여성 노예가 법정에서 싸우는 법 - 프랑스 7월왕정기 “비르지니 재판”과 노예 가족, 1832-1847

France abolished colonial slavery during the French Revolution, but Napoleon later reversed this decision and reinstated slavery, ultimately leading to Haiti’s independence in 1804. Other French colonies, however, had to wait until the final abolition of slavery in 1848. Before the final abolition, enslaved men and women continued to resist and fight for freedom in their daily lives. During the July Monarchy (1830–1848), the government introduced various legal reforms to promote manumission as a step toward gradual emancipation. Many enslaved women took advantage of these initiatives to secure freedom for themselves and their children, often employing litigation as a strategy. One notable case was the Affaire Virginie (1834–1845), in which Virginie, a formerly enslaved woman in Guadeloupe, leveraged Article 47 of the Code Noir— which prohibited the separation of enslaved families — to win her children’s freedom. After losing in the colonial courts, which were dominated by plantation owners, Virginie appealed to the Court of Cassation, the highest court in Paris, gaining support from French abolitionists along the way. Her victory had far-reaching consequences in the colonies, inspiring a wave of similar “freedom suits,” most of which were initiated by enslaved women. This article reconstructs the social and legal context of the Affaire Virginie, situating it at the intersection of judicial systems regulating slavery, the abolitionist movement in France, and the gendered dynamics of family under slavery. It examines how enslaved women navigated legal contradictions between the metropole and the colonies, using these tensions to carve out opportunities for their families’ freedom.