VICTOR SCHOELCHER

He was born in Paris on July 21, 1804. His family, which was
originally from Alsace, lived on Grange Batelier Street, in what is
now area 10, where his father owned a porcelain factory, frequented
by wealthy customers. Eventually it was this porcelain factory
which would decide young Schoelcher’s future.
After finishing his secondary education he obtained a Bachelor of
Arts degree at the age of 18, but instead of continuing his studies as
his parents wished, he chose to work with his father. His father was
worried about the interest that his son was showing in politics,
especially his pro-republican sentiments during the monarchical rule
of Charles X. He therefore proposed a business trip to young Victor.
In 1829 he sent him to sell porcelain in Mexico. Victor Schoelcher
took advantage of this trip to visit the French West Indies and this voyage was of tremendous
historical importance. In fact Schoelcher was much more interest in the question of humanity than
in business. Confronted with the abuse of slavery, he was deeply wounded and he returned from
that 8 month voyage determined to use any possible means to fight for the abolition of slavery.
Schoelcher plunged wholeheartedly into this cause. A born philanthropist, he was instilled with
humanitarian principles which were the republican principles (Liberty, Equality and Fraternity) of
the revolution which he valued.
“Individual liberty”, stated Schoelcher, “is above all human laws – it is a part of us.” He also said,
“The liberty of one man is a part of universal liberty; you cannot harm on without compromising
the other at the same time.” Equality was for him a fundamental idea to which he was resolutely
attached: speaking of black slaves, he had a very revolutionary opinion for his time, “They are
our equal.”
He stretched his ideal of fraternity to embrace all men, whatever their station or origin to those
whom he protected, as well as to his adversaries, that is, those who were opposed to abolition. He
said, “For the masses as well as for individuals, the best way to gain hearts is through
persuasion.” “Reform,” he added, “needs to be brought about peacefully and accepted
peacefully.”
Schoelcher was not only a man of ideas and principles. His realism manifested itself in several
ways. First of all he tried to put these principles into practise. Thinking that men, all men should
be free, he endeavoured through the means at his disposal to obtain this liberty for those who did
not yet enjoy it, the slaves. However, while working to obtain emancipation, he calculated the
social and economic consequence that it would bring. The application of these principles could
only be beneficial to the society and guarantee social peace.
“Without principles which are respected”, said Schoelcher, “there is no more order, no more
society, nothing. Only anarchy, violence, misery, chaos and dissolution remains.” Schoelcher also
foresaw the economic repercussions of emancipation. Slavery to him seemed contrary to
economic interests. Apart from being realistic he was tenacious and this tenacity was shown in
his ceaseless struggle for emancipation.
“I shall not resign myself to defeat. I shall fight against it with all my might”, he said. He also
demonstrated other qualities less prevalent in his time, a great tolerance. He was an atheist but he
could recognize the merits of the work in education that the Ploermel brothers had been doing in
the colonies. Although he was a deputy he protested against various laws and in this respect, he
was the only one of his kind to do so. He protested against the suppression of funds granted to the
cathedral choirs and succeeded in obtaining their continuation.
“That atheist who made one believe in God,” Pressense said of him. Outside of his political
preoccupations he was interested in art, all forms of art, from sacred chants to music in all its
varieties and painting. In addition, his intelligence applied itself to a domain where he was in
advance of the men of his time; that of the upliftment of women. At a congress over which he
presided, he greeted them in these terms, “Ladies, I have the honour of thanking you for your
presence here. The time has passed when it was said that the place of women was in the drawing
room or kitchen. Personally,” he added, “I am happy to see them with the courage to get involved
in meetings about the political and moral interests of the society.”

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The work of Abolition
Two aspects of his character, his idealism and his realism, became very apparent in his work of
abolition. Schoelcher said “The Republic would give the lie to its motto if it allowed slavery to
sully a single point of its territory where its flag is flown.” “But”, added Schoelcher, “it is not
only a matter of proclaiming the liberation of Negroes. For that two words would have sufficed.
Be free! It was necessary to take measures ensure that this great act of reparation of a crime
against humanity was accomplished in the most profitable way for those who had been the
victims. It was necessary to foresee all the consequences in order to do good and prevent evil if
some unfortunate consequence should compromise the results.” Schoelcher tried to take
measures so that abolition could be effective and meaningful. At first Schoelcher shared the ideas
of certain of his contemporaries. Many of them were in favour of abolition, or rather a delayed
abolition which would be achieved after 15 to 20 years. Very soon Schoelcher became a partisan
of abolition without delay, or “immediate” abolition. Certainly ameliorations were instituted
between 1831 and 1833 over the statute of slavery. It was then that the emancipation tax was
suppressed, the penalty of mutilation was forbidden and the civil rights of free coloureds were
recognized. But these ameliorations did not seem sufficient to him. He declared that transitory
measures only reinforced aspirations for abolition without delay. To support his cause he
informed himself on and made inquiries into the realities of slavery. To this end he undertook
three voyages to the West Indies between 1836 and 1847. He tried to influence public opinion.
He published several writings in favour of immediate abolition and directed a wide petition
campaign.
In 1834 the workers in Paris, who were then in a precarious condition, sent a petition to the
government to ask for the liberation of black slaves and with this surge of solidarity from Paris,
Schoelcher wanted to incorporate the rest of France. However while Schoelcher was on a trip to
Senegal, Arago was named Minister of the Sea and Colonies, after the revolution of February
1848. But although he had anti-slavery feelings, Arago hesitated; should he give immediate
abolition whatever the consequences? Schoelcher returned on March 3 rd. That same day he had a
meeting with Arago and the following day, March 4th the preparatory decree containing the
famous sentence – “Whereas French territories can no longer have slaves …” appeared.
In his memoirs, Arago said, “Mr. Schoelcher proved to me that it was absolutely imperative to
return to the idea of immediate emancipation. Mr. Schoelcher’s arguments carried a total
conviction in my mind. I proposed at the same time to appoint him Under Secretary of State, to
help me in the great work of abolition and to set up a commission, the presidency of which I
would give to that eminent philanthropist. This commission would be in charge of all the
regulations that were necessary in the regime of freedom.” Spurred on by Schoelcher’s zeal the
commission did not waste any time and on the 27 th of April 1848, abolition was proclaimed by
decree. This measure would end two centuries of servitude.
However in the French West Indies, people already knew of the preparatory decree of March 4 th
and definitive abolition was awaited impatiently. Even before the decree of April 27th arrived,
there were disturbances at St. Pierre on May 22 nd. On May 23rd, the republican governor
Rostoland authorized freedom for restive slaves. But this measure could only have been applied
because the government had already granted emancipation and Rostoland’s decree expressly
referred to this. “Whereas,” he said, “slavery is abolished by law and whereas it is important to
security of the
country to put the metropolitan government’s decision into immediate execution …First article…
slavery is abolished in Martinique from today.”
Following the example of Martinique’s governor, the governor of Guadeloupe, Layrle also
proclaimed abolition without awaiting the arrival of the decree. The Emancipation Decree of
April 27th was accompanied by other decrees with the same date. These decrees took measures to
consolidate the abolition and make it effective. Because he was a man who did not like to waste
time, Schoelcher did not wish to submit these measures to the National Assembly which was still
to be elected and which would take a long time to vote on it. He preferred to present them without
delay to be signed by members of the provisional government, Arago, Ledne – Rollin, Louis
Blanc and Lamartine. Lamartine, swept away with enthusiasm, was to write, “I was signing for
the freedom of the Negroes…the abolition of slavery… If my life had only this hour, I would not
regret having lived…”
But what was the object of these different decrees? One of them would guarantee to the aged,
orphans and invalids, tolerable conditions of existence. (While awaiting the creation of homes,
the aged and the invalids would be entrusted to decent families who would be given an adequate
allowance to care for them). Another decree foresaw the creation of free public schools.
Education
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would be compulsory for children between the ages of six to ten. Furthermore, schools would be
allowed to conduct evening and Sunday classes for adults. Finance was also taken care of.
Savings banks were set up to raise credit, terms for the payment of taxation were established and
even the system of mortgage was adjusted to make it more suited to conditions in the West
Indies. Finally, there were several decrees about work. One of these enactments concerned the
establishment of national workshops which would employ all persons without work. In France,
these workshops had been a failure. In the French West Indies, the national workshops were set
up on public property and were called Public Holdings. One was located at Tron Vaillant in St.
Pierre. In 1849 these (Tron Vaillant, Fonds Saint – Jacques, etc.) were cut up and rented cheaply
to farmers. Beggars and idlers were not tolerated in the new society which was being formed. If
they were caught (in flagrante delecte) they would be sent to disciplinary institutions or they
would be made to work for the State in a government service or in agriculture, for a small salary.
To emphasize the value of work, every year on Emancipation Day there would be a Festival of
work. On this occasion a prize would be given to the most deserving worker. This prize could be
either a sum of money or a piece of land. To obtain this prize there was one important condition;
the worker should never be caught in a drunken state during the whole year.

The consolidation of Abolition

Having obtained abolition, Schoelcher strove to consolidate his work. He was elected deputy in
1848 by both Martinique and Guadeloupe but he chose to represent Martinique. In 1849 in
Guadeloupe, following disturbances on Marie Galante, his election was invalidated but he was re
elected in 1850 at the same time as Perrinon, whose election had also been contested.
The takeover of France by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte on December 2, 1851, forced Schoelcher
into exile. Opposed to the new regime, Schoelcher left Paris and took refuge in Belgium. Some
days later, he was officially expelled, along with Victor Hugo. Under the Second Empire,
measures were taken to restrict the liberty of the newly emancipated people. But no one dared, as
under the first Empire, to re-establish slavery. The senatorial decree of May 3, 1854 began by
stating this from its first article – “Slavery can never be re-established in the French colonies... “
After the fall of Napoleon III, Schoelcher went back to France. Very popular, he was designated
deputy for both Martinique and Guyana. He opted for Martinique. “Mr. President,” Schoelcher
stated in a letter to the President of the National Gallery, “having been recently nominated to
Guyana and Martinique, I have the honour of informing you that I choose Martinique.”
Schoelcher was then appointed senator for life.
In assemblies and commissions in which he took part, he never ceased to defend the interest of
the French West Indies. To be sure he sought to justify his work on the basis of his regard for
principles. “I do not hesitate to say out loud that those decrees which wiped out the great debt to
humanity came from a conscientious love of good and from a sincere wish to bring about social
transformation in the best way. The provisional government sought Emancipation with
seriousness… It is possible that today people might find Emancipation too absolute but we shall
never regret it.”
Schoelcher continued to work for the benefit of the French West Indies. In the field of politics he
sought to validate laws made in the Metropolis. He succeeded in quashing a law which sought to
establish a regime of elites, which would place distinctions between each category of citizens.
Schoelcher obtained equality for all. He also fought for the recognition of the right of the French
West Indies to designate representatives to metropolitan assemblies. The motion of what he called
a French overseas department (departement) seemed advisable and should be adopted. He
supported the French West Indies economically. He defended their interests at the Sugar
Commission, of which he was a member. He rejected the establishment of forced labour, which
would be in a disguised fashion the restoration of slavery. “Their freedom,” he said, speaking of
the newly emancipated people, “should be a true freedom.” He urged the freed Negroes to work,
but he was against imposing tasks on them.
He also tried to assure the intellectual and cultural future of the French West Indies. Appointed
president of the commission for public education on the senate, he devoted his attention to the
Antilles and took charge of organizations of educations. Furthermore, he gave Guadeloupe
bronzes to start a museum and gave Martinique his library containing 9,000 to 10,000 books and
250 volumes of music. In 1883 he donated his collections to the General Council of Martinique,
with the aim of creating a library open to all as a token, he said, of his old liking of the excellent
people of Martinique. Finally, in order to keep the memory of the past alive, he organized a
ceremony

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every year to commemorate the abolition of slavery. This ceremony was presided over by well
known personalities. Thus, in 1879, the 31 st anniversary banquet was presided over by Victor
Hugo and the 33rd banquet in 1881 was honoured with the presence of the President of the
National Assembly, Gambetta.
What were the results of his actions and their consequences to the French West Indies?
Schoelcher recorded some of the progress. He said in 1875, “One cannot now truthfully deny
that emancipation has been a great boon for the colonies not only from the moral but from the
economic point of view.” He noted that the cane harvest in particular was more abundant.
He stated also that education and the facilities for teaching had expanded. “No other department
makes more sacrifice for education,” he said, speaking of the French West Indies. “They have a
considerable budget and their schools are numerous and very well attended. Just recently the
General Councils of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana voted the necessary funds for a non
religious high school which they needed.”
In addition the schools which had only been opened for two years supplied a sufficient number of
instructors for the primary schools. Schoelcher was most pleased and exclaimed, “The good and
intelligent people of Martinique have again shown their moral superiority.”
In 1880, to show their gratitude, those whom he had brought to freedom and the coloured people
of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Guyana, formed a committee and offered Schoelcher a bust of
himself by Carrier - Belleuse. Many poor people had contributed to the fund launched in aid of
this. There were contributions of fifty, twenty and even ten cents and Schoelcher was very
touched by the gesture of the small contributors. When he received the bust from the hands of the
representatives of the committee Schoelcher gave them this assurance, “I am approaching the end
of my life”, (in fact he was to die thirteen years later), “but tell them that as long as I have the last
ounce of strength, I shall use it to serve both their material and moral interests and to ask that a
large portion of the sacrifices that are made by the Republic be made for them. For free and
compulsory education, for the maintenance of the principles of liberty, equality and fraternity in
the colonies and never to introduce any distinctions other than those of merit and virtue.”