Historically, Britain ended slavery in 1834, well before the U.S. They outlawed the slave trade itself, altho not slavery, in 1807. The 1834 Act essentially ended slavery in the colonies, as slaves in England itself had already been freed by the 1807 Act.
Interestingly, France did not abolish slavery in its colonies until 1848. But bi-racial children born to French citizens were considered free and equal citizens of France, once they stepped foot on French soil. The French outlawed slavery within France
in 1315.
Thomas-Alexandre Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, father of the writer Alexandre Dumas ("The Three Musketeers"), was the first person of color in the French military to become brigadier general, divisional general, and general-in-chief of a French army. He was a contemporary of Napoleon Bonaparte. No known images of Dumas exist (reasons below), but he was often described as "the strongest, and the handsomest man, in all of France." There were a number of public statues erected in his honor to celebrate his military successes during the early campaigns of the Revolution.
Napoleon became increasingly jealous of Dumas, who was captured and thrown into prison in the Kingdom of Naples. His subsequent poverty after being released was definitely the result of Napoleon's malice. Once Napoleon became emperor, he eventually ordered all statues and official paintings of Dumas destroyed.
Napoleon also re-instituted slavery in 1802, and it is often suggested that his jealousy of Dumas was a major reason for flouting the ideals of the Revolution he had once espoused. Dumas was known as The Black Count, as he was the son of the Marquis Alexandre Antoine Davy de la Pailleterie and a colonial female slave. His father brought him to Paris specifically so that he would not be considered a slave.
I can heartily recommend this biography - it is extremely well-written about a truly fascinating and remarkable man:
"The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo" is a 2012 biography of General
Thomas-Alexandre Dumas written by
Tom Reiss. The book presents the life and career of Dumas as a soldier and officer during the
French Revolution, as well as his military service in Italy during the
French Revolutionary Wars and later in
Egypt under
Napoleon. Reiss offers insight into slavery and the life of a man of
mixed race during the
French Colonial Empire. He also reveals how Dumas's son – author
Alexandre Dumas – viewed his father, who served as the inspiration for some of his novels, including
The Count of Monte Cristo (1844) and
The Three Musketeers (1844).
The Black Count won the 2013
Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and the
PEN/Jacqueline Bograd Weld Award for Biography, among other awards and honors.
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excerpted from Wikipedia
