Jean-Baptiste Belley ( – 6 August 1805) was a Saint Dominican and French politician. A native of

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

and formerly enslaved in the colony of

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 ...

, in the

French West Indies The French West Indies or French Antilles (, ; ) are the parts of France located in the Antilles islands of the Caribbean: * The two overseas departments of: ** Guadeloupe, including the islands of Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Les Saintes, Ma ...

, he was an elected member of the Estates General, the

National Convention The National Convention () was the constituent assembly of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for its first three years during the French Revolution, following the two-year National Constituent Assembly and the ...

, and the

Council of Five Hundred The Council of Five Hundred () was the lower house of the legislature of the French First Republic under the Constitution of the Year III. It operated from 31 October 1795 to 9 November 1799 during the French Directory, Directory () period of t ...

during the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (), was founded on 21 September 1792 during the French Revolution. The First Republic lasted un ...

. He was also known as Mars.Hall, Catherine

span> Review of ''The Birth of the Modern World 1780–1914: Global Connections and Comparisons'', by Christopher Bayly, C. A. Bayly online at history.ac.uk, accessed 7 August 2008

Life

Belley was said to have been born on 1 July 1746 or 1747 on the island of

Gorée (; "Gorée Island"; ) is one of the 19 (i.e. districts) of the city of Dakar, Senegal. It is an island located at sea from the main harbour of Dakar (), famous as a destination for people interested in the Atlantic slave trade. Its populatio ...

, Senegal, but the precise dates of his birth and death are uncertain. At the age of two, he was sold to slavers sailing for the French colony of Saint-Domingue. With his savings, he later bought his freedom. In 1791, Saint Dominican Creoles began the French Revolution in

; they incited a

slave rebellion A slave rebellion is an armed uprising by slaves, as a way of fighting for their freedom. Rebellions of slaves have occurred in nearly all societies that practice slavery or have practiced slavery in the past. A desire for freedom and the dream o ...

, aimed at the overthrow of the Bourbon Regime. As their fellow revolutionaries in France thought the Declaration of the Rights of Man of 1789, they began to see that slavery would need to be abolished.Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy~Trioson
, at safran-arts.com, accessed 7 August 2008 In 1793, Belley was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

, fought against the Bourbon forces of Saint-Domingue and was six times wounded. On 24 September 1793, he was one of three members (''deputés'') elected to the French National Convention by the northern region of Saint-Domingue, together with Jean-Baptiste Mills, of mixed race, and Louis-Pierre Dufaÿ, a European, thus becoming the first black deputy to take a seat in the convention.(French)
Jean-Baptiste Belley, député de Saint-Domingue à la Convention
' at histoire-image.org, accessed 7 August 2008 On 3 February 1794, he spoke in a debate in the Convention when it decided unanimously to abolish slavery. However, the formal abolition of slavery did not disarm the Bourbon Government supporters, and the war continued. Although he was recognized as a full citizen of the Republic, Belley was an active spokesman for black people. When Benoît Gouly, a pro-slavery deputy from

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, called for special laws for the French colonies, Belley denounced a pressure group of colonists meeting at the Hôtel Massiac called Club de l'hôtel de Massiac in a speech published under the title ''Le Bout d'oreille des colons, ou le système de l’Hôtel Massiac mis à jour par Gouly''. He succeeded for a time in maintaining the Republican principle of equality between people in France and in its colonies, whatever their colour. In a declaration of age and marital status for the representatives of Saint-Domingue in the convention, Belley says that he was born at Gorée, is forty-eight years old, has never left the territory of the republic, and has lived forty six years at Cap-Français.(French
Declaration of age and marital status
, manuscript conserved at the ''Centre historique des Archives nationales'', Paris, photograph online at histoire-image.org, accessed 7 August 2008 In a 'declaration of fortune' dated at Paris on 10 Vendémiaire, Year 4 of the Republic (''viz.'', 1 October 1795), Belley declares that from the Republic he has only his 'emoluments', that he has bought no property, and that he owns only the contents of his room.(French
Declaration of fortune
, manuscript conserved at the ''Centre historique des Archives nationales'', Paris, photograph online at histoire-image.org, accessed 7 August 2008 Belley remained as a Convention member until 1797, when he lost his seat. He returned to Saint-Domingue with Charles Leclerc's expedition of 1802 as an officer of gendarmes, but he was arrested, sent back to France and imprisoned in the fortress of

Belle Île Belle-Île (), Belle-Île-en-Mer (), or Belle Isle (, ; ) is a French island off the coast of Brittany in the ''département in France, département'' of Morbihan, and the largest of Brittany's islands. It is from the Quiberon peninsula. Admini ...

. He was still being held prisoner there in 1805 when he wrote to Isaac Louverture, the son of

Toussaint Louverture François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture (, ) also known as Toussaint L'Ouverture or Toussaint Bréda (20 May 1743 – 7 April 1803), was a Haitian general and the most prominent leader of the Haitian Revolution. During his life, Louvertu ...

. He died later the same year.

Portrait

In about 1797, Belley's portrait was painted by Anne-Louis Girodet de Roussy-Trioson, and was exhibited in Paris in 1798.

References

page on the French National Assembly website

External links

at abcgallery.com
Jean-Baptiste Belley and French Republicanism
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belley, Jean-Baptiste 1740s births 1805 deaths People from Dakar French people of Senegalese descent People from Saint-Domingue Deputies to the French National Convention Members of the Council of Five Hundred Haitian slaves People of the Haitian Revolution French people who died in prison custody Prisoners who died in French military detention Black French politicians