Condorcet, Reflections on Black Slavery

Condorcet
Translated by George Tombs

In this stunning work from 1788 (2nd edition), Nicolas de Caritat, Marquis de Condorcet speaks directly to readers today about the dignity and rights of black slaves held in servitude in the French colonies. He denounces the institution of slavery for tearing men, women and children from their families, depriving them of an education, and forcing them into cruel and degrading conditions. To provide context for his work on slavery, this edition includes a new translation of Condorcet’s Essay on the Influence of the American Revolution in Europe (1786), selections from Five Memoirs on Public Education (1791), and a series of documents from 1789 to 1791 relating to the abolitionist society founded by Condorcet, the Société des Amis des Noirs (Society of Friends of Black People).  Condorcet is remembered today as a philosopher, mathematician and revolutionary defender of liberty and human rights. He died in 1794, a victim of the French Reign of Terror. Condorcet is remembered today as a philosopher, mathematician and revolutionary defender of liberty and human rights.