The Role of the Catholic Church in the System of Governance of the French Caribbean Colonies (XVII-XVIII centuries)

Abstract

The French colonies in the Caribbean were torn apart by the most acute social and ethnic contradictions between merchants and planters, slaveholders and slaves, white, black and mixed population throughout the XVII-XVIII centuries. This article analyzes the contribution of the Catholic Church and the monastic orders in the management of such disparate societies.

Keywords

• metropolitan country
• colonies
• mercantilism
• absolutism
• catholic church
• christianization
• «black code»