Lawyer Li Qian
Editor|Lawyer Li Qian
In Maryland, residents of the state capitol and seaport city of Annapolis are concerned about events happening outside the country.
Between 1770 and 1804, one revolution sparked another, spreading rhetoric of freedom and equality throughout the Atlantic world, resonating among the oppressed classes.
However, the international slave trade also reached its peak during this period, indicating the continued existence of slavery in the Atlantic world.
The international slave trade reached its peak and the revolution began
From the North American Revolution to the French Revolution and the Haitian Revolution, men and women sought to forge a new identity, a new meaning, for the Republic.
White women in the United States and France began to express their views on an egalitarian society, challenging the laws of family relations. While white women dared to speak out in France and the United States, by the early 19th century the old family law was restored in France and maintained in the United States.
European women (in France and the United States) were effectively controlled as conduits for virtue, patriotism and family life. These characteristics of white women were established as models of femininity.
Free colored people and slaves are willing to fight to the death for their ideals
The slaves of the French and British colonies declared their own vision of equality not only in words but also in deeds.
Between 1789 and 1815, there were several slave uprisings or conspiracies that sought to establish an understanding that a just society required the emancipation of slaves and to assert their rights as citizens of the Republic.
The most successful slave uprising was the brutal and violent overthrow of the slave regime in Santo Domingo.
The Haitian Revolution set the black people of the French colony free, and Haiti became the second independent country in the Atlantic.
Gaining freedom is never easy.
Although the French National Assembly ended slavery in the colony in 1794, former slaves and free colored people were not immediately freed. Santo Domingo is France's most prolific colony because it has lucrative sugar and coffee plantations.
Throughout the late 90s and early 19th century, French generals and legislators struggled to preserve the island. Haitians continue to oppose French decrees affirming their right to live in a free society.
The conflict erupted into a bloody civil war on the island. The battle for freedom and the colonial direction continued until 1802, when General Charles Leclerc, who led Napoleon's army, after the surrender of Toussaint Louvre-Tour, tried to make a last-ditch effort to re-enslave the combatants.
The French believed they would defeat the free colored people and slaves of the colonies.
However, free people of color and slaves were willing to fight to the death to uphold the ideals of equality and emancipating society. By 1804, after several brutal wars between the two sides, Jean Baptiste Donatien de Vermere, Count of Rochampau, surrendered to England to avoid the embarrassment of surrendering to the Haitians.
Haiti became the first independent black state, with Jean-Jacques de Salin as its leader. Former slaves and free people of color served as police officers on the island, deporting or killing former white slave owners, and confiscating their land.
Black women became a topic
In Baptiste, women from Haiti sought the highest degree of freedom possible in Maryland to bring their cases to the Court of Appeal in Annapolis.
As black women, their status will be decided in court, and they have nothing to lose but everything to gain.
By asserting their right to liberty, black women became part of a conversation that inadvertently determined the scope of slave owners' rights.
Third, lawyer Daniel Raymond represented the two petitioners. He provided a fierce and convincing defense of the petitioner's freedom.
His arguments in defense of Baptiste and others stand out for their clarity and demonstrate the abolitionist sentiment that exists in Maryland. However, his racial prejudices also reflected the racial prejudices of other abolitionists of the period.
He strongly opposed slavery, arguing that blacks would not survive without hard work in the new country, but he also insisted that relocating blacks would bring positive outcomes to Maryland and the country.
Fourth, Haiti is independent, and the leaders want Haiti to be free from slave labor
By 1805, Haiti had gained independence. As a white woman, if Madame de Fontaine had property in Haiti, it would be confiscated and distributed to the officers of De Salin.
After Dessalin ruled Haiti, the white women who remained on the island either married black rebels or were killed. Another possibility is if the white woman had an American or British merchant or sailor as her protector.
Dessalin was as brutal as General Rochampault of France; He wanted to ensure complete freedom for the island's blacks. The Haitian general and president associated whites with slavery, and he wanted Haiti, a new independent black nation, free from slave labor.
As a result of the Second War with England between 1812 and 1814, Bernal, at his wife's request, paid Mr. Glasgow fifty dollars for Forstin's apprenticeship.
Under the tutelage of Mr Glasgow, Fausten learned the craft of cod. While in Maryland, Marlene and Bethsea's slave status was extended, even though Haiti had become independent.
In December 1817, after Faustin's apprenticeship, Bernal was ordered to send Forstin and the petitioner to his mother in Haiti. Since both lawyers agreed with this description.
For various reasons, neither lawyer filed a defence. However, the lower court judges in Baltimore ruled in favor of Justin De Fontaine and his guardian, John Bonade, and that Marlene and Betsy were slaves.
The appellant appealed the decision, but there was no record of the lawyer's arguments or the opinion of the judge of the Court of Appeal. 50 This certainly demonstrates a clear miscarriage of justice. However, the court's symbolic gesture is likely to be made because Marlene and Betsy will be free upon their return to Haiti.
Fifth, the French army lost to black slaves, and it was still difficult for blacks to obtain freedom
The judge's ruling broke the international friendly relations between Maryland and Haiti. Marlene and Beit Fontein came to Baltimore from a country that had gained independence and declared its freedom.
Under Maryland law, it should be illegal for Madame de Fontaine to bring Marlene and Betsy into the state as slaves without becoming residents.
Instead, the Baltimore court retained French colonial slavery laws and thus failed to acknowledge the Haitian Revolution and the destruction of slavery on the island. At the same time, the judges failed to uphold Betsy and Marlene's freedom.
The judges protected not only the property rights of slave owners, but also the rights of foreign widows who contradicted national laws. Madame de Fontaine holds the power to determine the future of her servants and children.
Since Forstin is the only heir, and is male, the judges may sympathize with his family situation—his loss, destruction, and decline in socioeconomic status.
After all, the French army lost to black slaves. Haiti's black revolutionaries deprived Fausten of the opportunity to rule a large plantation or farm with people of African descent. The judge of the Annapolis Court of Appeals agreed with the lower court in Baltimore.
Now under Maryland law, Marlene and Betsy were slaves of Forstin de Fontaine. However, when it came time to export to Haiti, Marlene and Betsy likely gained the freedom they wanted.
But what happened to Marlene and Betsy after the verdict was forgotten by history. Subsequent rulings suggest that the Maryland Supreme Court justices in Annapolis denied freedom to other blacks crossing the Maryland border.
Appeals of widowed white women
Raymond lacks insight into the gender differences that distinguish the two cases: the difference between Germondam and Baptiste is that, unlike Germondam, Weberen did not find a guardian for her property, according to the provisions of French family law.
Thus, being a widowed white woman directly rebutted the appellant's claims, which showed her competence.
As an elite white woman assimilating into Maryland society, she was given the same rights as white Maryland women, establishing her residency rights despite Maryland law.
Finally, the defendants in both cases may have been married white women whose husbands remained in Haiti to fight slaves and free colored revolutions.
Neither escaped alive. Their ambiguous status as white refugee widows left it to the courts to decide whether they could keep their human property.
The Devondin case has a better record at the ordinary court level, while the Baptiste case has a better record at the appellate court level. Examining these two cases allows us to piece together legislators' views on international solidarity, Haitian sovereignty, and the relationship between slavery and freedom in Maryland.
November 1816. Marlene and Beit Sidfontein filed their freedom petition at the Baltimore County Court of Final Appeal and Prison Referral Court in Baltimore City.
They argued that Forstin de Fontaine and his guardian, John P. Bonnard, had unjustly treated them as slaves and Daniel Raymond represented Marlene and Betsy, who demanded immediate emancipation. Henry W. Rogers represented Forstin and his guardian, Bonnard. Raymond and Rogers agreed that Faustin's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Devondain.
"They were driven out of Hispaniola by a black uprising, and at the moment of the uprising they were in different parts of the island, and the husband fled to San Jago, on the island of Cuba, with Marlene and Betsy." Madame de Fontaine fled to Baltimore with their only child, Faustin.
At the end of 1805, Monsieur de Fontaine, due to the persecution of the French inhabitants of Cuba, left there and joined the French army led by Santo Domingo Ferrand, hoping to recover his property. Before leaving Cuba, Mr. de Fontaine sent Marlene and Betsy to Madame de Fontaine in Baltimore.
conclusion
Lewis's petition shows how a Maryland judge briefly held that people of African descent could claim freedom under the English common law tradition that it was illegal to export blacks from a free country.
Their opinions extended the democratic principles of the War of Independence to people of African descent.
They also upheld state laws and failed to contribute to the slave trade, both locally and internationally.
Their view produced a similar result to Lord Mansfield's claim at Somerset: slaves could refuse to be exported for sale.
bibliography
Atricia A. Reed. Haitian Revolution, Black Petitioners and Refugee Widows in Maryland, 1796-1820, 50 AM. J. LEGAL Hist. 431(2008)。 ALWD 7th edition.
Patricia A. Reed. Haitian Revolution. Black Petitioners and Refugee Widows in Maryland, 1796-1820, 50 Am. J. Legal Hist. 431(2008)。 APA 7th edition
Reed, p.a. (2008). The Haitian Revolution, Black Petitioners and Refugee Widows in Maryland, 1796-1820. American Legal History, Vol. 50, No. 4. 431 - 452 Chicago, 17 EC
Reid, "The Haitian Revolution: Black Petitioners and Refugee Widows in Maryland," American Journal of Legal History, No. 50. 4 (Öctober 2008-2009: 431-452) McGill Guide No. 9
Patricia A. Reed, "The Haitian Revolution, Black Petitioners and Refugee Widows, 1796-1820" (2008) 50:4 Am J Legal history 431. Blue Book 21st edition