Memory of the World
Registers identifying enslaved persons in the former French colonies (1666-1880)
In French colonial territories slavery lasted until 1793 in the colony of SaintDomingue now Haiti and until it was finally abolished in 1848 in the others As civil status was denied to those who were enslaved who were deemed to be property and instruments of production little documentary trace was produced of their identities or lives The regime of civil status and last names in place in France since the sixteenth century did not apply to them There are however several sets of registers recording the major events in their lives because of compulsory Catholic baptism and changes in the law when the era of slavery ended This collection consists of the following registers baptisms marriages and burials later births marriages and deaths emancipations persons who were newly freed identifying details or numbers and census return sheets fugitive announcements These records are significant given a huge increase in demand for ancestry searches among the diasporas of people of African descent in the past 20 years
Haiti, France, Guyana -