In 1842, 3 enslaved African(s) were “liberated” in a state-run scheme usually resulting in involuntary indentures, conscription, or re-enslavement. Under the jurisdiction of 3, Case ID LA-E-420 occurred via the French Consular Court, Tunis
| RegID | LA-E-420 |
|---|---|
| Case Name | Five slaves |
| Year | 1842 |
| Government Department | Consular Courts |
| Court | French Consular Court, Tunis |
| Trial Outcome | Purchased |
| Enslaved Total | 3 |
| Liberated Africans Total | 3 |
| Registered Total | 0 |
| Notes | Even though France did not legally abolish slavery until 1848, the French consul could not avoid some involvement in runaway slave cases. In December 1842 a black slave family, including an unnamed six-year-old boy, took refuge in the Saint Louis chapel to avoid being sold separately. Consul de Lagau—eager to prevent the chapel from being targeted as a place of refuge—encouraged the family to move to the French consulate. Ahmad Bey summoned the family to the bey’s court and interviewed each individual separately. After interviewing the six year-old boy, he informed the child that he was free. The following day, Ahmad issued a circular to all officials in his government that all infants born of slaves after 8 December 1842 were free and should be treated as equal to any other Muslim. Although this family’s ordeal and the immediate freeing of the slave child occurred through initiatives undertaken by the French consul, the bey’s decree, strictly speaking, did not entirely result from this incident. Reade’s long-standing influence was also an important factor. |
| Sources | John Scoble, "Liberated of Slaves at the British Consulate of Tunis," in British Foreign and Anti-Slavery Reporter, 6 (London: Lancelot Wilde, 1845), 27; Ismael M. Montana, The Abolition of Slavery in Ottoman Tunisia (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 2013), 93. |
| Cite as |
| X Capture | |
|---|---|
| Y Capture | |
| Ship Status | Unknown |
| Date of departure from a place or port in Africa generally following the purchase of enslaved people. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Region of departure from Africa. Required entry. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. | Northwest Africa |
| Place or port of departure from Africa, if known. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | Tunis |
| Capture date at sea or on land, if known. Date of the sentence. Include YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | |
| Location | |
| Navy | |
| Ship | |
| Captain | |
| Supporting Ships | |
| Sentence Date | |
| Date of arrival to the place where the trial, purchase, or asylum occurred, resulting in "liberation" and indenture. Includes YYYY-MM-DD, if known. | 1842-12-08 |
| Region of arrival around the world. Required field. For more information about the geographical hierarchy used in this digital resource, please refer to AfricanRegions.org. Other regions outside of Africa include, Western Europe, East Coast of North America, etc. | Northwest Africa |
| Place or port of arrival around the world. Required field. A controlled vocabulary for place names are associated with geographic coordinates using Google Maps Global Mercator EPSG:900913. See https://epsg.io/transform#s_srs=4326&t_srs=900913&x=NaN&y=NaN | Tunis |