I Reincarnated as Louis XVI to Stop the Revolution and Be Happy with Antoinette

Academy of Sciences

(125)

"Dash"

☆　☆　☆

December 19, 1771

These days, the cold of winter permeates my body. In the Palace of Versailles, it has become a daily routine for me, Louis XVI, also known as Auguste, to warm myself by vigorously throwing firewood into the fireplace. The turmoil of the rebellion in Saint-Domingue is finally heading toward an end, and reports from the area indicate that the chaos has finally subsided.

"It was a close call for losing the colony. No, it could have even followed the exact route of the original timeline's French Revolution... It was seriously dangerous."

It's truly fortunate that the unrest is settling down before the end of the year. If the rebellion had spread throughout Saint-Domingue, it could have led to conflicts with Britain and Spain. At worst, the colonial policy would have been perceived as a failure, leading to a decline in support and political instability. If that had happened, even the luxury of warming myself by the fireplace would have been regrettable. I must admit that my understanding of colonial matters was too naïve.

Slavery is unacceptable in modern values. Thinking about the enslaved black people packed onto ships and sent as tools to the colonies, never able to set foot on their homeland until their deaths, I couldn't help but wish to save them. No, I thought maybe, from a humanitarian standpoint, I could help them in some way. So, I engaged in countless discussions, including with Monsieur Hauser from the Department of Land Administration, and managed to achieve the abolition of slavery, arguing that it was for the future of France.

...However, the prevailing belief during this era was that slaves were merely "property" from Africa, and they were treated as mere tools on plantations. From the perspective of the plantations, slaves were considered "assets providing labor" rather than "human lives," so my decision to enact the law abolishing slavery using executive power might have been the right move in the end. However, from the viewpoint of the prevailing values of this era, it appeared as though I was confiscating the plantations' property.

It seems that instead of abolishing slavery, the government attempted to implement measures such as tax reductions for plantation owners over a period of two years. However, the intermediary responsible for publicizing and explaining the abolition of slavery failed to follow through on this part. More than anything else, they failed in the part they shouldn't have. What a mess they made!

...I was incredibly shocked when I received the report.

Upon hearing the government's plans, plantation owners in the north of Saint-Domingue, who profited from slavery, protested against the abolition, viewing it as equivalent to having their property confiscated. They were led by Baron Victor Hédelnand, the pro-slavery faction's main figure, and threatened colonial government officials, including General Nolivos, and even took their families hostage, negotiating with them to revoke the abolition and restore slavery in mainland France.

As the situation escalated... it became increasingly uncontrollable. Eventually, the staff of the Department of Land Administration stationed in Saint-Domingue, along with Anthony and Jeanne, who were urgently dispatched to the scene, and Joseph Saint-Georges, a musician known as the "Black Mozart" who joined the Department of Land Administration in July this year, successfully quelled the unrest using [physical means]. Though Anthony and Jeanne will continue to work behind the scenes and cannot be publicly acknowledged, those who contributed to resolving the situation, including the Department of Land Administration and colonial government officials who supported the abolition of slavery, were rewarded with increased wages, special bonuses, and extended vacations.