Sonthonax framed insurgent slaves as fighting France’s own anti-tyranny struggle.

Evidence

If only the National Convention would “do something for the slaves,” they would stop fighting for the king and join the Republic. France would gain new and valuable allies if its leaders were courageous enough to admit that they and the insurgent slaves were fighting a common struggle against tyranny. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 533

Categorization

• QUESTION: This reframing of slaves as sharing the French revolutionary cause is striking—worth tracing how Sonthonax’s revolutionary universalism accommodated race and slavery.