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The Society of the Friends of the Blacks ((フランス語: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).〔Resnick, Daniel P. "The Société des Amis des Noirs and the Abolition of Slavery," French Historical Studies, 7, 4 (1972): p. 562.〕 ==History== 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.〔Stein, R. "The Profitability of the Nantes Slave Trade, 1783–1792," Journal of Economic History, 35, 3 (1975): p. 782. (This is further corroborated by Atlantic slave ship tonnage statistics: Viles, P. "The Slaving Interest in the Atlantic Ports, 1763–1792," French Historical Studies, 7, 4 (1972): pp. 530–531)〕 The initial formation of La Société des Amis des Noirs was undertaken by Jacques-Pierre Brissot, in February 1788. A follower of the Philosophes, Brissot's anti-slavery efforts were also due to his exposure to humanitarian activities on both sides of the Atlantic. In the United States, where he visited Philadelphia's constitutional convention, he became absorbed with Jefferson's humanitarian nature. In England, Thomas Clarkson invited Brissot to attend a meeting of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade. So enthused was Brissot that shortly thereafter he would create his own abolitionist society in Paris. Its objectives would be to suppress the slave trade and, at a later date, to attain equal rights for free men of color. The ''Amis'' advocated freedom in the French colonies, arguing that the ideas of the Revolution should extend to the colonies. The French concept of ''liberté, égalité, fraternité'' did not include the liberation of slaves, because the National Assembly argued that the abolition would be detrimental to the economy. The Amis des Noirs had, as was made clear by Marquis de Condorcet's program, the abolition of slavery as its immediate goal – and campaigned for it despite calls Clarkson's call for reducing their demands to activism against the slave trade only. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Society of the Friends of the Blacks」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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