Le Mariage des Nègres

This engraving was produced by Nicolas Colibert (1750- after 1806), a French painter and engraver from a drawing by Amedee Freret . It was made as part of a series of engravings to celebrate the abolition of slavery in France. After a revolt of slaves in the largest French colony of St Domingue in 1791 the Haitian Revolt began leading to the abolition of slavery in St Domingue in 1793. The Convention (the first elected Assembly of the First Republic, 1792-1804) then abolished slavery in France and its colonies on 4 February 1794. This was confirmed in France’s constitution in The Declaration of The Rights of Man in 1795. However, Napoleon reintroduced slavery in 1802 and it was only finally abolished in 1848 with the election of the Second Republic.

This engraving depicts 'The Marriage of "Negroes"' and was produced with 'The religion of "Negroes"' and 'The Arrival of Europeans in Africa', all conveying a romanticised view of black Africans consistent with their newly acquired status as free men and women. The scenes showing their marriage and the allusion to their religion suggest that westernised concepts were employed to appeal to the French audience.