The anti-slavery movement, which followed in the wake of the European slave trade, has attracted much less attention than the latter. This is particularly true for the abolition movement in the French colonies. This volume commemorates the first abolition of slavery, proclaimed by Leger Felicite Sonthonax in Santo Domingo in 1793 and ratified by a decree of the National Convention in 1794. It then vividly portrays the complex developments that led to the decree of 1848, permanently abolishing slavery in the French domains. It also represents the first critical evaluation of the state of research in France into the history of the eradication of colonial slavery. However, this volume also contains an important comparative element through the addition of papers focusing on the abolitionist movements in America, Britain and Spain.