The French Law of 20 May 1802 was passed by

Napoleon Bonaparte 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 ...

that day (30 floréal year X), revoking 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 ...

(16 pluviôse) which had abolished

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 ...

in all the

French colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire. During the 19th and 20th centuri ...

. However, the 1794 decree was only implemented in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to refer ...

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

and

Guiana The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories: * French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France * ...

, did not take effect in

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

Reunion Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunion may also refer to: Places * Réunion, a French overseas department and island in the Indian Ocean * Reunion, Commerce City, Colorado, U ...

and

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago: or ) is an island and an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of the French Republic, Martinique is located in th ...

, the last of which had been captured by the British and thus was unaffected by French law. The colonial administration on

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

had hindered the implementation of the 1794 law, while the one on

refused to ratify it due to a royalist insurrection there, similar to that in the

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

, which had been in revolt since 16 September 1793 and had, represented by planter Louis-François Dubuc, signed the Whitehall accord with the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_es ...

. On 6 February 1794, the British began their capture of Martinique and established full control over the island on 21 March 1794, and thus the territory remained unaffected by the 1794 decree. The Law of 20 May 1802 explicitly concerned the territories which were not affected by the abolitionist law of 4 February 1794: it was linked to the Treaty of Amiens of 26 March 1802, which returned Martinique, Tobago and Saint Lucia to France. Consequently, it did not apply to Guadeloupe, Guyana or Santo Domingo . The reestablishment of slavery in Guadeloupe, first imposed militarily and illegally by General Richepanse, was formalized by another legislative measure, the consular decree of 16 July 1802 (27 Messidor year X). That document charged Denis Decrès, then Minister of the Navy and the Colonies, to restore slavery in Guadeloupe. In French Guiana, slavery was restored by a consular decree from 7 December, followed by a local decree by Victor Hugues of 24 April 1803. The Law of 20 May 1802 had no effect in Saint-Domingue where slavery had been abolished by the local proclamations of Sonthonax and Polverel since 1793.

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 ...

's attempts to restore French control of Saint-Domingue proved futile. This law united opposition to Napoleon's brother-in-law, 1802 general Leclerc (commander of the

Saint-Domingue expedition The Saint-Domingue expedition was a French military expedition sent by Napoleon I of France, Napoleon Bonaparte, then French Consulate, First Consul, under his brother-in-law Charles Leclerc (general, born 1772), Charles Victor Emmanuel Leclerc ...

), who failed in his attempts to restore French control of Saint-Domingue.C. L. R. James, ''The Black Jacobins: Toussaint Louverture and the San Domingo Revolution'', 1st ed. New York: Vintage Books, 1963.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Law of 20 May 1802 Abolitionism in France 1802 in law First French Empire 1802 in France Law of France Haitian Revolution Slavery legislation May 1802 events