''Affranchi'' (, ) is a former French legal term denoting a

freedman A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

or emancipated

slave Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, but also a

pejorative A pejorative word, phrase, slur, or derogatory term is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hosti ...

term for

free people of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (; ) were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not enslaved. However, the term also applied to people born free who we ...

. It is used in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

to describe the

social class A social class or social stratum is a grouping of people into a set of Dominance hierarchy, hierarchical social categories, the most common being the working class and the Bourgeoisie, capitalist class. Membership of a social class can for exam ...

of freedmen in

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

, and other slave-holding French territories, who held legal rights intermediate between those of free whites and enslaved Africans. In Saint-Domingue, roughly half of the ''affranchis'' were '' gens de couleur libres'' (free people of color; ''Mulatto'') and the other half African slaves. The term is derived from the French word for emancipation—, or enfranchisement in terms of political rights. But, the ''affranchis'' were barred from the franchise (voting) prior to a 1791 court case, which followed the French Revolution. The decision in their favor prompted a backlash from the French white

planter class The planter class was a Racial hierarchy, racial and socioeconomic class which emerged in the Americas during European colonization of the Americas, European colonization in the early modern period. Members of the class, most of whom were settle ...

on Saint-Domingue, who also exerted power in France. These elements contributed to the outbreak of the

Haitian Revolution The Haitian Revolution ( or ; ) was a successful insurrection by slave revolt, self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolution was the only known Slave rebellion, slave up ...

. The ''affranchis'' had legal and social advantages over enslaved Africans. They became a distinct class in the society between whites and slaves. They could get some education, were able to own land, and could attend some French colonial entertainments. Planters who took slave women or free women of color as concubines, often sent their sons to France for education. In some cases these sons entered the French military. The parents were more likely to settle property on them as well. Because of such property and class issues, some free men of color considered themselves to have status above that of the ''petits blancs'', shopkeepers and workers. Nonetheless, the latter had more political rights in the colony until after the Revolution. The colonists passed so many restrictions that the ''affranchis'' were limited as a separate

caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...

: they could not vote or hold colonial administrative posts, or work in professional careers as doctors or lawyers. There were sumptuary laws: the free people of color were forbidden to wear the style of clothes favored by the wealthy white colonists. In spite of the disadvantages, many educated ''affranchis'' identified culturally with France rather than with the enslaved population. A social class in between, the free people of color sometimes had tensions with both whites and enslaved Africans. Ambitious mulattoes worked to gain acceptance from the white colonists who held power in that society. As they advanced in society, ''affranchis'' often also held land and slaves. Some acted as

creditor A creditor or lender is a party (e.g., person, organization, company, or government) that has a claim on the services of a second party. It is a person or institution to whom money is owed. The first party, in general, has provided some propert ...

s for planters. One of their leaders in the late 18th century, Julien Raimond, an

indigo InterGlobe Aviation Limited (d/b/a IndiGo), is an India, Indian airline headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana, India. It is the largest List of airlines of India, airline in India by passengers carried and fleet size, with a 64.1% domestic market ...

planter, claimed that ''affranchis'' owned a third of all the slaves in the

colony A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their ''metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often orga ...

at that time. In the early years of the French Revolution and

, many gens de couleur were committed to maintaining the institution of slavery. They wanted political equality based on class—that is, extended for men of property, regardless of skin color.

References

{{reflist

External links

''African Americans in New Orleans: 'Les gens de couleur libres' (Free people of color)''
Online Exhibits, New Orleans Public Library, 1999 Ethnic groups in Guadeloupe Ethnic groups in Haiti Ethnic groups in Martinique Freedmen French legal terminology Mulatto Haitians Mulatto Anti-African and anti-black slurs People from Saint-Domingue Person of color Slavery in Guadeloupe Slavery in Haiti Slavery in Martinique Slavery in the United States Social class in France Free people of color

See also

References

External links