Slaves participating in French military expeditions earned their freedom as a reward

Evidence

In 1780 a 120-year-old man, Captain Vincent Ollivier, died in Saint- Domingue. His life, an obituary proclaimed, would “serve as proof for those who need it that a truly great soul, no matter what shell it inhabits, is visible to all men and can silence even those prejudices that seem necessary.” Ollivier was probably Saint-Domingue’s oldest black veteran. He had lived through most of the colony’s history, and had gone from being a slave to being a free man, an officer, and a respected community leader. In 1697 his master had volunteered to join the French expedition against Cartagena, and had brought his slave Ollivier with him. Like other slaves who participated in the mission, Ollivier obtained something more precious than loot: freedom. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 231

Categorization

• CANDY: A 120-year-old ex-slave who met Louis XIV, fought in Germany, and was afterward called ‘Captain Ollivier’ everywhere he went - a great cocktail-party story.