L’affaire d’Antoine: Colonial Tensions of Freedom and Power
Mancini, Marisa
In 1774, living in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, Antoine bought his
freedom from the Gentil de Paroy, only to be arrested by his former master two years
later and accused of using poison. With his mother, Lisette, a free woman of color,
advocating for him, the local courts in Le Cap Français found Antoine innocent of the
alleged crime and upheld his freedom only for this freedom to be revoked by the French
monarchy. Situating Antoine’s case into the history of Saint-Domingue highlights the
social and political contradictions surrounding citizenship and sovereignty that were
inherent to colonial society in the 1770s and ultimately led to Revolution.
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