Victor Hugues

He is best known for his actions during the French Revolutionary Wars, where Hugues played a major role in implementing the Law of 4 February 1794 which abolished slavery in France's colonies.

[2][3] In Guadeloupe, counter-revolutionary French royalists signed the Whitehall Accord with the Kingdom of Great Britain, pledging to place their islands under British protection in exchange for the continuation of slavery.

Hugues also purged all alleged counter-revolutionaries from the colony by executing them using a guillotine brought from France, and devoted significant efforts to establish a successful economy in Guadeloupe which would continue to export cash crops grown on plantations to Europe.

[citation needed] During his tenure as governor, Hugues authorised privateers operating out of Guadeloupe to attack British and American merchant shipping, which contributed to stabilising the colony's finances but also led to the outbreak of the Quasi-War between France and the United States.

[citation needed] On April 22, the British attacked Hugues' troops at Fond Doux and Rabot, though after intense fighting they were eventually forced to withdraw back to Castries.

He was only acquitted in 1814, and returned to French Guiana when the Portuguese handed it back to France in 1817, where Hugues continued to serve as an official before staying on after retiring as a private citizen.