Code Noir

After Tuesday's Discussion of Code Noir in DuBois's " Avengers of the New World", I became extremely interested in learning about the history of this code and the significance it had in history. Going into my research I had this in mind the entire time, the number of slaves in Haiti was amongst the highest number of slaves exported to the Western world only behind Brazil.

Code Noir is mind- blowing to me because of the policy to "protect and cover" slaves. Once again a part of history I was never even exposed to.

Established by King Louis XIV Code Noir governed the government of Saint Dominique from the late seventeenth Century, through the eighteenth Century.  Code Noir was created for two main reasons one was dealing with religious issues that slaves had under the French rule.   The second part of the code dealt with slaves’ masters and freed men.

This addressed the slave owners from increasing their own work force by impregnating their female slaves. I found this part ironic because I would have never even thought in the 17th -18th century they would have addressed women's rights like this especially African Americans.

 

 Upon doing more search I found that there was a Louisiana's Code Noir  in 1724. The Primary goal of this code was to regulate relations between slaves and colonists. It was in  force until 1803 when the United States took possession of Louisiana.

The Code’s 54 articles regulated the status of slaves and free blacks, as well as relations between masters and slaves.

These are some of the rules I pulled from blackpast.org

BLACK CODE OF LOUISIANA
I. Decrees the expulsion of Jews from the colony.

II. Makes it imperative on masters to impart religious instruction to their slaves.

III. Permits the exercise of the Roman Catholic creed only. Every other mode of worship is prohibited.

IV. Negroes placed under the direction or supervision of any other person than a Catholic, are liable to confiscation.

V. Sundays and holidays are to be strictly observed. All negroes found at work on these days are to be confiscated.

It’s odd how certain concepts from the past continue to make there way to the present/future.