towards the

abolition of slavery Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The British ...

in France.

Proclamation of the Abolition of Slavery in the French Colonies

The effective abolition od slavery in France was enacted with the . Gabon was founded as a settlement for emancipated slaves.

Slavery in France in the 21st century

Since the abolition of slavery in 1848, additional efforts were made to eliminate other forms of slavery. In 1890, the Brussels Conference Act (a collection of anti-slavery measures aimed at ending the slave trade on land and sea, especially in the Congo Basin, the Ottoman Empire, and the East African coast) was signed, followed in 1904 by the

International Agreement for the suppression of the White Slave Traffic The International Agreement for the suppression of the White Slave Traffic (also known as the White Slave convention) is a series of anti– human trafficking treaties, specifically aimed at the illegal trade of white humans, the first of which wa ...

. Only France, the Netherlands and Russia applied the treaty to the entirety of their colonial empires with immediate effect. In 1926, the Slavery Convention was ratified by France and other nations. Although slavery has been outlawed for over a century, many criminal organizations still practice

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...

. For this reason, on July 25, 2013, France recognized modern-day slavery as a crime punishable by up to 30 years in jail.

References