On This Day

Slavery is abolished in all French territories

Slavery in France, and by extension, the French Empire, covers a wide range of disparate topics. During the Middle Ages, chattel slavery was legal in France itself.

Slavery in France, and by extension, the French Empire, covers a wide range of disparate topics. During the Middle Ages, chattel slavery was legal in France itself. In the early Merovingian Middle Ages, there was a trade in slaves from the British Isles to France. In the Frankish Middle Ages, France served as a middle station in the saqaliba slave trade of Pagan slaves from Northeastern Europe to al-Andalus in the Southwest, which were transported from Prague to the Caliphate of Cordoba via France. Chattel slavery in France gradually transitioned to serfdom and was finally abolished in the 1310s, specifically with a decree in 1315. While chattel slavery was never again made legal in France itself, it was later allowed in the French colonies from the 17th century.

Historical Significance

Slavery in France, and by extension, the French Empire, covers a wide range of disparate topics.

Events Before

  1. Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government

    Samuel Colt (July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company and made the mass production of…

  2. Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the st

    Michigan becomes the first English-speaking jurisdiction to abolish the death penalty (except for treason against the state)

  3. First civic public park, Birkenhead Park, designed by Joseph Paxton, opens in Birkenhead, England

    Birkenhead Park is a major public park located in the centre of Birkenhead, Merseyside, England. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened on 5 April 1847.

  4. Author of Moby-Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Mas

    Author of Moby-Dick, American novelist Herman Melville (28) marries Elizabeth Shaw, daughter of Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court

  5. Battle of Chapultepec: American forces capture Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican–American War, allowing US General W

    Battle of Chapultepec: American forces capture Chapultepec Castle during the Mexican–American War, allowing US General Winfield Scott to take Mexico City

Events After

  1. Dutch Princess Marianne and Prince Albert of Prussia separate after 18-1/2 years of marriage

    Dutch Princess Marianne and Prince Albert of Prussia separate after 18-1/2 years of marriage

  2. Giacomo Meyerbeer's opera "Le prophète" premieres in Paris

    Le prophète (The Prophet) is a grand opera in five acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer, which was premiered in Paris on 16 April 1849.

  3. Bacteriologist Louis Pasteur (26) weds secretary Marie Laurent (23) in Strasbourg, France

    Bacteriologist Louis Pasteur (26) weds secretary Marie Laurent (23) in Strasbourg, France

  4. Prime Minister of Canada John Abbott (28) weds Mary Bethune at bride's parents home

    Prime Minister of Canada John Abbott (28) weds Mary Bethune at bride's parents home

  5. First chamber music group in the US gives its first concert in Boston, Massachusetts

    First chamber music group in the US gives its first concert in Boston, Massachusetts

More from the 1840s

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on September 16, 1848?
Slavery in France, and by extension, the French Empire, covers a wide range of disparate topics. During the Middle Ages, chattel slavery was legal in France itself. In the early Merovingian Middle Ages, there was a trade in slaves from the British Isles to France.
Why is Slavery is abolished in all French territories significant?
Slavery in France, and by extension, the French Empire, covers a wide range of disparate topics.

Explore More