Letter To The Slaves Unfortunates Analysis

The author’s background makes his opinions clear. The author was born in Haiti, but moved to France, and later fled to Haiti from the French Revolution. He became a soldier and fought with the British and French to put down the slave rebellion in Haiti, which reveals that he was against the abolition of slavery. Because the document is a letter and not a public article (yet), it might have been easier for the author to express his true opinions. In his letter, he calls the slaves “unfortunates” and refers to their countries as “savage” and “barbaric”. He pities the slaves, but for the way their countries were, rather than for their enslavement. He assumes that the countries they came from were terrible, primitive places to live, and that slavery
rescued them. To reinforce his condescending attitude towards the slaves, he writes that the laws were made “for their safety”, and that the slaves were “considered a child”. He believes that the slaves are too ignorant and stupid to keep themselves safe, and that slavery is making their lives better. He refers to the French that fought against the monarchy as “stupid innovators”. He believes that everyone is better off with strict class systems, even if the lower classes are not treated like equals.