Marie-Thérèse Lucidor Corbin facts for kids
Marie-Thérèse Lucidor Corbin (1749–1834) was a brave French Creole woman from the 1700s. She was known for speaking out and fighting for important causes. She famously celebrated the end of slavery in French lands overseas. She did this by giving a powerful speech and singing a special song for people of color, using the tune of La Marseillaise.
Marie-Thérèse's Early Life
Marie-Thérèse's father, Andre Lucidor, was once enslaved in Martinique. He later became a fencing teacher in Paris. In 1745, he married Thérèse-Charlotte Richard, who was French. Marie-Thérèse was their second daughter and was born on August 3, 1749.
As a young woman, Marie-Thérèse worked as a linen maid. In 1786, she married Jean-François Corbin, who sold wine. However, her husband left her in 1789. After this, she and her older sister, Louise, faced hard times in Paris.
In 1791, Marie-Thérèse and Louise were not allowed to join a group called the 'Fraternal Society of the Two Sexes'. The group said they were "women capable of disturbing public order." This was because they tried to ring the alarm bell at Saint Roch church and wanted to remove statues after King Louis XVI tried to escape.
Fighting for Justice
In November 1792, Marie-Thérèse was arrested. She was accused of being involved in a big theft. She told the authorities that important government officials had asked her to help find the thieves. Because of this, she was released.
In February 1793, she asked the National Convention (the government at the time) to clear her name. She explained that helping to catch the thieves had caused her to lose her home and her children.
A Voice for Freedom
A very important event happened in February 1794. A new law was passed that ended slavery in all French colonies. Marie-Thérèse Lucidor Corbin gave a very strong speech at the Temple of Reason in Notre-Dame Cathedral. She said:
O French people, the great day has arrived […] Liberty, Equality reign over our hemisphere […] our chains are broken forever […] O Marat, why are you not present […] and you, Ogée, free man of colors, our brother and friend, died first victim murdered by the aristocracy in our Isles […] we swear to defend Liberty, Equality and support the one and indivisible Republic.
After her speech, she sang a special 'hymn of the colored citizens'. It was sung to the tune of La Marseillaise, which is a famous French song:
Free people come to this Temple throwing flowers on these heroes
They have freed their country from the shameful irons of slavery
Later Life
In February 1795, Marie-Thérèse published a long text about education in the French colonies. It showed she knew a lot about places like Saint-Domingue (now Haiti). She continued to ask for public help, sometimes saying she was a refugee to get aid.
Her daughter, Marie-Constance, studied at the Conservatoire de Paris, a famous music school. However, Marie-Constance did not become a successful singer and passed away in 1808. Marie-Thérèse herself lived until January 31, 1834, when she died at the age of 81.
Works
- Discours de la citoyenne Lucidor F. Corbin, créole, républicaine, prononcée par elle-même au Temple de la Raison, l'an 2e de la liberté. Paris: Coutubrier, [1794].
- Hymne des citoyens de couleurs. 1794.
- Aperçu d’une Républicaine Française sur les colonies pour y établir des éducations nationales. Fait par la Citoyenne Lucidor femme Corbin, créolle. 1795.
