Episode 1 of 2
The Convention abolishes slavery
- When
- 4 February 1794
- Where
- Paris, seat of the National Convention
On 4 February 1794 the Convention, under Robespierre's leadership, abolished slavery in law in France and its colonies.
The Convention, the first elected Assembly of the First Republic, abolished slavery in law in France and its colonies on 4 February 1794, under the leadership of Maximilien Robespierre. The first article of the law stated that slavery was abolished in the French colonies, and the second article stated that slave-owners would be indemnified with financial compensation for the value of their slaves.
Sources
- Abolitionism Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-21
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.