On the cultural achievements of Negroes
First published in French in 1808 and translated into English two years later under the title An Enquiry Concerning the Intellectual and Moral Faculties and Literature of Negroes, this book was a touchstone for nineteenth-century abolitionists in England and the United States. Written by Abbe Henri Gregoire (1750-1831), it argued vigorously against assumptions of black inferiority and in favor of the humanity, equality, and cultural achievements of people of African heritage. His treatise summarized most of the available written thought on race up to that time. A leading activist in the French Revolution, Gregoire reflected in his arguments the spirit of "liberte, egalite, and fraternite," and anticipated twentieth-century race inquiry and theory
eBook, English, ©1996
University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst, MA, ©1996