"Written by specialist on French abolition, offers comparative approach to similar processes throughout the Caribbean. Stresses impact of British abolitionist policy on the French, as well as the specific characteristics of the French policy: authorities and former masters kept a tight grip on the enfranchised labor force which showed no massive movement of desertion or refusal to work. Indentured workers were hired to lower the cost of labor"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58.