Society of the Friends of the Blacks

The Society of the Friends of the Blacks (French: Société des amis des Noirs or Amis des noirs) was a group of French men and women, mostly white, who were abolitionists (opponents of black slavery and the African slave trade). The Society was created in Paris in 1788, and remained in existence until 1793. It was led by Jacques Pierre Brissot, with advice from Thomas Clarkson, who headed the abolitionist movement in the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the beginning of 1789, it had 141 members.

During the five-year period of its existence, it published anti-slavery literature and addressed its concerns on a substantive political level in the National Assembly of France. Ironically, however, any real, practical legislative mitigation of the slaves' plight would emerge only after the demise of the Society in 1793. In February 1794, the National Assembly legislated the Universal Emancipation decree, which effectively freed all colonial slaves.

Several articles and monographs have explored the question of how influential the Society was in bringing about the abolition of slavery with opinions covering the entire spectrum, from those that identify the Amis des Noirs as instrumental in the abolition of slavery, to others that say the Society was nothing more than a "société de pensée" (philosophical society).

The economy of France was dependent upon revenues from the colonies, where slavery existed on plantations and thrived due to the lucrative trade triangle. Figures indicate that slave-trade activity during the years leading up to the French Revolution resulted in some profit percentages exceeding 100 percent. In 1784, for example, the outfitter Chaurands realized a profit of 110 percent through the use of a single ship, the Brune. In 1789, one outfitter reached 120 per cent.

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