Considérations sur l'état de présent de la colonie française de Saint-Domingue. Ouvrage politique et législatif [...]. Par M.r H.Dl.

2 vol., 8vo: xvi-327, [4]-iii-[1]-368 pp.; 1 fold. table (complete, occ. foxing).

Contemp. marbled calf, gilt coat of arms on boards, gilt tooled spine with raised bands and red calf labels, red edges (lower turn in of v. I lacking, corners worn, browned scratchings, coat of arms damaged on front board of v. 2).

First edition of this critical essay on the French colony of Santo Domingo. The book was censored and forbidden because of its virulent criticism of the colonials and their behaviour towards the black population. Hilliard (1751-17789), a Breton lawyer living in Cape Town, denounced the abuses of the colonial administration and, while he declared himself a supporter of the "moderate" slave trade, some of his judgments had consequences for the settlers: "It is not the diseases that have weakened the black population to such an extent that they are the tyranny of the masters" (p. 63). The "Considerations" emphasised the need to reshape the colony's internal life under a local code and a reformed Creole judiciary. However Hilliard was suspected of affection for mulattoes and was murdered in 1789 on his return to Santo Domingo after a stay in the United States. A third volume was begun but never published. It was translated into German in 1779 and republished in French twice.
Ref. Sabin 31897.
Prov. Baron Charles Stuart de Rothesay (1779-1845), British diplomat, ambassador to France and Russia (super ex-libris).