Note: This work is the result from a research assignment given to University of Maryland undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in Dr. Sarah Benharrech’s course “Riots, Rebellions and Revolutions,” taught in Fall 2015. Learn more.
1794. Les Mortels sont égaux, ce n’est pas la naissance c’est la seule vertu qui fait la différence….
An image concerning the Society of the Friends of the Black, Club Massiac’s principal opponent.
French:
(Le Club Massiac)
Le club Massiac est un cercle de colons établi à la fin du XVIIIème siècle, qui soutient les intérêts des planteurs blancs et s’oppose à l’abolition de l’esclavage.[1] Le club Massiac et la Société des Amis de Noirs représentent deux groupes à Paris avec des objectifs complètement divergents. Il a pour chefs de file Gouy d’Arsy et Moreau de Saint-Méry. Ses membres se constituent en groupe de pression et répandent leurs idées au moyen de pamphlets, mémoires, lettres jusqu’en 1791. Le club Massiac vise à influencer les mesures prises dans les ministères gouvernementaux, particulièrement la Marine. Ils cherchent à maintenir le statu quo dans les colonies et à restreindre tout contrôle gouvernemental sur leurs activitiés commerciales.
Le club Massiac est un cercle de colons établi à la fin du XVIIIème siècle, qui soutient les intérêts des planteurs blancs et s’oppose à l’abolition de l’esclavage.[1] Le club Massiac et la Société des Amis de Noirs représentent deux groupes à Paris avec des objectifs complètement divergents. Il a pour chefs de file Gouy d’Arsy et Moreau de Saint-Méry. Ses membres se constituent en groupe de pression et répandent leurs idées au moyen de pamphlets, mémoires, lettres jusqu’en 1791. Le club Massiac vise à influencer les mesures prises dans les ministères gouvernementaux, particulièrement la Marine. Ils cherchent à maintenir le statu quo dans les colonies et à restreindre tout contrôle gouvernemental sur leurs activitiés commerciales.
English:
The Club Massiac was an organization based in Paris that supported slavery since its establishment in the late 18th century, and thus likewise opposed abolition.[1] For its members, abolition was considered to be a serious and negative change in social order. Supporters of the club disseminated their ideas and their politics through deputation in Saint-Domingo and Paris, as well as through the distribution of pamphlets. Deputation in Saint-Domingo was both logical and effective since the white colonists of Saint-Domingo saw abolition as an example of despotic power. At the time, the Club was a part of the lobbyist, colonial movement in Paris aimed at influencing the opinions of government officials—particularly those within the Marine and the States General—who stood more to the center of the debate on abolition. The Club Massiac and the Society of the Friends of the Blacks represented the two groups in Paris with completely divergent goals. On the one hand, the Club Massiac attributed their opinions on slavery to the liberal economic theory of “laissez-faire” economics. The club believed that the colonialists had the right to free commerce, which included the use of slaves.
The Club Massiac was an organization based in Paris that supported slavery since its establishment in the late 18th century, and thus likewise opposed abolition.[1] For its members, abolition was considered to be a serious and negative change in social order. Supporters of the club disseminated their ideas and their politics through deputation in Saint-Domingo and Paris, as well as through the distribution of pamphlets. Deputation in Saint-Domingo was both logical and effective since the white colonists of Saint-Domingo saw abolition as an example of despotic power. At the time, the Club was a part of the lobbyist, colonial movement in Paris aimed at influencing the opinions of government officials—particularly those within the Marine and the States General—who stood more to the center of the debate on abolition. The Club Massiac and the Society of the Friends of the Blacks represented the two groups in Paris with completely divergent goals. On the one hand, the Club Massiac attributed their opinions on slavery to the liberal economic theory of “laissez-faire” economics. The club believed that the colonialists had the right to free commerce, which included the use of slaves.
Author: Stephanie Turner
References
[1] Déborah Liebart, “Un groupe de pression contre-révolutionnaire: le club Massiac sous la Constituante,” Annales historiques de la Révolution française, no. 354 (2009): 29–50, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41890590.
A Colony in Crisis: The Saint-Domingue Grain Shortage of 1789 