Slavery. Bulletin des Lois du Royaume de France.

Rare first edition. In this Bulletin the Order of King Louis XVIII is published which forbids the introduction of slaves in the French colonies, dated 8 janvier 1817 (page 105). The Ordinance, made up of 3 Articles, foresees, for the first time, penalties for the crime of trafficking: it only applies to the French colonies and therefore does not affect the traffic of the slavers where it is organized, that is to say in France itself. However it constitutes a first, very important official act, for the definitive abolition of slavery. The volume contains the promulgated laws of and in the first semester of 1817, from number 128 to 162; the text is preceded by a Table chronologique of 48 pages and is followed by the 'Table des matières'. Cf. Victor Alexis Désiré Dalloz, Tournemine, Armand Dalloz, Jurisprudence générale du royaume en matière civile, commerciale et criminelle [archive], Paris, 1827.