The French Press and Great Britain's campaign against the slave trade, 1830-1848

Abstract

This study, employing hitherto unexplored sources, provides an in-depth analysis of the French press's attitude during the July Monarchy toward Great Britain's efforts to eradicate the slave trade. During the 1830s the French press was largely favorable, despite its marked indifférence, to England 's campaign against the slave trade on the high seas. However, as of the early 1 840s a combination of différent factors, foremost of which was the Anglo-French right of search controversy, influenced the French press to focus its attention' upon Great Britain's slave trade policy and to adopt an extremely critical attitude toward it. From 1841 to 1845 - when the terrnination of the Anglo-French right of search agreements tempered the press's sentiments once again — French newspapers were nearly unanimous in denouncing England 's actions for impugning France 's honor, infringing upon the freedom of the seas and impeding France's maritime commerce. By indicating in detailed fashion the complexity of the French press's response to the issue of British slave trade repression, this article attempts to provide a means of evaluating the varied nature of French opinion on the question of the slave trade in the nineteenth century.