79
Warville
Brissot de
Adresse à l'Assemblée Nationale, pour l'abolition de la traite des noirs, par la Société des Amis des Noirs de Paris
Pamphlet
Paris
L. Potier de Lille
1790
French
Abolition Campaigns
Bibliothèque Nationale de France. British Library. Anti-Slavery International, 'Recovered Histories' collection.
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Abolition Slave Trade Society Friends Blacks Amis Noirs Paris Address French National Assembly Human Rights
A speech in the French National Assembly by the Paris Society of Friends of the Blacks, in favour of the abolition of the slave trade. On the front page is printed the French version of the well-known Wedgewood abolitionist seal - the image of a kneeling slave in chains, and the words "Ne suis-je pas ton frère?" (Am I not your brother?). It emphasises the National Assembly's record of defending human rights, citing the first article of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789): "tous les hommes naissent et demeurent libres & égaux en droits" (All men are born and remain free, with equal rights), and calls for the Assembly to examine the question of the slave trade "for the honour of the French name" (21). The Society predicts that the slave trade will soon be entirely abolished "even in England" (17).
Printed by order of the Society, 5 February 1790. Signed Brissot de Warville, President, and Le Page, Secretary.