[1] During the colonial era, the word affranchi (meaning "manumitted") referred to free people of color, many of whom were of mixed French-African parentage.
After the Haitian Revolution, when all slaves were freed, the term instead came to be used to describe the emerging light-skinned elite (the "Mulatto ascendancy").
Both Europeans and Affranchis performed the varied line and square configurations and often made slaves dance to entertain colonial guests.
This highly regarded performance style and regal association was also taken to Cuba, Puerto Rico, the United States and to the rest of the diaspora in the late eighteenth century.
Today in Haiti, one can still experience this art form at occasional country festivals, Vodou services, and as a tourist attraction.