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In May 1802, Napoleon passed a decree introducing slavery. While the slavery would be ‘maintained’ in colonies where it had not yet been abolished, Napoleon’s secret plan was to reintroduce slavery in all French colonies. Napoleon’s decision was a strategic and pragmatic choice in response to the changing political climate in the Caribbean colonies at the time. In fact, for Napoleon, the abolition or continuation of slavery was not a question of humanity or morality, but rather an effective means to achieve political goals. Napoleon could be called a racist in that he sometimes referred to the ignorance and barbarism of blacks as inferior to whites and treated blacks as foe to be slaughtered. However, this attitude of contempt for blacks was not so different from the average French attitude at the time, and was far from the distorted notion of racial purity. ‘Color Wars’ raged in Guadeloupe and Saint-Domingue, resulting in massive violence and massacres. However, neither Napoleon nor his commanders systematically committed genocide aimed at the extermination of a specific race. Of course, it was, as Napoleon said with regret, ‘a great stipudity’.

In recent years, postcolonial histories of Empire have acquired ever greater significance as new imperial formations have threatened to rear their heads in different parts of the world. In particular, The trajectory of the Subaltern Studies collective over the three decades of its existence makes clear some of its lasting contributions to the project of postcolonial history-writing. First, the collective developed one of the most sustained modes of critique against the Eurocentrism that had marked much history-writing all over the world. Secondly, it located a critique of the contemporary nation state in the legacy of Eurocentrism that came to many centres of the world through the vehicle of colonialism. Finally, it provided historians with a critical vocabulary with which to rewrite the subaltern back into history as a political subject.

What role did animals serve on the world map Mappa Mundi, a culmination of medieval worldviews? The purpose of this paper is to explore the unique roles and meanings of animals in medieval Mappa Mundi. Starting in the 14th century, the horizon of Mappa Mundi expanded ‘beyond this world, to the afterlife’. At the end of the world, ‘judgment and salvation after death’ awaited humans. Accompanying them on this long journey were animals. For example, the role of animals in the Hereford Mappa Mundi was not limited to stimulating curiosity about the beyond. On the map, they served as invaluable ‘guides’. Interacting with traditions, places, and surrounding symbols, the animals served as warnings to those viewing the map about the afterlife, reminders of original sin and the hope of salvation in paradise, and guides along the path God had laid out for them. Just as the angels and demons in ‘Visions of the afterlife’ effectively guided and enlightened the souls of sinners crossing the afterlife, the animals helped the believers viewing the map successfully complete their visual pilgrimage.