The Gendered Consequences of Abolition and Citizenship on Nineteenth-Century Gorée Island

French abolition of slavery and granting citizenship to adult men in its overseas territories, including Gorée Island (Senegal), in 1848 had paradoxical effects on women. While formally integrated into the Second French Republic, Goréen women faced socioeconomic and political decline due to patriarchal republican laws that excluded them from civic politics and economic prosperity. The study reveals how gender became a more salient factor mediating access to liberty and public participation, creating female colonial subjects despite the republic's ideals of universal equality.

Zimmerman, S. J. (2023). The Gendered Consequences of Abolition and Citizenship on Nineteenth-Century Gorée Island. Journal of Women’s History, 35(3), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.1353/jowh.2023.a905188