Racism, the Military, and Abolitionism in the Late Eighteenth- and Early Nineteenth-Century Caribbean

This article suggests that racism was a strategic military liability in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century wars between Britain and France in the Caribbean, wars which, ironically, coincided with the rise of abolitionism in both nations. The French Revolution, meanwhile, had provoked slave uprisings on many of the Caribbean islands. The article focuses on the actions of General Sir John Moore, Captain Thomas Southey, and Governor Victor Hugues, whose supposed abolitionism was contradicted by their belief that blacks could not govern themselves or be proper soldiers without white leadership. Their actions are contrasted with those of Sir John Jeremie, whose non-racist abolitionism cost him his career. Thus, both the British and French underestimated the black rebels’ capabilities and routinely executed black prisoners of war rather than ransoming or imprisoning them. These tendencies made Caribbean campaigns longer and bloodier than they might otherwise have been.