France honours victims of its trade in slaves
France today honoured for the first time the victims of its slave trade, 158 years after the taking of people from their African homeland and enslaving them in Caribbean colonies was stopped.
A plaque in honour of the victims was to go up in Luxembourg Gardens, where the Senate is located on the Left Bank in Paris, and President Jacques Chirac was to give an address.
The Atlantic port city of Nantes, where many of France’s slave ships originated, was to hold a moment of silence.
The Louvre Museum and National Library in Paris were offering special tours showcasing artwork and manuscripts dealing with the slave trade.
Cities throughout France scheduled ceremonies, readings, concerts and activities.
France abolished slavery in 1794, after a successful revolt by slaves in the island colony of Saint Domingue, which later became Haiti.
But that initial abolition – Europe’s first – was short-lived: Napoleon re-established slavery in 1802, and it wasn’t until 1848 that France put a definitive end to slavery.
France’s commemoration was timed to coincide with the May 10, 2001 passage of a law recognising slavery as a crime against humanity.
