The colonies created by the French, in America and elsewhere, had from the late
17th Century to 1848 a principle that governed slavery, meaning the colonies’ fundamental
social, political and economic aspects. The Law, the so-called Code Noir,
laid down the principles to be followed – but how far was it followed in reality?
Literary testimonies coming from of the ‘black’ colonial side make clear that the
law was enforced in a one-way manner: the interests of the master settlers and
their nations were always protected most rigorously, while the meagre rights that
were granted in theory to slaves were largely, if not systematically, disregarded.
We will compare therefore what the law stipulates with what was passed down
by colonial and post-colonial literature.
