“The Benefits of Their Liberty”:Race and the Eurafricans of Gorée in Eighteenth-Century French Guiana

A pivotal moment in the evolution of racial ideology within French colonialism is revealed through the case of Eurafricans from Gorée, who arrived in French Guiana in 1768. These individuals, seeking to challenge their classification as free people of color and instead claim elite status, sparked a debate between two opposing viewpoints: an insular racialist perspective that upheld essentialist beliefs about African character and abilities, and a continental pragmatism that allowed for the possibility of change based on skin tone. The final decision by Louis XVI in favor of the Goréens represented a limited victory for the more nuanced 'continental' view, demonstrating how strategic and geopolitical considerations could temper rigid racial ideologies in peripheral colonial spaces.

Traver, B. (2016). “The Benefits of Their Liberty”:Race and the Eurafricans of Gorée in Eighteenth-Century French Guiana. French Colonial History, 16, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.14321/frencolohist.16.1.0001