The Abolition of Slavery Movement
August 1782. Lately, the country had felt off. The upper classes were indulging in luxury as usual, the middle classes scrimping and saving, and the common folk scraping by day to day—but something was wrong.
"Your Majesty. A letter from Adam Smith."
"Set it there."
Adam Smith was still extending his invisible hand toward me, and France's reach had extended to Louisiana—formerly Nueva España. Was it just my imagination? Or was I feeling uneasy because things had been too peaceful lately?
*knock knock*
"National Intelligence Agency. May I enter?"
"Come in."
They'd know who I meant by that. "Your Majesty. The operation to deal with the xenophobes has been completed successfully. They're now in the waters off Le Havre."
"Mm."
The strange rumors spread by I-Myeonghun before his death had been easily quashed. In the first place, since they'd been introduced by civilians, few had ears for such gossip—and even if they had, the fools reckless enough to spread it around were no longer in this world. Thanks to that, the anti-foreigner sentiment in Paris had evaporated overnight, as if it had never existed. Should've done this sooner. In the end, it was my problem after all.
"Your Majesty. And while they're not problematic, there have been occasional suspicious individuals entering France."
"Who are they?"
"The group calls itself the Illuminati. A run-of-the-mill Enlightenment society. The suspicious part is that they're all from Prussia."
Aha. There it was—the source of my unease.
"What are they doing?"
"They're teaching orphans in the cemeteries to read and spreading the metric system."
Why does that sound perfectly normal? As far as I knew, the Illuminati were a secret society manipulating the world from the shadows.
"Is that all?"
"Beyond praising France and Your Majesty, nothing noteworthy. Though in the process, they disparage religion, clashing with the clergy—but it's no more serious than the usual friction with any Enlightenment group; nothing that surfaces publicly."
Was that really it? Well, even in modern times, they were just a meme—nothing more. Probably just a common coincidence of the era.
"Anything else noteworthy?"
"Excluding the royal praise and religious friction, they're like any ordinary Enlightenment society. Demands for rationalist legal codes, abolition of slavery, that sort."
"Slave emancipation..."
Something I'd have to do eventually. To open the colonial era, slavery had to go.
* * *
That afternoon, in the cabinet chamber.
"What if we abolish the slave trade?"
I tossed the topic of abolishing slavery into the midst of the assembled ministry officials. Abolishing it outright seemed too radical, so I started with the trade.
"It's about time. Lately, intellectuals have been reflecting on slavery, and a few radicals are calling for outright abolition."
The Ministry of the Interior supported banning the slave trade, citing domestic intellectual opinion.
"In truth, even abolishing slavery immediately wouldn't cause much trouble. Sugar prices from Saint-Domingue would rise, but we could just buy Spanish sugar."
The Ministry of Finance backed the ban, calculating no major issues.
Here they go again.
"This isn't like the metric system imposition on the nobles. I want your unfiltered opinions on the slave trade. Pretend I'm not here and speak freely, each ministry."
Too strong a monarchy has its problems. Ever since forcing the metric system last time, the bureaucrats had started groveling again. It made me feel like a tyrant for no reason.
"Ministry of Finance first. As I said, sugar supply itself is no issue. After Spain ceded Nueva España to us France, they've focused on South America, stabilizing their external colonies. Even immediate abolition wouldn't matter; Nueva Granada sugar would arrive before stockpiles run out. Saint-Domingue sugar is cheap, but not overwhelmingly so compared to Spanish—prices might rise 5% at most."
So, Spain as an alternative.
"Then what's the problem?"
"First, we can't be self-sufficient. Second, the colonial plantation owners. Even if they use slaves, they're French subjects. From their view, banning the trade cuts off their labor supply. Without alternatives, it's a one-sided sacrifice for the planters."
One-sided sacrifice. Not wrong. Breaking a deformed law sacrifices those who lived under it.
"Have you considered what happens to freed slaves?"
Yes, the slaves themselves. Even Finance Ministry officials were still 18th-century men.
"Won't they rehire at the plantations?"
"They will. They'll continue slaving away, unprotected as slaves, treated like slaves."
Contrary to Finance's prediction, slave plantations won't collapse. They'll just become black laborer farms. But the slaves will be ruined. From Roman times, slaves—as tools, correctly, but also Western—had minimal protections: shelter, clothing, food enforced by the state as property. They lose it all. The most moral choice breeds the most immoral outcome. This dilemma is unsolvable. Even after Lincoln's mid-19th-century emancipation, Northern workers lived worse than Southern slaves. The 20th century was no different—blacks then, coolies later. The vicious cycle repeats eternally. Even if 18th-century black slaves become freed laborers, they won't taste true freedom. Someone had to take the grueling work. Roman war slaves, medieval serfs, Age of Exploration blacks, industrial colonials, modern workers. If no one else, dump it on citizens—like peasants and workers. But we can't keep slavery forever. It's irrational and unethical. My hesitation stems from this: abolition kicks off the colonial era. Should I usher it in myself? I don't shy from blood on my hands, but creating a known horror weighs on my conscience. Yet colonialism is the tide of history. Enlightenment would free slaves anyway; Industrial Revolution would drive powers to colonies for excess goods. Europe's desire to outlive rivals won't stop. If inevitable, better I start it and set minimal rules.
"I've noted Finance's concerns. Interior, anything more?"
"Ministry of the Interior. As Finance said, immediate abolition would only disrupt Central American colonies like Saint-Domingue."
True. France proper had few slaves due to 14th-century emancipation rules. And those were mostly craftsmen and servants—de facto free. No chaos expected.
"Mostly agrees with Finance. But some in Interior worry banning slave trade will empower hardline Enlightenment radicals."
"Due to political omnipotence?"
"Yes. Once their slogans become reality, they'll demand more to realize their ideals. Thus, Interior suggests announcing the ban by surprise during some incident, grabbing the reins while eyes are elsewhere."
Fair enough—Enlightenment was idealism at root. Republicans, communists, utopian dreamers need periodic stomping. Let them gain power, next they'll demand constitutions, then abolition of monarchy. Ideology can't threaten real power. Time to step on them.
"Interior. Who leads the abolition movement?"
"Mainly Freemasons. Started as Free Masons' guild, devolved into Enlightenment self-improvement society."
Freemasons. Always linked with Illuminati? Whatever. They're clashing with religion—perfect chance to bolster Catholic prestige. Religious conservatism may be retrograde, but nothing maintains order like it.
"Gentlemen, doesn't that group seem suspicious?"
Play dumb (though I know).
"I warn you: cut ties with them and their associates. Investigation starts two weeks from Monday. Don't get caught."
The seas off Le Havre are about to get crowded.