An inquiry into the causes of the insurrection of the negroes in the island of St. Domingo
Written by a representative of the newly formed National Assembly, this work documents the debate between the enslaving plantation owners of France’s Saint-Domingue colony and abolitionist groups like the Société des amis des Noirs, or the Society of the Friends of the Blacks. The author was sympathetic to the abolitionist movement and does not take a favorable view of the colonial plantation owners, who are described as eager to achieve independence from the French government to maintain their tyrannical control of Saint-Domingue. Appended to the end of this publication is the March 1792 decree granting equal rights to free people of color. While this was a radical attempt to end the slave rebellion, it was ultimately unsuccessful and the Haitian Revolution continued for another twelve years.
France. Parlement (1946- ). Assemblée nationale.
An Inquiry into the Causes of the Insurrection of the Negroes in the Island of St. Domingo…London: Printed and sold by J. Johnson, 1792.
Lehigh University Catalog Record: https://asa.lib.lehigh.edu/asa/Record/259326
A version of this text has been digitized and is available through the Internet Archive.