Étienne Polverel
Encyclopedia
Étienne Polverel was one of two French
Revolutionary
Civil Commissioners who ended slavery in Saint-Domingue
in 1793 during the Haïtian Revolution
.
, and served as syndic
for the region, then served as jurist
for the Parlement
of Paris
. He became a Freemason
and a member of the Jacobin Club
, making himself known as an adversary of the deputies from the colonies
, and a parisan of Jacques Pierre Brissot
and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
. A prosecutor
for the Revolutionary Tribunal
, he joined the Commune
, and became a member of its General Council.
Arrived in Le Cap aboard the America as a Civil Commissioner to Saint-Domingue
on 17 September 1792, along with Sonthonax and Jean-Antoine Ailhaud. Polverel was given charge of the West
, and when Ailhaud abandoned his post, he took responsibility for the South
as well.
Although his more famous colleague Sonthonax is usually given full credit for this achievement, it was Polverel who wrote his own set of laws governing post-emancipation plantation labor
, different from those established by Sonthonax; these remained in place under the rule of André Rigaud
until 1800. All laws were written without French overseeing, and the National Convention
conceded to accept them. They also demanded that all freed slaves continue to work on the plantations.
Although France confirmed the end of slavery on 4 February 1794, emancipation was controversial, and virulently opposed by Maximilien de Robespierre; the two Commissioners were recalled to Paris. Polverel faced being guillotine
d, but Robespierre's fall
occurred before a decision could be taken. He died there in Paris before being exonerated.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Revolutionary
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
Civil Commissioners who ended slavery in Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
in 1793 during the Haïtian Revolution
Haïtian Revolution
The Haitian Revolution was a period of conflict in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, which culminated in the elimination of slavery there and the founding of the Haitian republic...
.
Life
He was born in BéarnBéarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...
, and served as syndic
Syndic
Syndic , a term applied in certain countries to an officer of government with varying powers, and secondly to a representative or delegate of a university, institution or other corporation, entrusted with special functions or powers.The meaning which underlies both applications is that of...
for the region, then served as jurist
Jurist
A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth countries it has only historical and specialist usage...
for the Parlement
Parlement
Parlements were regional legislative bodies in Ancien Régime France.The political institutions of the Parlement in Ancien Régime France developed out of the previous council of the king, the Conseil du roi or curia regis, and consequently had ancient and customary rights of consultation and...
of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. He became a Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
and a member of the Jacobin Club
Jacobin Club
The Jacobin Club was the most famous and influential political club in the development of the French Revolution, so-named because of the Dominican convent where they met, located in the Rue St. Jacques , Paris. The club originated as the Club Benthorn, formed at Versailles from a group of Breton...
, making himself known as an adversary of the deputies from the colonies
French colonial empires
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
, and a parisan of Jacques Pierre Brissot
Jacques Pierre Brissot
Jacques Pierre Brissot , who assumed the name of de Warville, was a leading member of the Girondist movement during the French Revolution. Some sources give his name as Jean Pierre Brissot.-Biography:...
and Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was a French Girondist and abolitionist during the French Revolution who controlled 7,000 French troops in Saint-Domingue during part of the Haitian Revolution. His official title was Civil Commissioner. From September 1792 - December 1795 he was the de facto ruler of...
. A prosecutor
Prosecutor
The prosecutor is the chief legal representative of the prosecution in countries with either the common law adversarial system, or the civil law inquisitorial system...
for the Revolutionary Tribunal
Revolutionary Tribunal
The Revolutionary Tribunal was a court which was instituted in Paris by the Convention during the French Revolution for the trial of political offenders, and eventually became one of the most powerful engines of the Reign of Terror....
, he joined the Commune
Paris Commune (French Revolution)
The Paris Commune during the French Revolution was the government of Paris from 1789 until 1795. Established in the Hôtel de Ville just after the storming of the Bastille, the Commune became insurrectionary in the summer of 1792, essentially refusing to take orders from the central French...
, and became a member of its General Council.
Arrived in Le Cap aboard the America as a Civil Commissioner to Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
on 17 September 1792, along with Sonthonax and Jean-Antoine Ailhaud. Polverel was given charge of the West
Ouest Department
Ouest is one of the ten departments of Haiti. It is the jurisdictional seat of the national capital, the city of Port-au-Prince. It has an area of and a population of 3,093,698 . It borders the Dominican Republic to the east.It is the second largest department in Haiti after the Artibonite...
, and when Ailhaud abandoned his post, he took responsibility for the South
Sud Department
Sud is one of the ten departments of Haiti. It has an area of and a population of 745,000 . Its capital is Les Cayes. A large part of the population of Haitians in this department is of mixed race, mulattoes along with other mixtures such as Arabs and East Indians...
as well.
Although his more famous colleague Sonthonax is usually given full credit for this achievement, it was Polverel who wrote his own set of laws governing post-emancipation plantation labor
Plantation economy
A plantation economy is an economy which is based on agricultural mass production, usually of a few staple products grown on large farms called plantations. Plantation economies rely on the export of cash crops as a source of income...
, different from those established by Sonthonax; these remained in place under the rule of André Rigaud
André Rigaud
Benoit Joseph André Rigaud was the leading mulatto military leader during the Haïtian Revolution. Among his protégés were Alexandre Pétion and Jean-Pierre Boyer, both future presidents of Haïti.-The revolutionary:...
until 1800. All laws were written without French overseeing, and the National Convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
conceded to accept them. They also demanded that all freed slaves continue to work on the plantations.
Although France confirmed the end of slavery on 4 February 1794, emancipation was controversial, and virulently opposed by Maximilien de Robespierre; the two Commissioners were recalled to Paris. Polverel faced being guillotine
Guillotine
The guillotine is a device used for carrying out :executions by decapitation. It consists of a tall upright frame from which an angled blade is suspended. This blade is raised with a rope and then allowed to drop, severing the head from the body...
d, but Robespierre's fall
Thermidor
Thermidor was the eleventh month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word thermal which comes from the Greek word "thermos" which means heat....
occurred before a decision could be taken. He died there in Paris before being exonerated.