Delgrès

Delgrès refers primarily to Louis Delgrès, a Guadeloupean military leader who organized resistance to Napoleon Bonaparte’s 1802 decree to reimpose slavery in the French colonies. Born in Guadeloupe around 1766, Delgrès was a free person of color who emerged as a prominent figure during the island’s upheavals in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

In 1802, when Napoleon reestablished slavery in the Caribbean, Delgrès mobilized a coalition of free people of color and enslaved Africans to oppose the decree. He led armed resistance against French expeditionary forces sent to enforce the policy and aimed to defend the island’s autonomy from the reassertion of slavery. Delgrès died in 1802 during the fighting, and his death became a symbol of determined resistance to slavery and colonial oppression.

Legacy of the Delgrès episode endures in Caribbean memory. He is commemorated as a hero of anti-slavery resistance in Guadeloupe and throughout the French Caribbean. His name appears on streets, squares, and public institutions, and his stand is discussed in studies of abolition, colonial history, and the Napoleonic era. The uprising also figures in discussions of the broader struggle against slavery in the Caribbean and the legacies of revolutionary ideals in the French empire.

See also: Slavery in the French Empire, History of Guadeloupe, Abolition movements in the Caribbean. Notes on dates and precise details vary across sources, but the central point remains: Louis Delgrès is remembered as a leader who resisted efforts to restore slavery in Guadeloupe.