Applying and Resisting French Race Law: 1777-1848

This paper examines ground-level consequences of racial laws enacted in France between 1777 and 1848. Policing people categorized as “of color” was a coercive, stigmatizing, and violent administrative practice (involving imprisonment, deportation, racial categorization) that must be analysed looking at the power dynamics between different actors. The theme of resistance is central to this focus. This paper explores the diversity and varying intensities of repression against enslaved people, opportunities for resistance, and further explores the counteractive strategies of slaveholders and colonial lobby to freedom-seekers.