5.2 Practice MCQs

"[F]or the first time I saw the Negro population under circumstances so striking to a stranger. The whole labour of bearing and moving burdens is performed by these people, and the state in which they appear is revolting to humanity. Here were a number of beings entirely naked, with the exception of a covering of dirty rags tied about their waists. Their skins, from constant exposure to the weather, had become hard, crusty, and seamed, resembling the coarse black covering of some beast, or like that of an elephant, a wrinkled hide scattered with scanty hairs. ON contemplating their persons, you saw them with a physical organization resembling beings of a grade below the rank of man....Some of these beings were yoked to drays, on which they dragged heavy burdens. Some were chained by the necks and legs, and moved with loads thus encumbered."

“Americans today . . . who live within the Spanish system occupy a position in society no better than that of serfs destined for labor, or at best they have no more status than that of mere consumers. Yet even this status is surrounded with galling restrictions, such as being forbidden to grow European crops, or to store products which are royal monopolies, or to establish factories of a type the Peninsula itself does not possess. To this add the exclusive trading privileges, even in articles of prime necessity, and the barriers between American provinces, designed to prevent all exchange of trade, traffic, and understanding.”

“We often see articles in our [Brazilian] newspapers trying to convince the reader that slavery among us is a very mild and pleasant condition for the slave—so often, in fact, that one may almost begin to believe that, if slaves were asked, they would prefer slavery to freedom. This only proves that newspaper articles are not written by slaves. . . .

The legal position of slaves in Brazil can be summed up in these words: the Constitution does not apply to them. Our [1824] Constitution is full of lofty ideas [such as]: ‘No citizen can be forced to do anything except as required by law;’ ‘The law shall apply equally to every person;’ ‘Whipping, torture, and all other cruel punishments are abolished,’ etc. Yet, in this ostensibly free nation . . . we must have, on a daily basis, judges, police, and, if need be, the army and navy employed to force enslaved men, women, and children to work night and day without any compensation. To admit this in the highest law of the land would reduce the list of Brazilian freedoms to a transparent fraud. For this reason the Constitution does not even mention slaves or attempt to regulate their status.”

“It cannot be denied that when the French nation proclaimed these sacred words, ‘Men are born and remain free and equal in rights,’ it did not break the chains of humankind. It is we who must put these words into action. The wealthy plantation owners of Saint-Domingue [Haiti], therefore, have everything to fear from the influence of our revolution on the current actions of their slaves. These principles overturn the system on which rests their fortunes. No one should be surprised, therefore, that these plantation owners have become the most ardent enemies of these principles. Yet the moment has arrived to change the social system of the colonies, to reintegrate it into humankind. It is in this greater action that the salvation of all parties, justice, and glory will be found.

The free men of color demand justice, and they should be granted the same rights of citizenship as other Frenchmen. The colonists should no longer refuse them. The artisan slaves should also be called to freedom on the condition that each slave pays a one-time tax for freedom. The other Black slaves may enjoy a conditional liberty, namely that they remain on the land of their masters and work that land for a period ranging between 10 and 20 years depending on circumstances. Afterward, they may obtain the same full liberty as the artisan slaves.”

“To bring the Blacks of Saint-Domingue back to their original condition of slavery is impossible: the writings of the philosophes have spread over the surface of the globe and neither superstition nor despotism can extinguish their ideas. Everything is headed toward general freedom, everything tells you that man will no longer be the slave of man. Tear off the fatal blindfold: the colony of Saint-Domingue will no longer be cultivated by the hands of slaves.

But, some will object and say, ‘The Blacks won’t work anymore once they are free. White hands will never suffice to work the land under a burning sun; in short, the colony cannot survive without slavery.’ I understand you, cold egoists, men without feeling! You need slaves, that is, men you can treat like beasts of burden; you need slaves, that is, victims. What law forces a man to give another man the entire fruit of his labor? This Black individual is free, because neither the nation nor the Supreme Being created slaves. He is your equal, because he is a man. He is a French citizen, because he serves the country, because he contributes to its splendor as much as you do, and because the French nation loves all its children equally. In exchange for his labor, the Black man will receive a salary proportional to his effort.”

“Although I am a common woman, I have been the head of a family for some time, and I have fulfilled the various duties required as head of a family. Therefore, I automatically assumed that the government gave all heads of families equal rights regardless of sex. However, I recently found that this is not the case. I was told that I have no right to vote even for the local ward [neighborhood] assembly where I live because I am a woman. I was also told that for the same reason I am unable to sign or co-sign legal documents, although I have my registered legal seal. Thus there is a world of difference between male and female heads of families in terms of rights. But rights and duties should coexist together. It should logically be the case that if the head of family has the right to vote, she has an obligation to pay tax; but if there is no vote, there should be no tax obligation. However, I have to pay tax even though I have no right to vote. Considering this, I feel that my rights have been denied.”