The 1848 Abolition: Freedom and Its Limits

The definitive abolition of slavery on May 22, 1848 in Martinique and May 27 in Guadeloupe came through a combination of metropolitan French politics and local pressure. Victor Schœlcher, the French abolitionist, is often credited, but Caribbean historians emphasize enslaved people's own role.

"Schœlcher was important, but enslaved people in Martinique didn't wait for official decrees," states Dr. Myriam Cottias. "They revolted in May 1848, forcing local authorities to declare emancipation before Paris's decree arrived. We freed ourselves."

After "Freedom"

Emancipation brought legal freedom but not equality: - Forced labor contracts kept many bound to plantations - Vagrancy laws criminalized unemployment - Limited voting rights maintained political exclusion - Economic dependence continued through lack of land ownership

"My great-great-grandmother gained her freedom in 1848," recounts Marcel Dorval, a Guadeloupean teacher. "But she had to continue working on the same plantation because where else could she go? What land could she buy with no money? Freedom was real but limited."