Jeanne Odo
Jeanne Odo | |
|---|---|
Jeanne Odo at the tribune in 1794, by French painter Nicolas-André Monsiau. | |
| Born | c. 1679 Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue |
| Other name | Andotte |
| Occupation | Abolitionist |
Jeanne Odo (born c. 1679) was a former slave who was born in Port-au-Prince who became an abolitionist of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti), and a supercentenarian. She was known for presenting herself to the National Convention in Paris as part of a delegation to call for the abolition of slavery when she was 114 in 1793. Due to the campaign, a new constitution was written to prevent the sale of slaves.
Life
Jeanne Odo was born into slavery in Port-au-Prince, Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) in c. 1679.[1][2] She was of mixed-race.[3]
On 3 June 1793, Odo, accompanied by a delegation of freed black slaves was enthusiastically received at the Jacobin Club by the deputies François Louis Bourdon de l'Oise, Chabot, Maximilien de Robespierre, Jeanbon Saint-André, Legendre, Maure, along with other members. Chabot pledged his solidarity with the group.[4]
The following day, on 4 June, at the age of 114, Odo led the delegation into the National Convention in Paris. The group paraded a new flag to symbolise equality, freedom and the end of colonial racial hierarchy. he flag featured three stripes: a black man on the blue stripe, a white man on the white stripe, and a mulatto on the red stripe, with all of them carrying pikes and wearing liberty caps.[5][6] Upon Odo's entrance, the entire assembly stood up in her honour. She walked in holding the arms of two petitioners, was kissed and embraced by the assembly's president, who seated her in an armchair beside him.[3][7]
On 24 June 1793, as a result of the campaign, a new constitution was enacted, preventing the sale of any person.[6] The following month, the assembly promised the delegates their support in their aim of "liberty to America", and the president placed a crown upon Odo's head.[7]
See also
References
- ^ Archives parlementaires de 1787 à 1860 (in French). Vol. 66. Librairie administrative de Paul Dupont. 1904. p. 57.
- ^ Adams, Sarah J.; Sutherland, Wendy (16 March 2023). Gibbs, Jenna M. (ed.). Staging Slavery: Performances of Colonial Slavery and Race from International Perspectives, 1770-1850. Taylor & Francis. p. 113. ISBN 9781000849783.
- ^ a b Schiebinger, Londa L. (2004). Nature's Body: Gender in the Making of Modern Science. Rutgers University Press. p. 177. ISBN 9780813535319.
- ^ Piquet, Jean-Daniel (2002). L'émancipation des noirs dans la révolution française 1789-1795 (in French). Karthala. pp. 255–258. ISBN 9782845861619.
- ^ Dubois, Laurent (April 1999). ""The Price of Liberty": Victor Hugues and the Administration of Freedom in Guadeloupe, 1794-1798". The William and Mary Quarterly. 56 (2): 363. doi:10.2307/2674123. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b "Jeanne Odo, Paris, 17 May, 1793". thepublicarchive.com. 4 November 2011. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b Levecq, Christine (2020). Black Cosmopolitans - Race, Religion, and Republicanism in an Age of Revolution. University of Virginia Press. pp. 137–138. ISBN 9780813942186.