The abolition of slavery by the Provisional Government of the Second French Republic in April 1848 redefined public space in the colonies by establishing a statutory civil, political and 'racial' equality among the citizens of the Republic. This article examines the implications of this decision in the context of the French Antilles, particularly in relation to the attribution and registration of property by past slaves and the interplay between the new juridical relations of work and the old relations of social dependency. The article goes on to discuss the formation and history of the Cantonal Juries, an institution created to administrate the new civil and labour regime in the colonies, as well as the civil and criminal legal actions taken by agents in this new juridical context actions in which the conflicting aspirations of the past slaves and their old masters become clearly evident.
Colonialism; Antilles; French Republic; Work relations; Dependency; Civil liberties